Herman Wainggai
| Herman Wainggai | |
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Herman Wainggai, Former political prisoner from West Papua
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| Born | 1973 Jayapura, West Papua |
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| Home town | Jayapura |
| Movement | West Papua National Authority (WPNA) |
| Relatives | Dr. Thom Wainggai (Uncle) |
| Website | Personal Blog |
Herman Wainggai is a West Papuan leader living in exile in the United States of America and banned for life from his beloved home, Jayapura, the capital city of West Papua. He is a former political prisoner who took on the Indonesian government and almost cost him his life. Mr. Wainggai escaped to Australia, where he lived briefly before traveling to the United States where he resides today. He is known to many in Australia and the world as the man who escaped on a canoe to Australia in 2006.
Mr. Wainggai was born in Jayapura, the capital city of West Papua, in 1973. He grew up in a fisherman family. Because he was shy, he spent most of his young days at home playing with his own toys and helping his mother and father. He recalled going to the market with his mother to sell their father's catch of the day. According to him, it was the only source of income. Mr. Wainggai was among the 10 West Papuan students to get a government scholarship. Unfortunately, the Indonesian government rejected his scholarship without any reasonable explanation so he assumed that because his uncle Dr. Thom Wainggai - one of the famous activists in West Papua - was in jail at that time and that both shared the same surname, the Indonesian government refused to fund his education.
In 2000, Mr. Wainggai and his fellow West Papuan activists arranged one of the largest protests in West Papuan history to commemorate the raising of the West Papuan flag and in recognition of West Papuan sovereignty. They marched from Cenderawasih University to downtown Jayapura to express their anger, frustration, and to raise the West Papuan Morning Star flag - an outlawed flag in West Papua. After a very long march and few clashes with Indonesian police along the way, West Papuan students and local supporters arrived at the Taman Imbi Park in the heart of Jayapura. There, Mr. Wainggai and other activists were arrested. They were taken to one of the police stations in Jayapura and held for hours under severe non-stop interrogation. After 16 long hours of interrogation by the Indonesian intelligence officers all armed with rifles, students were released while he and two other leaders were left behind to serve four months in prison. They were denied lawyers at the time of the Interview and were held for long hours with sleep deprivation. His father was arrested earlier and about a month later, they were united in one room. The conditions in prison were really bad. In any Democratic society, the presumption of innocence is a common right given to the accused, but in this case, Mr. Wainggai and his fellow inmates were interrogated without the presence of lawyers, though they asked to see lawyers throughout the cause of the interrogation. They were locked up without a fair trial and were denied basic necessities political prisoners so deserved. They had no beds. They only slept on the floor using only newspapers as their beds. No shower. No toilet. They did everything normal human beings wouldn't do in normal situations, in that little room. For four months, they appeared in court each month until their final hearing, which occurred at their third trial. The Judge ruled that because they were peaceful protesters, they would only serve four months. They were, however, credited for time served so they walked out of the Court House free men. For Mr. Wainggai, it was a wonderful experience. All they did was thanking God and then went out to meet with their families who were anxiously waiting for them outside the courtroom.
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Wikipedia