Silent Christmas: The Forgotten Genocide in West Papua

On December 24, 1942, amid the horrors of World War II, Pope Pius XII took to Vatican Radio to deliver a Christmas message that echoed through history. 

With profound sorrow, he spoke of "hundreds of thousands of people who, through no fault of their own, and sometimes simply because of their nationality or race, are destined to die or be slowly exterminated." At that moment, he was referring to the Jewish people caught in Hitler’s merciless genocide — the Holocaust.

Now, more than eighty years later, his words still resonate painfully. Humanity has yet to learn its lessons. New tyrants rise, wearing different faces but wielding the same deadly power. Genocide is not a relic of the past — it continues, often in silence, in the shadows of global indifference. What separates the tragedies we remember from those we ignore is often not the magnitude of suffering, but the world’s reaction — or lack thereof.

Take the ongoing massacre in Israeli-occupied Gaza. It has captured the world’s attention, provoking outrage, debates, and calls for justice. Yet, a slow, brutal genocide continues to unfold in Indonesian-occupied West Papua, mostly unnoticed by the international community. Since 1963, an estimated 500,000 West Papuans — many of them Christians — have been killed by Indonesian military forces, simply for wanting to preserve their identity, their land, and their freedom. Not one pope has publicly condemned this. Not a single world leader has made it a priority.

Why this deafening silence? Perhaps it’s because West Papua’s tragedy doesn’t make headlines. It is a quiet genocide, concealed behind layers of political rhetoric and economic interests. Yet this is not a local problem — it’s a global one. The blood of West Papua’s people flows, metaphorically, in many of the products we consume daily. This lush land, often called “heaven on earth,” is rich in gold, copper, petroleum, natural gas, uranium, timber, and palm oil. Over 9,500 industrial companies operate there, feeding the insatiable greed of global capitalism.

For over six decades, the slow death of a people has been intertwined with the exploitation of their natural wealth. The massacre in West Papua cannot be separated from the ruthless greed of capitalist elites, the calculated hypocrisy of political leaders, and yes, our own collective indifference. While we live our daily lives in comfort, many Papuans live in fear, poverty, and displacement.

Every year, Christmas arrives with its familiar warmth, joy, and hope. We sing songs of peace and goodwill, light candles, and renew our faith. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of West Papuans, displaced by violent conflicts in places like Nduga, Maybrat, and Yahukimo since 2018, are still crying in exile, their homes destroyed, their futures stolen. For them, the peace of Christmas is a distant dream.

Yet, in this painful reality, there is a call — a solemn invitation to empathy and action. Merry Christmas, West Papua. May we follow the path of Jesus, who knew exile and suffering, and stand in solidarity with those who suffer injustice in silence. May this Christmas awaken our conscience, inspire courage, and ignite a commitment to justice, not just in words but in deeds.

West Papuan refugees.