Mob Threatens To Set Fire To Hospital

The Indonesian government is building a bush hospital in Nggingginem, a village in the southern mountains of Papua. With a lot of effort, construction workers and building materials were flown there by a heavy-duty Kamov helicopter. Once the shell of the building was complete, Helimission was asked to fly in some officials from the Ministry of Health to visit it. 

With a 20-minute flight, we saved the delegation a two to three day walk through the mountains. As we approached, the new building stood out from the otherwise grass-covered bush huts. With the exception of the interior structures, the main building was complete, and the hospital is scheduled to open later this year.

However, two weeks later, we received an emergency call from the village: people from all over the valley were on their way to the village, armed, threatening the workers, and planning to set fire to the hospital – their own future hospital! Apparently, the Indonesian workers had hired some villagers to help with the construction. One of them fell ill and died within a very short time. According to the local culture, when someone dies, someone is to blame – in this case, the hospital construction workers. Now the deceased’s extended family was coming to take revenge and inflict damage on the "guilty ones" – even if, from our Western perspective, by destroying their own future hospital, they would actually be punishing themselves. 

We were asked to fly a government team there immediately to negotiate. When I picked up the team again by helicopter a week later, I was delighted to find the new building intact – the negotiations had been successful! In this case, misfortune and bloodshed were averted by way of negotiations. 

Salomo, Pilot

The main building of the hospital

Building material for the hospital

The angry mob at the hospital