LINDY Suharupa was quietly laid to rest in Tomarata village in the Sohe District of Northern Province, Papua New Guinea on the 10th of September 2023.
The burial was witnessed by her family, her village and close friends.
“Lindy Suharupa” was a name synonymous to the nightly 6pm news on the self acclaimed “number one to watch” television station, EMTV.
Like many journalists before her, she proudly walked into that newsroom five days a week and most often clocked out, way after 4:06pm.
Her husband, Micheal Naiye said she was simply married to her job.
Her level of dedication saw her rise to the position of Executive Producer, a year after joining the renowned television station.
She sadly passed away on the 26th of August 2023, following a severe asthma attack.
According to her family, it took the state owned company 10-days to get in touch with them.
The husband was asked to meet with the EMTV board, who gave K3000 cash from staff contributions.
The company said it could not help with repatriation. According to the management, Lindy had passed away over the weekend and not on official hours.
Lindy was also contributing to an insurance company fortnightly, however, the family was unable to claim these benefits. According to EMTV management, this is because she did not declare her condition when she started employment.
The grieving family held a press conference expressing their dismay over the company’s lack of remorse.
Suharupa’s husband explained that the family decided to go public in order to highlight EMTV’s lack of compassion and duty of care towards a member of its staff.
The management did not turn up at the “haus krai”.
“We want to raise awareness that the duty of care and compassionate response in the face of loss from EMTV is lacking, especially been a premier broadcaster in the country and a semi government owned company.
“From our experience with the late Lindy, we hope that this does not happen to journalists or other media practitioners in the media industry who lose their lives while serving and being a voice for the people.”
Lindy leaves behind her husband and two children.
Inside PNG’s efforts to get a response from EMTV concerning this matter, were denied.