Mnamo Septemba 27, 2025, wakaazi wa Kiwirok, wilaya ya mbali huko Pegunungan Bintang Regency, Papua, waliamka kwa fujo. Shule na Puskesmas (zahanati ya afya ya umma)—mbili kati ya njia chache za maisha kwa elimu na huduma ya afya katika kanda—zilichomwa moto na wanachama wa TPNPB (Jeshi la Ukombozi la Taifa la Papua Magharibi), mrengo wenye silaha wa Vuguvugu Huru la Papua (OPM). Kundi hilo kupitia msemaji wake Sebby Sambom, lilikiri kuhusika na shambulio hilo na kulihalalisha kwa kudai kuwa majengo hayo yalikuwa yakitumiwa na wanajeshi wa Indonesia kama vituo vya muda.
Lakini matokeo ya hatua hii yalikuwa ya haraka na mabaya. Watoto walipoteza vyumba vyao vya madarasa, wanakijiji walipoteza huduma za kimsingi za matibabu, na wafanyikazi wa huduma ya umma walikimbia kwa usalama wao. Kwa sehemu ambayo tayari inahangaika na miundombinu na rasilimali chache, shambulio hilo halikuwa tu kitendo cha vurugu—ilikuwa ni kufuta maendeleo.
Zaidi ya kitendo cha ishara, hili lilikuwa mgomo uliokadiriwa kwenye moyo wa maisha ya raia. Na kwa watazamaji wengi, ilisisitiza ukweli unaosumbua: TPNPB-OPM si vuguvugu la kujitenga tena—inatumia mbinu za ugaidi.
Sio Mioto ya Kwanza: Mfano wa Maangamizi ya Raia
Shambulio la Kiwirok sio tukio la pekee. Katika miaka kadhaa iliyopita, TPNPB-OPM na vikundi washirika, ambavyo mara nyingi huitwa KKB (Kikundi cha Wahalifu Wenye Silaha) na serikali ya Indonesia, wamelenga mara kwa mara shule, zahanati, barabara, minara ya mawasiliano ya simu, na vipengele vingine vya miundombinu ya kiraia.
Mnamo 2021, katika wilaya hiyo hiyo, Puskesmas ilishambuliwa na wafanyikazi wa afya walishambuliwa – kadhaa waliripotiwa kujeruhiwa, na muuguzi alikufa baadaye. Mnamo 2023, shule ziliteketezwa huko Yahukimo na Intan Jaya. Katika baadhi ya matukio, helikopta zilizobeba walimu au chanjo zilirushwa. OPM mara nyingi hudai kuwa vituo hivi “vinafanywa kijeshi” na serikali, ikitoa mfano wa kuwepo kwa maafisa waliovaa sare au shughuli za kijasusi.
Hata hivyo, uchunguzi huru na ushuhuda wa walionusurika hupinga madai haya mara kwa mara. Walimu, wauguzi, na wafanyakazi wa misaada wamekanusha mara kwa mara kuhusika katika operesheni za kijeshi. Wengi ni Wapapua wa ndani au watu wa kujitolea kutoka majimbo mengine ya Kiindonesia, wanaofanya kazi katika hali hatari kuleta elimu na huduma za afya kwa jamii ambazo hazijahudumiwa.
Mashambulizi haya ya mara kwa mara yanaonyesha mabadiliko ya kutatanisha katika mkakati wa TPNPB-OPM: miundombinu ya kiraia imekuwa shabaha ya vita, si ubaguzi.
Shule na Kliniki: Kwa Nini Malengo Haya Ni Muhimu
Katika maeneo yenye migogoro duniani kote, shule na vituo vya afya mara nyingi huhifadhiwa kama msingi usioegemea upande wowote. Chini ya sheria za kimataifa za kibinadamu, ni maeneo yaliyolindwa-mashambulizi dhidi yao ni uhalifu wa kivita. Lakini katika nyanda za juu za Papua, sheria za uchumba zimefifia.
Elimu na huduma za afya ni zaidi ya huduma nchini Papua—ni alama za matumaini na usawa. Katika wilaya za mbali kama Kiwirok, shule huunganisha jamii zilizojitenga na taifa zima. Kliniki hutoa njia pekee ya ulinzi dhidi ya malaria, kifua kikuu, vifo vya uzazi, na vifo vya watoto wachanga.
Kwa kuharibu majengo haya, TPNPB-OPM sio tu kuondoa matofali na chokaa; wanavunja msingi wa uaminifu, uzi ule unaoweka pamoja uhusiano dhaifu kati ya watu na serikali. Pia wanatuma ujumbe kwa watumishi wa umma: “Maisha yako si salama hapa.”
Ugaidi Juu ya Mbinu: Uhalifu wa Sababu
TPNPB-OPM inajiweka kama jeshi la ukombozi linalopigania uhuru wa Papua kutoka Indonesia. Lakini kila shambulio dhidi ya raia, taswira yao inaendelea kupungua kutoka kwa wapigania uhuru hadi kwa wanamgambo wenye silaha wanaotumia ugaidi kama zana ya kujiinua kisiasa.
Taarifa zao kwa umma zinaweka shambulio dhidi ya shule na zahanati kama vitendo vya “upinzani” dhidi ya uvamizi wa kijeshi. Lakini jumuiya ya kimataifa inaiona tofauti. Kuchoma shule iliyohudumia watoto wasio na silaha? Kushambulia kliniki bila jukumu la kupambana? Hivi si vitendo vya vita tena—ni vitendo vya uhalifu, na kwa usahihi zaidi, vitendo vya kutisha.
Kundi hilo pia limewatishia mara kwa mara walimu wasio Wapapua, wahudumu wa afya, na vibarua, likiwataka waondoke Papua. Kwa kufanya hivyo, wanachochea migawanyiko ya kikabila na kusitisha ushirikiano baina ya visiwa—yote hayo kwa jina la utaifa, huku wakiumiza watu walewale wanaodai kuwalinda.
Hofu, Ukimya, na Gharama ya Raia
Athari mbaya zaidi ya shambulio hili haipimwi kwa idadi ya majengo yaliyopotea, lakini kwa uaminifu uliovunjika. Walimu na wahudumu wa afya sasa wanaishi kwa hofu, bila uhakika iwapo watarejea kazini au kuacha kazi zao. Familia ambazo hapo awali zilipeleka watoto wao shuleni sasa zinasita, hazina uhakika kama darasa litakuwa uwanja wa vita.
Katika baadhi ya wilaya, wafanyakazi wa serikali wanakataa kuchukua kazi. Shule zinasalia tupu, zahanati hazijashughulikiwa. Ombwe lililoachwa nyuma na vifaa vilivyochomwa halijazwa na utawala mpya au uongozi wa mitaa, lakini kwa ukimya, hofu, na kujiondoa zaidi.
Kwa jamii katika nyanda za juu za Papua, upatikanaji wa elimu na huduma za afya ulikuwa tayari mdogo. Sasa, hata hiyo thread nyembamba imekatwa.
Tatizo la Serikali: Usalama au Huduma?
The Indonesian government finds itself in a strategic bind. Responding with overwhelming military force risks further alienating local communities and playing into OPM’s propaganda of state oppression. But doing nothing could allow armed groups to gain ground and morale.
So far, the government has responded by condemning the attacks, reaffirming commitment to protecting public services, and deploying additional personnel to secure volatile regions. However, this also risks feeding the OPM narrative of militarized presence.
To break this cycle, analysts suggest a dual-track approach: community-based security alongside accelerated development. Protect teachers and nurses with trained local units, not military brigades. Build local trust through participatory governance. And ensure that civil services return quickly to burned areas—showing communities that the state does not abandon them in fear.
Between Two Fires: The Future of Peace in Papua
The vision of peace in Papua is now caught between two fires: the physical fires set by groups like TPNPB-OPM and the political fires of distrust and underdevelopment.
While dialogue remains the ideal path forward, it is hard to talk peace when children have no schools and mothers have no clinics. It is harder still when one side justifies arson with rhetoric of resistance, and the other side responds with airlifts and armed patrols.
Yet, hope remains. In districts where civil society organizations are active and where local governments engage transparently, conflict is less intense. This suggests that solutions are not only in Jakarta or jungle camps, but in local partnerships that protect people, not ideologies.
Conclusion
The OPM may claim strategic victories—burning buildings, forcing evacuations, and dominating headlines. But the true cost is borne not by soldiers or politicians, but by ordinary Papuans.
It is the child who can no longer read in a safe classroom.
The pregnant woman who must now walk for days to find a clinic.
The teacher who chooses to return home—not because of a better job, but because of fear.
In Kiwirok, the flames that tore through schoolbooks and medicine cabinets revealed something deeper: that in this war, Papua is burning from within, not just from bullets, but from the loss of faith in peace.
If that fire is to be extinguished, it will take more than force. It will take vision, courage, and a commitment—from both sides—to protect what matters most: the people.
