The Amungme are a highland people living in the south-central region of Papua, one of the 312 different tribal peoples of the region (which is the western half of Papua New Guinea).
How do they
live? The Amungme - like the other
Papuan tribes - are Melanesian, very different to the Indonesian people who have
occupied and governed their land since 1963. The climate of the Amungme region is cold and humid. They
practice shifting cultivation, and also hunt, rear pigs and gather roots, nuts
and berries. Generosity and reciprocity are extremely important in Amungme
society. The mountain peaks that surround their land are their most sacred
sites.
What problems do they face? Like all Papua's
tribal peoples, the Amungme have suffered greatly from oppression and violence
since the Indonesian invasion in the 1960s. They also suffer particularly from
the siting of a huge copper and gold mine on their land. The British- and
American-owned mine has destroyed their sacred mountains. Protest against the
mine is violently repressed by the Indonesian military: the area surrounding it
is one of the most heavily militarised zones in Indonesia.
How can I help?
Click
here to donate to Survival.
Click
here to write a letter to your MP or MEP (UK).
Click
here to write to the President, your senators, congressmen or other elected officials (US).
Write to your local Indonesian embassy, click
here to find out the address.
How
does Survival help? Survival supports the rights of the Amungme to have
their ownership of their land and its resources recognised, and to be recognised
as a people, with all that that entails. Survival is also calling for the armed
forces to be withdrawn from Papua, and for an end to all human rights
violations.
