July 12, 2022 The National
WEST Papuan refugees in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are often denied access to services such as hospitals, banks, police and even the legal system, a representative for the West Papuan community in PNG Paul Kosnan says.
“We face many major issues and the biggest problem is we are not and cannot be afforded a passport or national identification card.
“A major issue is documentation, West Papuans have been rejected from accessing services where we were told off for not holding any identification cards,” he added.
“Most West Papuans have been denied the right to be employed and are not afforded land to produce and sustain their cash crops, or fish farm, build their own schools, aid posts and churches,” he said.
Kosnan said West Papuan communities were scattered nationwide and are found in Western, West Sepik, Northern, Morobe, Central and the National Capital District (NCD).
“Current living conditions, camp sites in NCD include Hohola, 6-Mile, Rainbow Wildlife, 9Mile, 14-Mile and Laloki to name a few, lack the basic necessities like water, food, accommodation, clothes and health services,” he added.
Kosnan said medical health was another humanitarian problem.
“Not only are people dying from illnesses, the grieving family members had difficulty finding financial support for haus krai and burials.
