Prices in Papua shock Garin

Prices in Papua shock Garin

JAKARTA: Coming back from a recent visit to Irian Jaya, the
renowned Jakarta-based film-maker Garin Nugroho complained about
the high cost of living in the eastern-most province.

A non star-rated hotel costs Rp 350,000 (about US$35) per
night. To hire a Kijang van costs about the same amount of money
per day. The high prices apply to almost all commodities from
food to motorbikes as transportation costs of those goods from
the island of Java are expensive.

What's was more shocking to him was the low income of the
common people whose lives are mostly dependent on subsistence
agriculture.

"Can't the government do something about this? This is the
source of the locals' resentment for the central government.
Unless this inequality is addressed the resentment will stay,"
says Garin who is preparing to make a film on Papua.--JP