The very expensive cost of transportation in Wamena is mainly due to the uneven development of road infrastructure. For comparison, a distance of 65 km (from Wamena to Abenaho District, Yalimo regency) can be reached for 2.5 hours by 4WD car only.
Can you imagine how long it takes to walk in a rocky mountainous in this remote area?
Honai is a traditional Papua hut which is inhabited by the Dani's tribe. Honai's hut is made of wood with a conical roof made of straw or reeds. It has a small door and no windows which is intended to withstand the cold of JayaWijaya mountain.
There are three types of Honai:
- For the man called 'Hi Tonggoi'
- For women called 'Hi Onggoi'
- For the pigsty called 'Boe Nai'
Dortheys H. Eluay (Chairman of the Presidium of the Papua Council) is one of the victim of political conspiracy in Papua.
He was kidnapped and strangled to death by Indonesian Special Forces (KOPASSUS) personnel on November 10, 2001.
This incident has brought Indonesia to face the violations of Human Rights. New regime in Indonesia has the opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past, but not to repeat them.
With an area of 42,198,100 hectares or 3 times the size of Java Island, Papua is the largest province in Indonesia. Many said that Papua is the pearl of eastern Indonesia. In fact, the discussion about the future of Papua is just like an irony of the double-edged sword.
Currently, almost all of Papua's natural resources continue to be extracted, including forests in it. The biggest challenge faced by local communities is an imbalance of knowledge and skills at the right time so they have trouble adjusting to rapid changes and benefit from such changes.
The fast-growing of information technology has challenged the way of thinking, lifestyles of the Papua people.
In this case, they begin to question their identity. Perhaps, they are aiming to become expert photographer?
Pigs are very special in Wamena. The legend says that the origin of the word Wamena means feeding the pigs.
Price of a pig which is like in this picture may range between 40-50 million Rupiahs. To measure the level of wealth and honor a family's head, it can be judged from the number of pigs owned by him.
If a pig was accidentally hit by a car, the driver must pay compensation to the owner of the pig up to hundreds million Rupiahs. This is due to customary law is still applied in Wamena. So, interested to go there to meet the pigs?
Not as fortunate as children in Jakarta, kids in Abenaho village have difficulties in accessing electricity, communication and transportation. They must break through the heavy rocky terrain whenever want to go to a destination.
Waking up at 3.30 A.M every day, they have to walk through the chill of early morning mist so that they can arrive timely in school at 7.00 A.M.Nevertheless, they always look happy playing and running around with friends and their pigs.
I would like to express my sincere thanks, kudos & gratitude to Times bookstores team, especially for Ibu Teresa and Pak Em who have given the great support starting from the opening of the competition up to the announcement of the winner.
In this great opportunity, allow me also to say special appreciation to Lonely Planet, The Jakarta Globe and Antara Foto which have given me the opportunity to submit my photo works and choose me as the winner for the 1st week.
-As published on The Jakarta Globe - Saturday/Sunday edition 16th April 2011 -
