In the town cut off by a massive landslide in PNG, local walk over buried loved ones to transit essential goods
A crisis is unfolding in a Papua New Guinea Highlands town, soon after a nearby landslide claimed more than 160 lives and has since cut off the town for more than two months.
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00:00In Papua New Guinea's remote highlands, life after the landslide hasn't returned to normal.
00:10But from tragedy comes signs of healing.
00:19These children lost everything when the side of a mountain collapsed on the village of
00:24Mulitaka two months ago.
00:26But this new care centre offers them a chance to focus on something else.
00:31I think it's a positive distraction for them.
00:33At least for two to three hours we take their mind sort of totally off from the trauma.
00:38For many, emotions are still raw.
00:43More than 160 people were killed in the disaster, but only about 12 bodies have been recovered.
00:49The rest remain buried in what's been declared a mass grave.
00:54But everyone just went to sleep and that was the last breath they took.
00:58Hundreds of survivors are still living in makeshift tents.
01:02They've been offered temporary resettlement, but say it's unsafe because of tribal conflicts.
01:09We're still struggling and we're still staying here.
01:12Every day spent here is risky.
01:15New cracks are forming and technical experts say another landslide will happen.
01:21It's just a matter of when.
01:24But as people here try to rebuild their lives, another crisis is unfolding nearby.
01:30This is the only road into the major town of Pogara and as you can see it's been completely
01:35cut off by the landslide.
01:37So the only way to get across is on foot.
01:40Everything we need, food, fuel, water, we'll have to carry across with us.
01:44It's a journey being made hundreds of times a day in order to get supplies to the population
01:50of around 100,000.
01:54We are acting as taxis.
01:55We help people travelling in and out.
01:58But their service comes at a price.
02:02I will pay an estimate of $400 to $2,000.
02:06The cost is quickly adding up for small business owners transporting goods and their customers.
02:13At its peak, the price of staple foods like rice doubled.
02:18Betty Angai works as a cleaner at the recently reopened Pogara gold mine.
02:23Her salary is $200 a fortnight.
02:27With six children to feed, it doesn't go far.
02:31There are times we don't have food and we go to sleep hungry.
02:35Fuel shortages are also causing problems.
02:38Diesel is being driven along this unsealed road and pumped across the landslide to the mine.
02:45The fuel is being sold to the community at cost price.
02:49That helps us to keep our customers going and then keep our businesses going.
02:54But when stocks are low, bus operators have to pay more.
02:59The impact is being felt in local schools.
03:02This class of grade 12 students has dwindled to about a third of its usual size.
03:08Many students are not attending our class because of the bus fee.
03:14Public servants in Pogara are calling for the government to speed up construction of
03:18a bypass road being built around the landslide.
03:21Firstly is to get that road opened up quickly so that the prices of goods can come back
03:27to normal.
03:29The provincial government says it's working as quickly as it can, but construction was
03:33at a standstill because workers had reportedly not been paid.
03:37There is a case of humanitarian crisis in Pogara so we need to get this thing over quickly.
03:44For people here, it can't come soon enough.