Complete records are unavailable on the number and locations of refugees of armed conflicts in Nduga regency, Papua. In Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, refugees have been found in 36 locations need immediate assistance.
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WAMENA, KOMPAS — Complete records are unavailable on the number and locations of refugees of armed conflicts in Nduga regency, Papua. In Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, refugees have been found in 36 locations need immediate assistance.
In a press statement on Monday, Social Affairs Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said he had received a report from the ministry’s disaster victims protection directorate that the humanitarian aid packages would be distributed by air this week to Wamena.
The people of Nduga have left their homes since the December 2018 security crackdown on an armed criminal group led by Egianus Kogoya. According to some reports, several refugees have died of starvation, but no clear figures have been available.
Along with the Nduga regency volunteer team and human rights activists, Kompas visited on Monday a number of Nduga refugee camps in Wamena. Kompas also visited seven graves that are reportedly the graves of refugees.
According to the observations of Catholic pastor John Jonga and the executive director of the Justice and Unity for Papuan People foundation, Theo Hesegem, about 40 Nduga refugees were found living with their relatives in three non-permanent houses in Walesi district, Wamena.
Around 100 Nduga refugees were found staying at nine houses in Pintas village, Napua district. Each house accommodates three to four families of six to 12 people.
Gilion Kogoya, a refugee, said that he and 72 other had walked for a month to reach Wamena from Nduga’s Mugi district. He said that an elderly person had died of exhaustion and hunger on the way. "We cannot withstand the conflict between the two parties. We saved ourselves by walking through the forest and climbing a mountain to [get to] Wamena," he said.
Religious leader Kones Kogoya from Mugi district, who also sought refuge in Wamena, said that the refugees needed food, while women and children needed medicines and blankets. "So far, there has been no assistance from the district government in Nduga. We often go hungry and drink only water," he said.
Aid packages
Minister Agus said that the aid packages to be flown to Wamena this week included 250 toys, 250 sets of school supplies, 30 sets of sports equipment and 850 sets of goods for vulnerable groups (children under 5, the elderly, people with special needs).
Agus explained that assisting the victims of the Nduga conflict must involve regional governments, the Indonesian military (TNI) and the police, in addition to the central government. He added that the government needed to be careful because managing Nduga refugees was different from managing natural disaster victims.
The Social Affairs Ministry’s social protection and security director general, Harry Hikmat, acknowledged that the government faced difficulties in keeping track of the refugees, most of whom were staying with relatives.
The ministry has recorded about 2,000 refugees scattered across the districts of Mbua, Yal and Mbulmu Yalma in Nduga regency and several districts in Jayawijaya.
More than 600 elementary, junior high and senior high school students were found in Mbua, Yal and Mbulmu Yalma districts, while the number of school-aged refugee children in Jayawijaya was unknown.
The Jayawijaya regency government was still unaware on Monday about the Nduga refugee problem. "We have not received a report," said prevention and preparedness head Ernawati Tappi of the Jayawijaya Disaster Mitigation Agency.
John Jonga expressed hope that the central and regional governments would provide immediate assistance to the refugees. “Do not leave an impression that the displaced residents of Nduga are not being handled properly. If no government assistance is forthcoming, more Nduga residents will die because of worsening conditions. This could come under the international spotlight," said the recipient of the 2009 Yap Thiam Hien Award.
Theo Hesegem expressed hope that the government would not view the refugee issue as a political one, but as a humanitarian issue that needed to be addressed. "Managing the refugee problem should also be independent and not politically motivated. They are also citizens of the NKRI (the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia) that must be taken care of," he said.