Transmigration has been a huge movement and program in many countries. The idea to move people from one area to other can help spread the population. However, there are also many speculations in it. And the best example is how Indonesia brings transmigration to West Papua. What is the story of transmigration and its impact? Here is brief info for you.
Transmigration During Colonialization
Based on Machiavelli’s theory, there is a possibility that the Dutch government found problems infiltrating Papua in the 19s. Not only about the budgets, but also how strong the region was. That is why colonization in Papua was done by moving Javanese people to the region and starting populating the place.
There is also information and historical record that show the first transmigration was started in 1903. The transmigration also includes some catholic missionaries to spread religion and find more information about the locals. Some information includes language, rites, and some other details of the indigenous people.
From the historical book, there is a huge indication that transmigration was later continued in 1950 or five years after Indonesia’s independence. The name of transmigration was used to make the operation more nationalist and far from the acts committed during colonization in West Papua. In this case, it is safe to say that Indonesia only continues the old movement.
It is also worth mentioning that the Indonesian government only continues the dutch wisdom to balance the population in Java to the next island. It means that the target transmigration is not only to Papua, but also many other regions including Lampung. The main qualification is to target regions with agricultural potential. That is why Papua only turn into the ideal target in 1964.
The Inflicted Conflict
Another historic moment of the transmigration is how the Indonesian government start the movement in 1964 when conflict with Dutch is heightening. It was a period when Indonesia and Dutch are trying to acquire Papua as theirs. Indonesia was highly competitive and trying to fight the dutch and prevent Papua from falling into their hand.
That is why, Sukarno, the president during that era enrolled Trikora to stop the Dutch. Trikora was a military movement to liberate Papua and West Papua from the Dutch. The Indonesian government pinpointed that Papua will not be the target of colonization by the transmigration program. However, the effect of old transmigration has been done.
There are many Javanese and other islanded that living in Papua. During that period, the count number of transmigrants reach more than 16.000 people from both java dan Sulawesi. However, the promise of not being target transmigration was proven ill. In 1964, there are an exponential increase in transmigrants with a total of 1000 people landing on Merauke and Jayapura.
Urging To Lessen The Quantity
After the 1969 Pepera or Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat, Papua is part of Indonesia. However, the new wave of transmigration started sooner after the declaration. It started new issues due to the high number of people that join in the Repelita or Rencata Pembangunan Lima Tahun. The movement creates a huge social impact on both locals and transmigrant.
Social jealousy appeared since Javanese immigrants start to reside in the novel areas in West Papua. Locals also had less competence and work offers due to the increase of people. That is why some scholars start to push the government to lessen the number of immigrants. The demo and protest were starting in 1985.
But the ministry of transmigration at that time, Martono, refuse the advice and continue sending people to the region. It is said that government will not reduce the number but will send people separately and carefully. At the end of the day, transmigration was part of Suharto’s regime. After the second president’s step down, the government stopped transmigration.
The Effect In Current Situation
The major effect is demography change. Some areas are ocuupied by transmigrants, which puts huge pressure on the local Papua. indigenous has less opportunity to secure jobs, losing their area, and many more. There is also a vast development and modernization that put the natural resource in danger.
However, transmigration is also balancing the population. To decrease the overwhelming population in Java, the government move Javanese to Papua. It increases Papua’s population, workforce, and competence. It also opens to more development in the future, including industry, work, and tourism.
Another good point to notice is welfare distribution in Papua and West Papua. Some remote areas in the regions have currently turned into districts or regencies. It also improves the natural resource production, potential, and revitalization of the targeted area. It creates a positive effect in many ways, including creating job vacancies, work, and advancement.
Historically, transmigration to Papua was during the colonization era. During Dutch colonization, the first transmigration was done by transporting Javanese people to Papua. The number is increasing with the Indonesian government. The old transmigration has created effects in the current situation, including population increase and advanced growth in many sectors.
