PAPUA, A PROVINCE OF INDONESIA, IS INCREDIBLY RICH IN RAW MATERIALS. BUT THE OWN POPULATION HARDLY PROFITS FROM THIS. IMMIGRANTS FROM ELSEWHERE MAKE THE PAPUANS INTO A MINORITY IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY AND CONTROL THE ECONOMY. MARGINALISATION, DISCRIMINATION, LAWLESSNESS AND VIOLENCE HAVE UNFORTUNATELY BECOME NORMAL IN THE SOCIETY OF PAPUA. THIS WHY ASSISTANCE IS PROVIDED TO PAPUANS IN NEED. ALREADY FOR MORE THAN 45 YEARS.
Why Papua
Papua Support Foundation (Hapin) was founded in Veere in Zeeland on 23 February 1972 by Dutch citizens and Papuans in the Netherlands as a reaction against the New York Agreement and the ‘Act of Free Choice’. In 1969 the United Nations recognised the sovereignty of Indonesia over the territory after a manipulated referendum. The subsequent predicament and disadvantaged position of the Papuans in the Indonesian province of Irian Barat (West Irian) and the relative lack of interest by the Dutch and international community motivated many Dutch people to raise funds and become active to support the Papuans.
A fund was set up in order to help improve the poor economic and social-cultural situation of the Papuans, through which initiatives in the field of small-scale project assistance were supported. This small scale aspect is still at the heart of the activities of Hapin. Its spearheads are: additional student grants and small-scale projects in the field of agriculture, education and economy.
