2) Papua’s clever teachers keep schools going amid COVID-19 lockdown
3) Papua government follows up on FMG’s hydropower plant investment plan
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1) Govt must prioritize peace diplomacy in Papua: House Speaker
5 hours ago
Jakarta (ANTARA) - House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani urged the government to engage in peaceful diplomacy to resolve the conflict in Intan Jaya district, Papua, arguing that humanity needs to be prioritized in addressing issues on Papuan land.
“[The government needs to] Carry out peaceful diplomacy while prioritizing humanity in facing various cases in Papua,” Maharani said in a statement released in Jakarta on Tuesday.
She asked the government to pay serious attention to the number of cases involving violence being reported from Intan Jaya district of Papua, and especially focus on social protection insurance for the civil society.
She further said that at the moment, the government's attention has been manifested in the channeling of the special allocated fund (DAK), which needs to be balanced with supervision to ensure that its use is right on target and the intended benefits are realized.
She also lauded the steps taken by the joint fact-finding team (TGPF), which has committed to completing the investigation in the shooting case in Intan Jaya.
“The House of Representatives appreciates the commitment of the joint fact-finding team (TGPF) to complete the investigation, despite being the target of an armed criminal group (KKB) in Intan Jaya, Papua,” she said.
TGPF Intan Jaya was formed by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, to probe a shooting in Intan Jaya a few weeks earlier.
The team comprises community leaders, religious leaders, youth leaders, witness protection agencies, members of the military and police forces, as well as the intelligence agency.
Related news: Papua government follows up on FMG's hydropower plant investment plan
Related news: Intan Jaya case TGPF's final report targeted on Oct 17
“[The government needs to] Carry out peaceful diplomacy while prioritizing humanity in facing various cases in Papua,” Maharani said in a statement released in Jakarta on Tuesday.
She asked the government to pay serious attention to the number of cases involving violence being reported from Intan Jaya district of Papua, and especially focus on social protection insurance for the civil society.
She further said that at the moment, the government's attention has been manifested in the channeling of the special allocated fund (DAK), which needs to be balanced with supervision to ensure that its use is right on target and the intended benefits are realized.
She also lauded the steps taken by the joint fact-finding team (TGPF), which has committed to completing the investigation in the shooting case in Intan Jaya.
“The House of Representatives appreciates the commitment of the joint fact-finding team (TGPF) to complete the investigation, despite being the target of an armed criminal group (KKB) in Intan Jaya, Papua,” she said.
TGPF Intan Jaya was formed by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, to probe a shooting in Intan Jaya a few weeks earlier.
The team comprises community leaders, religious leaders, youth leaders, witness protection agencies, members of the military and police forces, as well as the intelligence agency.
Related news: Papua government follows up on FMG's hydropower plant investment plan
Related news: Intan Jaya case TGPF's final report targeted on Oct 17
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Note. Photos/video in article.
2) Papua’s clever teachers keep schools going amid COVID-19 lockdown
When they first arrived in Indonesia's Papua province, some young teachers from Jakarta had no idea a pandemic would thwart their teaching plans. Now they’re using innovative methods to keep their schools going.
Anggi Crestamia, 29 (pictured above), left her job as a journalist in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, as soon as she was accepted into a program to teach elementary school children on a faraway island in the Indonesian archipelago. It had been her long-cherished dream to reach out to children in inaccessible places, and this was her third application to the Indonesia Mengajar Foundation, which trains young people to educate and interact with locals in remote areas.
"I always wanted to do something useful for other people. The more people the better. When I got accepted, I thought, this is my time to do so," Anggi said in an interview with DW. She and some other colleagues were assigned to teach on some of the islands located north of Cendrawasih Bay in Papua province.
The elementary school where Anggi was asked to teach is fairly remote. It took her eight hours and two layovers to fly from Jakarta to Biak Island in Papua. From Biak, it took around the same amount of time to reach Yapen Island by boat. From Yapen, another 30-minute boat ride got her to Ambai. A flight would have been faster, but far too expensive. When Anggi arrived, she was welcomed by the local priest — her local guardian for the duration of her stay in Ambai.
A month of celebrations
Ambai is a tropical island with white, sandy beaches. Most people live on the water in stilted houses, and only a few buildings like churches, schools and other public facilities are built on land. Anggi was lucky because her place of work was close by. "When I opened my door, I could see the school," she said, laughing.
December is a month of celebration in Ambai. Several days before Christmas, locals decorate their boats and ride from one house to another, inviting everyone to join in the festivities. There is little school activity, and in the first weeks she arrived, Anggi used the time to socialize with the locals and explore the place she would call home for the next 14 months.
In January, she walked across the village to inform people that school had begun and that all children were expected to come back. There were four teachers including Anggi, who taught around 50 students.
In early 2020, news about the spread of a novel coronavirus in China began making its rounds in the media. At that time, Indonesia had yet to officially report any infection — the first case was reported in early March 2020. Anggi and colleagues assumed that even if the virus arrived in Indonesia, they would be fine because they were far away from urban centers. However, once the pandemic hit, Papua was affected, too, and the authorities imposed a lockdown.
We heard you on the radio'
Other than teaching, Anggi's responsibilities also included meeting with different people living in neighboring villages and islands. "Each month, I stayed in the village in Ambai island for 2-3 weeks and spent the rest of the time in the district capital in Serui," she explained. When the lockdown was imposed at the end of March, she and her colleagues were stuck for months in Serui without any possibility to return to their respective villages.
To keep educational institutions functioning during the pandemic, the central government in Jakarta decided to promote distance learning using mobile internet connections. However, success was limited because about 54% of the thousands of students had no access to the internet. "Many still use what we called a 'wooden cell phone' as their mobile device," she said, referring to outdated series of cell phones that cannot access modern apps.
Almost a month went by without any educational activity. Around the end of April, a representative from RRI, the national radio broadcaster, approached them and discussed the possibility of holding classes on the radio. The young teachers thought it was a brilliant idea.
"Since I also taught arithmetic, I used ways to trigger the imagination of young children. Once, I taught them how to read the concept of time; hopefully, they understood it," Anggi said. Initially, she was not sure that the broadcast would reach her students on Ambai island, but her fears were baseless.
"When I came back to my village and met my students, they said, 'Hey teacher, we heard you on the radio! We kept learning through your lessons on air!' It was a heart-warming, joyful moment," Anggi said, happily.
Door-to-door teaching
During the lockdown, 25-year-old Radhiyan Pribadi, another teacher in Papua, knocked at almost every door in Sambrawai village to check on his pupils. He managed to visit up to 10 houses per day and was surprised that the parents were more enthusiastic about their children's education.
"When I came to collect their homework, the parents were curious and wanted to know if the answers were correct to the assignments I had given the day before," he said, laughing. Radhiyan expanded his activities and started teaching students individually, carrying a whiteboard and markers everywhere he went. However, he couldn't reach students living in nearby villages.
"I needed to cross two rivers, which could not be crossed after heavy rains," he said. But at some point, he decided that he could not let those children go without basic education for any longer and bought a motorbike. "By bike, it takes only about 20 minutes one way," he said. He is grateful that the situation is slowly returning to normal.
Perks of the countryside
Papua's generous people never cease to amaze Anggi and Radhiyan. For example, the captain of a boat they were taking to Serui offered to move them from normal economy-class seats to VIP seats after he found out they were volunteers.
Radhiyan was also impressed by his students' enthusiasm to learn. "Children in Papua are different. They are not shy and are willing to engage in schoolwork. If I give them homework, they ask for more."
He wishes the government would do more to help educate these children and reduce the developmental gap between different parts of the country.
Prihardani Ganda Tuah Purba contributed to this article.
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3) Papua government follows up on FMG’s hydropower plant investment plan
9 hours ago
Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Papua government's officials from the Energy and Mineral Resources Office met with representatives of Australia's Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG) to follow up on an investment plan for the hydropower plant project in Mamberamo Raya.
The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment and Papuan provincial administration have striven to boost investment in the hydropower sector, Head of the Energy and Mineral Resources-Papua Office Frets James Boray stated here, Tuesday.
If investment potential in the district's hydropower plant project can be realized, its value is estimated to reach some Rp50 trillion, he remarked, adding that the hydroelectric power plant was expected to produce 20 GW of electricity.
The hydropower plant project would not merely produce electricity but its presence would also positively impact Papua's economic development, boost the growth of industries, and increase the province's locally generated incomes (PAD), he explained.
"If the investment is realized, Papua's locally generated incomes will not only rely on Freeport," Boray pointed out.
At the meeting, representatives of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, FMG, Papua provincial government, and Mamberamo Raya district government had discussed matters to coordinate the ground feasibility study, he revealed.
In principle, the Papuan provincial government will assist in fulfilling requirements since the Papua governor and head of Mamberamo Raya had issued a recommendation for the ground feasibility study, he confirmed.
On Sept 4, 2020, FMG published on its official website that its wholly owned subsidiary, Fortescue Future Industries Pty Ltd, had entered into a Deed of Agreement with the Indonesian government.
The Indonesian government was represented by the coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, while FMG was represented by its chairman, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO.
"The Deed of Agreement gives first priority to the Fortescue Future Industries to conduct development studies into the feasibility of projects utilizing Indonesia's hydropower and geothermal resources to support green industrial operations, principally for exports to global markets," FMG stated.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan was quoted as saying that Indonesia and the Fortescue Future Industries had entered into a preliminary binding agreement to evaluate the development of Indonesia's substantial renewable power to drive green industries.
"For too many decades, proposals have been thrust upon Indonesia that rely on the Indonesian people assuming the full financial risk through the purchase of electricity at prices that underwrote these developments," Minister Pandjaitan was further quoted as saying.
"The establishment of totally new and future large-scale industries will drive growth in Indonesia's economy," Minister Pandjaitan and Fortescue's Chairman, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO, noted in a joint statement.
FMG expects new green industries in Indonesia to substantially diversify, broaden, and deepen Indonesia's already skilled workforce, Forrest affirmed.
EDITED BY INE
Related news: Intan Jaya case TGPF's final report targeted on Oct 17
Related news: Fact-finding team interviews 25 witnesses in Intan Jaya shooting case
The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment and Papuan provincial administration have striven to boost investment in the hydropower sector, Head of the Energy and Mineral Resources-Papua Office Frets James Boray stated here, Tuesday.
If investment potential in the district's hydropower plant project can be realized, its value is estimated to reach some Rp50 trillion, he remarked, adding that the hydroelectric power plant was expected to produce 20 GW of electricity.
The hydropower plant project would not merely produce electricity but its presence would also positively impact Papua's economic development, boost the growth of industries, and increase the province's locally generated incomes (PAD), he explained.
"If the investment is realized, Papua's locally generated incomes will not only rely on Freeport," Boray pointed out.
At the meeting, representatives of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, FMG, Papua provincial government, and Mamberamo Raya district government had discussed matters to coordinate the ground feasibility study, he revealed.
In principle, the Papuan provincial government will assist in fulfilling requirements since the Papua governor and head of Mamberamo Raya had issued a recommendation for the ground feasibility study, he confirmed.
On Sept 4, 2020, FMG published on its official website that its wholly owned subsidiary, Fortescue Future Industries Pty Ltd, had entered into a Deed of Agreement with the Indonesian government.
The Indonesian government was represented by the coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, while FMG was represented by its chairman, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO.
"The Deed of Agreement gives first priority to the Fortescue Future Industries to conduct development studies into the feasibility of projects utilizing Indonesia's hydropower and geothermal resources to support green industrial operations, principally for exports to global markets," FMG stated.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan was quoted as saying that Indonesia and the Fortescue Future Industries had entered into a preliminary binding agreement to evaluate the development of Indonesia's substantial renewable power to drive green industries.
"For too many decades, proposals have been thrust upon Indonesia that rely on the Indonesian people assuming the full financial risk through the purchase of electricity at prices that underwrote these developments," Minister Pandjaitan was further quoted as saying.
"The establishment of totally new and future large-scale industries will drive growth in Indonesia's economy," Minister Pandjaitan and Fortescue's Chairman, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO, noted in a joint statement.
FMG expects new green industries in Indonesia to substantially diversify, broaden, and deepen Indonesia's already skilled workforce, Forrest affirmed.
EDITED BY INE
Related news: Intan Jaya case TGPF's final report targeted on Oct 17
Related news: Fact-finding team interviews 25 witnesses in Intan Jaya shooting case
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