'Buai ban' dilemma: A clash between social and economic courses, writes Martyn Namorong

I KNOW that my betel nut (buai) chewing will one day lead to my demise from oral carcinoma. It is a risk I take much in much the same fashion as flying in planes or travelling on a PMV.

This morning I woke with buai on my mind. I had a betel nut saved from last night for this morning. It is a ritual for addicts like me. Buai before breakfast, all day and after dinner.

For me, it is quite difficult to explain my betel nut addiction in physiological terms. Unlike alcohol where one feels some effect, I do not find the same kind of high from betel nut. And so I wonder whether my addiction is physiological or psychological or something else.

And so, when Port Moresby’s city authorities announced their K500 fine on residents who chew, I must say I was quite deflated.

Life for betel nut sellers and chewers has become increasingly miserable in Port Moresby. Sanctions placed by city authorities on betel nut trading have increased the price and made availability difficult.

It is true that for decades betel nut vendors and chewers have contributed to the negative image of the city.

However it is also true that plastic bags and bottles, along with inadequate waste management systems, contribute negatively. One only has to look at the clogged drains in the city and it’s obvious what the major environmental pollutants are.

The attack on betel nut chewers and vendors isn’t so much an environmental issue as it is class warfare.

What we are witnessing is a conflict between social and economic classes in the city.

The clichéd view is that buai sellers are unemployed settlement folk. This is not true for all city residents. Many people who sell buai do so to supplement wages or for one reason or another are disconnected from both the modern economy and traditional life.

Even the discourse about graduating from the informal to the formal economy assumes that one is superior to the other. Perhaps we haven’t seen a buai billionaire but it is safe to say that buai traders have less stress and debt that Wall Street traders.

The challenge is to understand the machinations of the buai trade and to create a model that works in the city.

Betel nut sales and chewing should be based on behavioural patterns.

Yes we should continue to discourage selling and chewing of betel nut in public places.

However, what should be allowed is the sale and chewing of betel nut in residential areas.

I live in a street where almost every second house has a stall selling betel nut. The street is not filthy or crime riddled. People seem to take more responsibility when chewing and selling betel in a place they call home.

The wholesale trade of betel nut bags should be restricted to squatter settlements and city villages so that retailers from residential areas can have market access.

What I am suggesting isn’t new.

We have witnessed a cleaner city without a buai ban (and, despite the National Capital District Commission’s ban, the disappearance of betel nut did not occur).

The model that kept the city clean was the wholesale trading of betel nut at Hanuabada with the restriction of trade and consumption in public places. A similar model already works with alcohol sale and consumption.

By better managing the betel nut trade and buai consumption we can create a clean and inclusive city that benefits everyone.

Betelnuts with mustard. Image: Supplied/2016.

Martyn Namorong - the writer.

Source: Martyn Namorong/PNG Attitude blog/August 2016.