When it comes to religion, West Papua is predominantly Christian. Statistically speaking, there are 62.9% Christians, 54.2% Protestants, 8.7% Catholics, and the rest of the minority consists of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.
Still, there should not be a limit when praying for humanity and its greater good. All religious beings should spread such kindness.
About Palm Sunday
What is Palm Sunday? It is a moveable feast done by Christians on Sunday before Easter. The feast is done to commemorate The Holy Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry to Jerusalem. This event is mentioned as one of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday also marks the first day of The Holy Week.
According to the Christian teachings, Palm Sunday is a celebration of Jesus Christ’s success in coming into Jerusalem. However, it was also towards his last days on Earth. After that, Jesus was crucified as an act of his sacrifice to save all humans on Earth from sins.
Palm Sunday for the Less Fortunate
On April 10, 2022, The St. Andrews Presbyterian Church held their Pam Sunday service in Suva, Fiji. They dedicated the Palm Sunday to the less fortunate and vulnerable children. They dedicated that particularly to the children in Ukraine and West Papua.
According to Willsoni Qarasaumaki, one church elder in St. Andrews, watching innocent children having to face the consequences of such social issues as wars, famine, poverty, and many more was simply heartbreaking. Qarasaumaki wanted the children to be able to take the lead and start introducing more compassion to the world. That is also the same value as the Palm Sunday, which is all about the virtue of love.
Qarasaumaki also stated:
“We wanted to let all children in the world know that those who are unable to celebrate Palm Sunday like us now shall receive this flower as the expression of love, care, and support from all of us. Wherever we go, we love and remember them all in our prayers.”
There were thousands of children across Fiji who had led services that morning in local churches. Palm Sunday was inspired by the event of the Christ entering Jerusalem over 2000 years ago.
The War in Ukraine
Russia has invaded Ukraine three times. The first was during World War II, which was on September 1, 1939. The second was in Crimean Crisis, on February 20, 2014.
This year 2022, is their third invasion into Ukraine. Starting from February 24, 2022. Based on the collected data of March 20, 2022, there have been over 900 victims and casualties of war in Ukraine. There were 75 children among them.
Poverty and Hunger Amidst The COVID-19 Pandemic in West Papua
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, West Papua has been forced to a setback in terms of prosperity. More than two million indigenous West Papuans had suffered tremendous hunger due to the late shipping of logistics in rural areas, especially staple foods like rice.
Because of that, many people in West Papua had started ‘mass farming’ and ‘mass gardening’. That would help them to self-sustain in terms of food supplies. That way, they would not have to rely on outside sources way too much.
In fact, Samuel Siriwa, the Head of the Papua Province of Agriculture and Food Services in 2020, encouraged the idea of independent, mass farming and gardening among the West Papuans. According to him, it was best for the people to start making good use of their own home gardens, especially those living in rural areas and villages.
That same year, Raimondus Mote, one of the Wouma residents, had even mentioned another indirect benefit of ‘mass farming’ and ‘mass gardening’ among the people:
“Before this pandemic, there were so many men choosing to go gambling at local markets,” admitted Mote. “Now, during the pandemic, many of them have preferred to stay put and involve themselves in farming and gardening to avoid starvation.”
Mote, who was a post-grad university student at Cendrawasih University, West Papua, stated that there were over 40 young men who had been working in the farms and gardens from 5:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the late afternoon – an hour before twilight. They were all willing in the process.
This year, the Coronavirus has had its new evolution. After Omicron at the beginning of 2022, there is Omicron XE discovered in the UK. Some experts speculate that it may be a matter of time before the spreading of the new strain also reaches Indonesia. Well, hopefully not.
According to human rights activist Benny Wenda, there are still about 60 to 100 thousand of indigenous West Papuans who are desperately in need of help in terms of food, health access, and accommodation.Hopefully, there will be help soon for West Papua, including the children there. May the Palm Sunday prayers from the people of Fiji be granted by God, so all children on Earth will be blessed with health and safety.
