6
These are the faces of the forgotten peoples of West Melanesia,Melanesia literally means the Black Islands as so named by the European explorers who first "discovered" them.These are the descendants of the first people ever out of Africa and a relic of time who shall be cherished.The people from Flores,Timor,Maluku in East Indonesia along with the West Papuans are also of Melanesian or partial Melanesian ancestry just like their cousins to the east in Papua New Guinea,the Solomon Islands,and Fiji.Genetic testing proves this as well as my own.And the people of "West" Melanesia such as Maluku and West Papua deserve their civil rights to decide on their own who they are,discover their own hidden roots,preserve their own incredibly unique and rich heritage as also the gateway to Oceania and the lost chapter of the peopling of the South Pacifc,both Polynesia and Micronesia as well,and empower themselves to their own land,the richest in all of Southeast Asia.Mena Muria!
Another history lesson and fact for the day:Eastern Indonesia (Maluku islands and West Papua) and East Timor is the most biologically diverse,linguistically diverse,minerally rich.and ethnically diverse part of Southeast Asia.It is also the absolute poorest and most isolated region in Southeast Asia.Why is this and why is this being covered by both the Indonesian government and media as well as perhaps the American media?The first reason is that the Indonesian government is incredibly corrupt and greedy and has a very long track record since its inception since 1950.This is NOT a judgement on the people of Indonesia,both East and West.Indonesians themselves are the sweetest and friendliest folks on this planet ..It is Because the people of both the Maluku islands and West Papua are the last indigineous people on this planet to be having their lands taken from them,their resources stolen,and their identity taken away from them against their own will to this day.They are both ethnically and historically distinct from the mainstream Southeast Asian Indonesian people as well as geographically very far away,with no real ties to the rest of Southeast Asia's historty of Hinduism and Buddhism,or the Islamic empires.Only Christianity and Islam from foreign missionaries exist in the islands as well as our traditional Animistic beliefs.There is a reason there is both the RMS and OPM movement,they are to free and give a voice to the poor and distraught people of Maluku and West Papua,the most impoverished and displaced people in all of Southeast Asia and one of perhaps arguably the world along with the South Sudanese,who are now free.And it is my burden as they are my people,as a born and bred free American with a god and country given freedom of speech to speak up for these poor and distraught people who have no voice of their own because of the corrupt censoring Indonesian government.I have heard the tales from the people themselves,and I will be their voice here in America.Mena Muria!
The Maluku islands and Timor is also known as Wallacea,named after the scientist Alfred Wallace.These islands are a biodiversity hotspot,one of the most diverse on this planet and the people and culture are more and more being proven genetically and historically to be the gateway to Oceania and the South Pacific.This map along with the genetic evidence shows that this criminally understudied and misunderstood region of the world is the source of the peopling of the Pacific.East Indonesia was the gateway to the Pacific.
A website about the international human rights violations going on in Maluku,East Indonesia:
http://www.michr.net
From the RMS rebellion to the recent conflicts in Ambon the capitol in 2000 to the imprisonment to this day of Johan Teterissa for simply raising a flag and doing his own native dance in front of the Indonesian president since just 2007,this NEEDS to be aware of and it needs to stop.This is an attack on human civil rights.
Bookmarks