Kimaam Island, also called Frederik Hendrik Island,
Dolok island, Yosudarso and Kolepom, covers an area of 14,357 km.
Most of the area is swampy. This island is separated from southwest
West Papua New Gunea by the Muli strait (now popularly known as
Princess Marianne.
INDONESIA: Kimaam Island
— Rich but Poor
by Wensi Fatubun
Kimaam Island, also called Frederik Hendrik Island,
Dolok island, Yosudarso and Kolepom, covers an area of 14,357 km.
Most of the area is swampy. This island is separated from southwest
West Papua New Gunea by the Muli strait (now popularly known as
Princess Marianne strait). This island was formed by sediment
deposited by the Digul River. Therefore, the north and central parts
of the island have higher elevations than the south and west. Kimaam
Island is a wet-land area consisting of a mangrove ecosystem, a
savanna, a swamp and monsoon forests.
Kimaam Island is blessed with natural resources.
Looking at its bio-diversity, this region is a remarkable home to
fauna such as birds, fish, crocodile, deer and kangaroo. The south
coast region is the main habitat for different kinds of crocodiles.
The general knowledge of the hydrology of the area and the vast
numbers of mangrove tree plants in the coastal areas and along the
river stream indicates that the area is an ideal place for the lives
of sea fauna; fish, shrimp and crab. Besides its natural resources,
the Kimaam Island inhabitants are unique in that they harvest from
the swamps. Koenjaraninggrat writes in his book about the indigenous
Kimaam harvesting from the swamp. J Boelar also wrote about a similar
uniqueness in his book “Manusia Irian: Masa Lampau, Kini dan Akan
Datang” (Irianesse: The Past, Present and Future). People
inhabiting the south coast of rich Kimaam Island are now experiencing
a number of problems such as lack of human resources, inadequate
health services, natural resources related conflicts, high poverty
rate, high illiteracy rate, high maternal and child mortality rate.
In short, the richness of natural resources does not bring welfare
and prosperity to the indigenous people. In 2006, the Office for
Justice and Peace of the Merauke Archdiocese (SKP-KAM) published
“Lives Portrayal and Conflict of Natural Resources in Kimaam.”
This is a report about the lives of people in Kimaam Island
surrounded by various natural resources conflicts. The findings
illustrate that erroneous local government policy concepts have
created conflicts such as the conflicts of tribal land property
borders, bloody Maskura in 2003 and bloody Korimen-Kontura in
2001-2003. The facts need to be revealed and capture our attention.
We need to care about mothers and children who die from disease and
malnutrition. We should understand that it is not a fate imposed on
them by God but rather due to our mistakes and negligence. Paulus
Levitar, one of the Waan villagers and a voluntary teacher, told
SKP-KAM investigators about his concern that “If we are sick, a
bottle shard is our medicine. We use a bottle shard to slice our body
so that the dirty blood can escape. Doctors, nurses and any other
medical staff, hardly ever visit us. This poor health condition is
exacerbated by a poor education situation. In Kamaan the illiteracy
rate is very high because teachers leave their profession resulting
in a shortage of teachers.
The presence of “Non-Papuans”
The southern beach of Kimaam Island is rich in
sea resources. It attracts many people to come, creating a more
heterogeneous population. Most of the non-Papuans who come to Kimaam
iIsland are from Bugis, Makasar, Maluku and Java. They live in the
northern beaches of the Island, especially in Waan and Konorau
village. With economic improvement as their main motive, they come to
look for sea resources such as fish and crocodile which they then
sell to fishing ships from PT. Djarma Aru. They also usually conduct
a barter system-changing the for-sale things with the resources the
community catch.
Natural Resources Conflict
On 21 December 2006, an incident of torture
occurred against 14 Konorau villagers of the southern beach of Kimaam
Island. Based on the investigation undertaken by SKP-KAM 9-15
February 2007, it shows that the perpetrators were Thomas Wanggai, an
Indonesia Military officer, Abukasim, a Malukunese. The main motive
relates to the lucrative natural resources of Kimaan Island. The
question is, why should natural resources be the triggering factor in
the area? The answer lies in that fact that the southern beach of
Kimaam Island is famous for its natural resources. This richness has
inspired many people, particularly non-Papuans to come and take the
available resources such as fish, shrimp and crocodiles. The presence
of non- Papuans has caused the native Kimaam to become marginalized.
This marginalization has touched all aspects such as the economy,
education and culture as a result of Kimaan low human resources as
compared to non-Papuans’. The non-Papuans are starting to use and
manipulate the native Kimaams. This disability of the native Kimaam’s
is clearly indicated by their inability to manage their natural
resources. The question is: why is the native community unable to
manage its own resources? Based on the date collected, it clearly
shows that there are two major causes. First, the native communities
still preserve a sub-system economy and the second is a
teaching-learning process does not take place in the southern beach
of Kimaam Island.
Conflict of Tribal Land borders
Tribal land borders keep haunting the community
in the southern beach of Kimaam Island. It is still a major problem.
Based on the SKP-KAM investigation, the tribal land problem was a
result of a government policy which does not accommodate local
potential such as in the policy about village-ation and village
extensions. A clear example of the situation is in Waan and Konorau
villages. SKP-KAM investigated and found that the tribal land of Waan
village, administratively belongs to Konorau village and vice versa.
This problem was getting complicated with the presence of fishing
ships from Djarma Aru Company and “non-Papuans, who catch fish
without asking permission from the tribal land owners. Another
strategy used by non-Papuans is taking native Kimaam as their wives
in order to have access to sea resources and tribal lands as
demonstrated by the actions of Abukasim. If the problem is not solved
soon, the rich island with its resources and people will become
extinct. The extinction of the natives on the island is on-going and
“do we let this extinction process keep going on? I hope we still
have the heart to prevent such deliberate negative actions.
Therefore, let us show our care for Kimaam Island and the people
there. It is much better if we are pro-active and take action now
before it is too late