Alvin is 14 years old and lives on Huene – an island the size of a football field on the Tulun Atoll. His illness, which the local doctor has no way of treating, has made him loose his toes and fingers. His parents just recently built a new hut for him on the beach front to get him away from the ants that are eating the plaster from his open wounds. They have no way of sealing them, and although he is now out of reach of the ants, flies still fill up the worn bandages every day from early morning till late afternoon.
Alvin’s family lives 80 km from the nearest neighbor. Their only means of transportation is a wooden canoe. For Alvin to get proper treatment he needs to be sailed to Bougainville and flown from there to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. Please help collect money to get Alvin transported to the hospital along with his mother via this donation site.
Bernard Tunim is back in Papua New Guinea and has formed a foundation together with three fellow islanders. Its name is Carterets Beyond 2000 Foundation. Andreas Kaholo, the chairman of the Council of Elders (the council of the 18 chiefs on the main island Han) is among the members of the group. The aim is to make The Carteret Islands (Tulun) inhabitable for future generations. More information to come.
Bernard Tunim, chief and fisherman from Tulun, delivered his second speech in Copenhagen yesterday and will spend the coming days on climate change related meetings. A number of people approached Bernard after his speeches and asked how they could help him. He will give it some thought and send a message through this site within a few days. Alongside Bernard Tunim the following people spoke at Bright Green 12 - 13 December 2009 in Copenhagen:
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu
H.R.H. The Crown Prince of Denmark
H.R.H. The Crown Princess of Sweden
H.R.H. The Crown Prince of Norway
Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Danish COP15 host)
With the aid of the Confederation of Danish Industry I have been able to invite Bernard Tunim to Bright Green in connection with the UN Climate Change Conference. Bernard is chief and fisherman from Piul island on the Tulun Atoll (The Carteret Islands). He will be speaking both 12 and 13 December.
25 million people will be on the move in the coming decades as a result of climate change according to the UN . The Tulun Atoll (also known as Kilinailau or Carteret islands/atoll) in Melanesia is one of the first sources. Within few generations the sea is expected to have submerged the six tiny islands forcing the 1500 islanders to search for new land. 400 years of peaceful existence for the Tulun community is seeing an end and a new life in the money driven world awaits them. The pictures in this video show the time after the December 2008 flooding.
Published in
Berlingske Tidende (DK)
Information (DK)
Ekstra Bladet (DK)
Screenings / cinematic presentations
2009 “Tulun: A Case Study”, Bright Green, Forum, Copenhagen
Exhibitions
2009 “Tulun: A Case Study”, Postcards distributed via GoCard at 400 cafés in Denmark
Still pictures from Tulun are found in the portfolio
I am currently in Europe but take journalistic and commercial assignments anywhere in the world. I photograph, film and write stories for various long established papers and magazines and freelance for the Danish photo agency POLFOTO. I have been a member of the Danish Union of Press Photographers since 2005.
