Afraid of Flags
The people of Digo are refugees from Papua, Indonesia, who fled from Indonesia to PNG in 1984.
The red and white flag that Wilem received from the Indonesian army.
Digo is indeed located in Indonesian territory, but every morning, the Papua New Guinea national anthem is played in the village.
The song is sung by students at the only school in Digo, guided by their only teacher, July Awom. All 15 students are barefoot. Only July wears flip flops.
Their classroom floor is clay that can turn into mud when rainwater seeps in from a leaking roof. The students sit on calf-high wooden boxes.
The people of Digo are refugees from Papua, Indonesia, who fled from Indonesia to PNG in 1984. In that refugee camp, they came into conflict with the people of PNG, so they were forced to retreat back into the forest, and unknowingly returned to Indonesian territory. The residents of Digo worked together to build the school building.
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July is a native of Digo, educated in PNG and earns a salary as a teacher from PNG. The school is officially registered in PNG. Thus, this is (probably the only) PNG school that is located within the territory of Indonesia.
“Teaching in remote areas like this is very difficult. To buy chalk, I have to go to Kiunga,” said July.
The journey to buy chalk takes a week. When July buys chalk, the school is closed.
He has to walk a full day to Tarakbits, then a full day\'s walk across two big rivers to Ningerum, then take a bus to Kiunga. The journey to buy chalk takes a week. When July buys chalk, the school is closed.
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About half a year before my visit, the Indonesian Army found Digo. The Indonesian Army routinely conducts patrols to check border markers. At that time they took an unusual route and they arrived at Digo.
The soldiers were surprised to find a PNG school in Digo, with the PNG flag and national anthem. They think that the people of Digo are PNG people -- a common occurrence because many PNG tribes do have customary lands within Indonesian territory.
For the people of Digo, the soldiers left a package and were accepted by Wilem Bab, one of the oldest men in the village. After the soldiers left, the people of Digo were shocked because the contents of the package was an Indonesian Red and White flag.
The news that Wilem had received a flag from the Indonesian Army immediately spread to PNG villages around Digo. They were fearful: “Indonesia will colonize us”. They were angry, urging Wilem to return the flag to Indonesia.
The village was lit by electricity, inhabited by lighter-skinned Asians.
Wilem\'s journey to the Indonesian Army post in a nearby Indonesian village was not easy. He walked two days, spent one night in the jungle, crossed four small rivers and three large rivers that were swift and head-deep. Arriving at Waropko, Tanahmerah district, Wilem was amazed to see a different world. The village was lit by electricity, inhabited by lighter-skinned Asians.
July teaches her students at Digo.
But the mission failed. The Indonesian soldiers were adamant in their refusal to take back the flag. They said, “We know that you are Papua New Guineans, but you live in Indonesian territory. So for security, you keep this flag."
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The story about the Red and White flag left Wilem antagonized and ostracized by the people of Digo.
I visited Wilem\'s stilt house at the end of the village, which was without domestic utensils. His face was lined with wrinkles, his beard was turning white. I thought he was 60, but he is only 41. His child is still a baby.
Regarding his trip to Indonesia, Wilem recalled that the Indonesian soldiers at that time spoke to him, "Papuans are now leaders in Papua." That made Wilem happy. He believed change was coming.
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What Wilem longs for the most is a hospital. His first wife and two children died in 1995 from malaria. His second wife, who was pregnant and infected with malaria, had to walk alone until she fainted in the middle of the road, to reach a community health center (Puskesmas) in Tarakbits, a PNG village one day away.
Therefore, when the Indonesian soldiers ordered him to keep the flag, Wilem agreed. What he really thought about was not the flag, but development.
Two months later, on his own initiative Wilem decided to once again travel to Indonesia.
Wilem came home smiling, imagining houses with roofs of seng (metal sheeting), electricity, a highway and hospital being built in his village.
He met with the head of Upkim village, requesting that the highway that will be built by Indonesia through Waropko and Upkim could be continued all the way to Digo. "Yes, yes, we will help," said the village head of Upkim. Wilem came home smiling, imagining houses with roofs of seng (metal sheeting), electricity, a highway and hospital being built in his village.
The red and white flag that Wilem received from the Indonesian army.
However, when Wilem returned to Digo, the villagers were angry. They are afraid that Wilem\'s behavior will anger the villages in PNG, and the Digo people will not be allowed to go to schools and churches in PNG. "The villagers hate me for being friends with Indonesia," he said.
I asked him where the flag was.
Wearily, Wilem picked up a wooden box, in the corner of his hut. The flag was in a plastic bag, sitting at the bottom of the box.
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> A River as a Border Between Countries
The flag was stretched out in front of me. The Red and White was still new, but it was worn out. A flag that had given Wilem a lot of hope, but which was then dashed.
(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswoko).
