Papuaphobia in Indonesia

Natalius Pigai

Natalius Pigai, the former chairman of the Indonesian Human Rights Commission from Papua, has repeatedly said that Papuaphobia is widespread in Indonesia. Natalius himself states that he is also a victim of racism. On social media, he is often insulted as a primate by Indonesian netizens. 

Before continuing this description, let me briefly explain what phobia is. According to Wikipedia, a phobia is an excessive fear of something or phenomenon. Phobias, so to speak, can hinder the lives of people who suffer from them. Meanwhile, according to Cambridge dictionnary, phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, in other words, a mental illness that makes someone very worried and affects their life that involves an extreme fear of something.

A survey from the Wahid Institute shows that there are three most disliked groups in Indonesia. They are communists, LGBT, and Jews. We know that these three groups are minorities who are rarely seen in public. Therefore, hatred towards them can be classified as a phobia. How about Papuaphobia? Unfortunately, so far, not a single institution has mentioned it, despite its overwhelming evidence.

Indeed, in Indonesia, Papuaphobia occurs at all levels of society. Papuans living outside Papua, especially in Java, the main island of Indonesia, are often regarded as strange creatures. Society behaves in such a way that Papuans feel inferior and guilty about themselves. In public transportation, passengers are often reluctant to sit next to Papuans. It's not even uncommon for some to cover their noses.

Many people think that racism against Papuans in the world's largest Muslim country occurs because of religion: the majority of Indonesians are Muslim, while Papuans are Christian. But Filep Karma, often dubbed the Nelson Mandela of Papua, doesn't think so. He has personally experienced racism from Indonesian Christians. On a TV show held by Najwa Shihab, Filep recounted his experience at a church in Solo: a Javanese girl who was a singer there said that, if she married Filep and lived in Papua, the monkeys there would be excellent at singing.

What's worse is that a number of important Indonesian figures often make remarks that demonize Papuans. Their various statements imply a number of labels against Papuans as stupid, drunkards, rude, dumb monkeys, criminals, terrorists, separatists, gorillas, milky coffee, little rats and many others.

Rev. Socratez Yoman, a prominent Papuan pastor stated: "Papuans know, realize and understand that living in Indonesia is like living in Hell, there is no peace only injustice, no guarantee and hope for the future only darkness, like people living and walking in the darkness of the night without lights and no signs of the light of life. What has existed since the beginning of December 19, 1961 is violence, cruelty, discrimination, racism, lies or fraud, theft, robbery, heinous murder by mutilating papuans in a systematic, structured, massive, widespread and collective manner."

Barnabas Suebu, former governor of Papua (1988-1993, 2006-2011), expressed his regret: "As a Papuan, I regret joining the Republic of Indonesia because the government discriminates against its citizens." It is a fact that during their sixty years with Indonesia, Papuans have failed to be assimilated as Indonesians. The problem is not simply because Papuans feel that they are different from Indonesians. But it is mainly due to the Indonesians' Papuaphobia.

I.P.