Human Rights in Indonesia

Two years ago, my mom handed me the article, “Below a Mountain of Wealth, a River of Waste,” from The New York Times, describing Freeport-McMoRan’s mining activities in Papua New Guinea. After reading “Below,” I knew that the world had to change; the injustices that Papuans were experiencing could not continue for long without retribution. “[A]n American transnational mining company called Freeport-McMoRan…operat[es] the largest gold mine on Earth, not in Africa but in the heart of West Papua” (Leith xv). Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. is the best known subsidiary of PT Freeport Indonesia, operating in West Papua, New Guinea. Freeport’s operation there has resulted in the complete remodeling of the society and economy. West Papua is a province of Indonesia; it, along with Papua New Guinea, comprises the island of New Guinea. West Papua has a population of approximately 800,000 people, making it one of the smallest Indonesian provinces. Due to its small size and remoteness, Freeport was able radically to change the social structure there; often these changes occurred without Papuan consent.