PNG Teens Crossing to Jayapura to Learn Islam

Jayapura, MINA — Papua New Guinean teenagers are traveling unaccompanied to neighboring Papua Indonesia’s region to Islamic studies, RNZ reported.

The trend has come to the attention of PNG’s Consul General in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia’s Papua province.

Papua New Guinean teenagers are traveling unaccompanied to neighboring Papua Indonesia’s region to Islamic studies.

Geoffrey Wiri said in recent months there had been an increase in young PNG people coming across. Jayapura,” he said.

“I have raised concerns with our authorities here, look, these are children who are going over there unattended, unaccompanied, and they are going on their own to learn something that we have no idea what they are learning about ”

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Mr Wiri said he was six teenagers, who had come from PNG’s Highlands region, were looked after by a Muslim organization in Jayapura.

But he expressed concern that the teenagers had their unsigned passports processed when traveling to Indonesia.

Mr Wiri said the children – youngest of whom is 12 and the oldest is 15 – now go by Muslim names.

“We can’t go back to their families back home because they’re using Muslim names,” he said.

“The place where they have come to study,” it’s a kind of restricted school where people go and there’s one teacher, “he explained.

“My concern is what’s the benefit, when they go back (to PNG) what’s the result?”

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The Consul General said the six teenagers were not the first group to come across to Indonesia’s Papua.

“There have been other people from PNG that have come through the Muslim training in Jayapura,” he said.

However, Mr. Wiri, PNG was followed up on convertibility once they were returned to PNG. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)