Western Highlands Governor, Wai Rapa, has issued a call for leaders of all Highlands provinces to come together and find solutions to gun violence and the internal refugee crisis caused by the multiple conflicts. Governor Rapa was speaking at a UN-led regional consultation meeting on gun control, chaired by Former PNGDF Commander, Major General Jerry Singirok. Governor Rapa did not hold back as he spoke about the pressures on services the Western Highlands, and particularly Mt. Hagen city, were dealing with as a result of the ongoing refugee crisis from the upper highlands region. "Whatever is happening in Enga, I'm feeling it here. Whatever is happening in Hela, I'm feeling it here. Whatever is happening in Western Highlands, they are feeling it too. So, it's one way or the other, it's affecting all of us,” Governor Rapa said. “You've seen some schools up in Enga burn down. Some high schools, community schools. Where do you, where do you think all these kids are going? They all come down to Hagen. The hospitals? When there's a tribal fight up there? They're aiming for Mt. Hagen. When some of them are getting bullet wounds or injuries during tribal fights, they come to Mt. Hagen. So, we cannot chase them away.” Governor Wai Rapa’s statement may be a political statement, but it is backed by hard evidence from experts and implementers of service delivery. Chief Executive of the Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority, Jane Holden, presented disturbing data from the Mt. Hagen Hospital which shows the highest number of trauma cases in the country. The majority of the cases come from the upper highlands from tribal fights and alcohol-related violence. “It is expensive to treat bullet wounds. At the most, they’re supposed to be in hospital for five days. They’re staying for 35 days. They have to come back for surgery,” Holden said. Law enforcers are also struggling to do their jobs with limited manpower. Western Highlands has about 450 police men and women. The growth of settlements around Mt. Hagen places additional pressure on the ability of police to contain serious crime. “We look at refugee migration as something that happens overseas. But it’s happening right here. Large numbers of people are leaving their villages and ending up here in Mt. Hagen. For police it is really difficult,” said Chief Superintendent John Sagom, the Provincial Police Commander. “When we arrested people for drugs, the courts found that everyone we arrested had migrated from tribal fighting areas and they were selling drugs because they had to make a living.” Governor Wai Rapa admits politicians have to take responsibility for the proliferation of illegal guns in the highlands, and he has called for Highlands MPs and governors to gather to address the crisis. “I’m saying we have to address this with all my brother governors.”