Papuan Students in Germany "Don't Call Us Monkeys, We Are Not Slaves in Our Own Country"

Called a monkey, uneducated and considered a cannibal: The culture of racism in Papuans is still deeply rooted in Indonesia. Papuan students in Germany now offer education reform to Nadiem Makarim.

"Racism is ... so many other brothers have also experienced, even some of my uncles, who used to study outside Papua, on the island of Java, they experienced racism worse than me. They have to hide ... they have to ... "Vinne Rumbiak was taken away for a moment, unable to tell more about what happened to his uncle. According to him, what he experienced before moving to Germany is much lighter than the fate experienced by his uncle. He chose to tell more about his experience before moving to Germany.

"Before I went to Germany, I had studied in Kalimantan, where I stayed for almost a year. I experienced a lot of things that I felt were uncomfortable. Where I say monkeys every time I pass by. I was called by a call which I found very painful. Where I say orangutans, monkeys, uneducated people, because they see us Papuans from our physique. They see us in broad outline that Papua is lagging behind, Papua is very far from what is called knowledge, "said Vinne who now lives in Chemnitz.

Vinne tried to understand that the people who called him a monkey, maybe just kidding. "But unfortunately it was followed by young children. If you see me passing by calling: ‘Hi, monkey, where are you going‘ ... ”The experience was seen as different, leaving her own trauma, even to the point that she had moved to Germany and became a student at the University of Mittweida College.

"If it is asked where in Germany, I only answer from Indonesia. Even if there are Indonesian people who ask themselves, I say I'm from Indonesia. If I asked where my tribe was from, I would think again, I am from Papua ... what happened? Always like this. Because usually, we have been labeled as maybe rude, or violent, or left behind, so that I'm sometimes afraid of saying I'm from Papua. " Then Vinne thought again, why should he be afraid to answer from Papua. "Sometimes after we talk, I think back, why am I afraid to say I'm from Papua. I should be proud, but I unconsciously took my words out of Indonesia. "

Don't worry about us

For Yustisia Temongmere, a student majoring in building and energy technology at Erfurt University, Germany, traumatic experiences like those experienced by Vinne are not surprising. "The term monkey might be considered an ordinary curse, but the word monkey is often cursed at Papuans, so it is similar to the N-word for blacks," said the student who also while working at the German company explained.

He also told a number of Papuan children, especially girls, grew up not confident because their physical appearance was considered different from most Indonesian people. "Many people see curly haired women and dark skin are considered ugly. The beautiful woman is considered to have a white, straight black hair. In fact, there was a time when I straightened my hair once every three months, "said Yustisia recounting her past. He felt the difficulties of being a woman and a Papuan: "It's hard to get gender equality, but we still have to struggle to accept ourselves."

Not to mention the other negative stigma that is often pinned on the people of Papua, for example about violence. "My niece who studies on islands outside Papua, was once asked, 'Papuans eat people, yes ...", why ask such a strange thing, my nephew answered:' If in Papua like to eat people, you have eaten me ' ... "

According to Yustisia many Papuans experience racism from all sides and are sometimes embedded in the thinking of some people and become stigmatized, even in some Papuans themselves who have the privilege, for example. "They say, let's stop getting drunk, let's just go to school. That's because they can afford school, they have the privilege. While many other Papuan children have to make money for their families, because of poverty. "

"Education in Papua is far different from other regions. Before going to Germany, I went to Jakarta first. In just six months in Jakarta it was hard to equalize my level with the others. When he arrived in Germany, it felt right to be struggling. We are truly like stepchildren in Indonesia. The racism that we experienced was maintained by the government, "said Yustisia Temongmere, who is a representative of the Papuan Student Association (PMP) in Germany.

"Papua is our land, we are not slaves brought there, our ancestors were there, our rights were there, but we were annihilated, robbed of all our natural resources, but human resources were not made better. It is our turn to study outside, we are treated not like humans, "said Yustisia, who told me how hard it was to equate education in Papua with the capital, until now the girl from Fakfak was able to study in Germany.

PMP offers a solution

Like Yustisia, Reza Dani Christy Rumbiak, a student majoring in marketing and international business at the Koblenz German University, is also a member of the Papuan Student Association (PMP) in Germany.

Reza Dani and his friends at PMP said they wanted to help offer a solution to the Indonesian government to be able to find a joint solution to the conflict in Bumi Cendrawasih. "The issue of SARA has become a pandemic," he said. Therefore PMP urges curriculum reform in the field of education. "We call this multicultural curriculum reform. Because this is important to foster tolerance and strengthen the basis of social solidarity in our diverse society. His recommendation will be taken to the Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim, where we have high hopes for him, because he is also a minority. We have discussed this solution together at PMP with our transcontinental brothers. We Papuan children do not want to just voice the problems in Papua, but we also want to provide concrete solutions to the Indonesian government, "he explained.

Reza Dani appreciates infrastructure development in his province and President Joko Widodo often visits Papua. "But Pak Jokowi must also remember human rights violations, the arrest of human rights activists, the bloody Paniai case, and so on, for this to date personally and Papuan families and children who expect President Jokowi - who in Papua gets a 90 percent vote in elections - even more daring to resolve human rights cases that have been happening, "said Dani.

Dani also asked the government to make history and seek reconciliation in the form of an official apology from the government to the people of Papua for human rights violations in Papua in the past, until now. "There are fundamental rights that we really want to resolve, such as freedom of opinion, politics, that is all restricted. That is why racism in Papua has become systemic racism. What the students who were detained in jail did did not violate the law. Isn't it stated in the law that everyone is free to gather and express their opinions? "Said Dani.

"If you still remember, there is our brother, Obby Kogoya, in 2016 who together with other Papuan students experienced repressive actions in Yogyakarta. Racism in Indonesia has occurred across generations, "said Reza Dani. At that time a number of students who were about to conduct a demonstration were taken to the police station and Kogoya was named a suspect and eventually sentenced to four months in prison for allegedly committing violence against security forces.

Demanding human rights

Reza Dani also reminded another case that occurred in Papua student dormitory in 2019. The arrest incident in Surabaya was allegedly accompanied by racial remarks towards dozens of Papuan scholarships in Surabaya. The case was followed by demonstrations against racism in West Papua and Papua and other cities in Indonesia where a number of participants in the action were arrested by police on charges of treason.

Yustisia from the German PMP described how she felt after the incident. "President Jokowi wants us to forgive each other. But there is no sentence that blames people or organizations that do racism in Surabaya, and for me it is very painful. Because many chose Jokowi in Papua (during the election) and that was our president, but did not side with the oppressed, even though he was the person we hoped to help us. Those who demonstrated anti-racism were even accused of treason. Likewise for prisoners in Balikpapan, "

Recently a judge in the Balikpapan District Court, East Kalimantan, sentenced guilty to seven Papuan prisoners of conscience on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, who participated in a protest against racism. Amnesty International Indonesia's Executive Director, Usman Hamid, said the seven prisoners of conscience should not have been arrested, imprisoned and prosecuted, but should have been released and all charges dismissed. "This ruling shows the failure of the state to respect human rights, as well as the failure of the government to fulfill its promises to protect freedom of expression. How can they be sentenced, while what they do is protected by state law and even the constitution. "

Usman stressed: "The state must stop the criminalization of Papuans by the use of treason article. No one must suffer this treatment for attending peaceful demonstrations. "

Yustisia from the German PMP added, "This punishment is like scaring us. "We are accused of wanting to carry out separatism, treason, even though we want to assert our rights as human beings, that's all," he said.

Source: dw

Share this post