Imagicity | Photography | Dan McGarry, Proprietor

2005-September

See also: || 2005 || view slideshow

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Bong is family on Jekob's mother's side. The name
is very common throughout the island of Ambrym, where
Jekob's mother comes from. In fact, it's often used in
much the same way Tommy, Paddy and Bruce are - as a
nick-name for anyone coming from that island.

Bong is family on Jekob's mother's side. The name is very common throughout the island of Ambrym, where Jekob's mother comes from. In fact, it's often used in much the same way Tommy, Paddy and Bruce are - as a nick-name for anyone coming from that island.
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This young child dashed gleefully back and forth between a tide
pool and his companions' sand construction, filling a plastic
bag with water and delivering it to the 'construction site'.

This young child dashed gleefully back and forth between a tide pool and his companions' sand construction, filling a plastic bag with water and delivering it to the 'construction site'.
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Two children play in a tidal pool by filling a plastic
shopping bag with water.
Black Sand is little known and rarely visited by tourists
and expats, as it is situated near one of the poorest
neighbourhoods in Port Vila.

Two children play in a tidal pool by filling a plastic shopping bag with water. Black Sand is little known and rarely visited by tourists and expats, as it is situated near one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Port Vila.
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Emily is probably my favourite 'niece'. She's extremely
bright and perceptive. As a result, she's also sometimes
painfully shy. No self-consciousness is evident here, though.
She's among friends.

Emily is probably my favourite 'niece'. She's extremely bright and perceptive. As a result, she's also sometimes painfully shy. No self-consciousness is evident here, though. She's among friends.
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Joceline, her sisters, Emily, Bong and Moses ham it up
for the camera on an outing to Black Sand.
Moses is a VSO volunteer from Uganda, working on HIV/AIDS
awareness with the ministry of Health. He felt a little alone
when he first arrived, but that is emphatically no longer the
case. Willie now calls him 'Daddy Moses'.

Joceline, her sisters, Emily, Bong and Moses ham it up for the camera on an outing to Black Sand. Moses is a VSO volunteer from Uganda, working on HIV/AIDS awareness with the ministry of Health. He felt a little alone when he first arrived, but that is emphatically no longer the case. Willie now calls him 'Daddy Moses'.
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When I saw the Chinese lettering on the other side of this
tin, I was actually fooled into thinking it was a tin of
Coke branded in local language.
Closer investigation revealed the inadvertantly brilliant
and very Chinese slogan that 'Future will be better'. Having
tasted it, I fervently hope that it lives up to its promise.

When I saw the Chinese lettering on the other side of this tin, I was actually fooled into thinking it was a tin of Coke branded in local language. Closer investigation revealed the inadvertantly brilliant and very Chinese slogan that 'Future will be better'. Having tasted it, I fervently hope that it lives up to its promise.
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The flower in the gutter is an apt metaphor for the
way the wealth and abundance of this country is often
treated.

The flower in the gutter is an apt metaphor for the way the wealth and abundance of this country is often treated.
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Jekob demonstrates the finer points of trouncing your opponent
to Moses in an impromptu card game at Black Sand.
The game, which closely resembles Uno, is of local origin
and, interestingly, has no name, as far as I've been able to
determine.

Jekob demonstrates the finer points of trouncing your opponent to Moses in an impromptu card game at Black Sand. The game, which closely resembles Uno, is of local origin and, interestingly, has no name, as far as I've been able to determine.
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Jekob explains the finer points of trouncing your opponent
to Moses in an impromptu card game at Black Sand.
The game, which closely resembles Uno, is of local origin
and, interestingly, has no name, as far as I've been able to
determine.

Jekob explains the finer points of trouncing your opponent to Moses in an impromptu card game at Black Sand. The game, which closely resembles Uno, is of local origin and, interestingly, has no name, as far as I've been able to determine.
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Joceline's sister, whose name no one has thought to tell me, and
which I cannot ask for (without signalling marital interest), actually
lives with an uncle in Simbollo, a neighbourhood about 3 kilometres
from Freswota. She and Edwina, the youngest, are inseparable, however,
and she's more often to be found in Freswota than at 'home' in
Simbollo.
The practice of farming out family among cousins is quite common
throughout Vanuatu. It sometimes has the effect of making women
more vulnerable than usual to abuse of various kinds. I suspect,
based on past events, that this is what brings this young woman
to Freswota so frequently.

Joceline's sister, whose name no one has thought to tell me, and which I cannot ask for (without signalling marital interest), actually lives with an uncle in Simbollo, a neighbourhood about 3 kilometres from Freswota. She and Edwina, the youngest, are inseparable, however, and she's more often to be found in Freswota than at 'home' in Simbollo. The practice of farming out family among cousins is quite common throughout Vanuatu. It sometimes has the effect of making women more vulnerable than usual to abuse of various kinds. I suspect, based on past events, that this is what brings this young woman to Freswota so frequently.
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Jekob, Joceline, the family and I spent a day on the beach
recently - a rare event, in spite of how close Black Sand
is to Port Vila.
Willie was partially crippled in somewhat Dickensian circumstances:
He fell and cut himself while playing. The wound became infected and
was treated with out-of-date antibiotics. By the time Joceline
brought him back to hospital, the entire quadruceps was atrophied.
The doctor then opened the length of his thigh and performed a
lavage of antibiotic directly onto the infected tissue. The wound,
however, took six months to heal. Even now, if he has access to
proper medical attention and physical therapy, it's doubtful that
he would face any serious disability.
Willie doesn't let any of this slow him down. He's quick on his feet,
and an avid swimmer. Rarely if ever does he complain about the pain.

Jekob, Joceline, the family and I spent a day on the beach recently - a rare event, in spite of how close Black Sand is to Port Vila. Willie was partially crippled in somewhat Dickensian circumstances: He fell and cut himself while playing. The wound became infected and was treated with out-of-date antibiotics. By the time Joceline brought him back to hospital, the entire quadruceps was atrophied. The doctor then opened the length of his thigh and performed a lavage of antibiotic directly onto the infected tissue. The wound, however, took six months to heal. Even now, if he has access to proper medical attention and physical therapy, it's doubtful that he would face any serious disability. Willie doesn't let any of this slow him down. He's quick on his feet, and an avid swimmer. Rarely if ever does he complain about the pain.
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Imagicity | Photography - exotica, mundanity and wonders | © Dan McGarry