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Many people do not know and do not care about the lives of people in eastern Indonesia. All they know is that dark-skinned people who are also part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) live there. How they live is not relevant.
An Indonesian pastor based in the United States has caused a stir on social media because of a speech he made during a recent Black Lives Matter protest that referenced Indonesia’s history of discrimination.
Held on Saturday and titled #PapuanLivesMatter: Racism in the Legal System in Papua, the discussion largely revolved around the prosecution of seven Papuan activists charged with treason for their involvement in antiracism protests in Jayapura, Papua, in August 2019.
The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has been adapted into #PapuanLivesMatter, with many turning to social media to urge Indonesians to also speak up against the racial discrimination and violence that Papuans have long endured.
The Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) ruled on Wednesday that it was unlawful for the government to shut down the internet in Papua and West Papua during heightened security tensions caused by antiracism protests in the two provinces last year.
Why are Indonesian soccer supporters not known for racism? The answer is simply because they respect Papuan players big time. Soccer-wise, Indonesia has always depended on extraordinary talents from Papua. The fans never dare to despise or belittle their abilities and roles in the national team all these years. They will never doubt the huge contribution Boaz has ever given to this country. During international events, having Papuans in the team has always brought both pride and relief.
As riots and protests against racism toward “black” university students in Surabaya raged across the country from August to September, it was difficult to ignore the fact that racism in general has had a comfortable place in Indonesian society. The issue of racism in the country is more deep-rooted than one might think.
The research, made more popular by the exhibition, of course, confirms that our prejudices, and worse racism, against those who look “different”, is downright stupid, toxic and even fatal as reflected by too many assaults on minorities. No one is pribumi (native) as we are all clearly migrants to a greater or lesser extent.
