Zacharias Sawor

(Biak, Indonesia, 1937) is the writer of the book Ik ben een Papoea (I am a Papuan) (1969). This book gives a full account of the corruption, terror and murder which followed the handing over of Dutch New Guinea to Indonesia up until the definitive handing over in 1969. Sawor was one of the first five Papuan boys to be sent to the Netherlands in 1955 on the occasion of the 100 year anniversary of the Missionary. He studied at the National School for Tropical Agriculture in Deventer and afterwards, in September 1962, returned to West Irian. He was soon arrested for illegal political activities and imprisoned until 1966. In 1967 he fled to the Netherlands. Up until 1995 he was chief editor of the West Papuan Courier.
WIN 2005