ASIA/INDONESIA - Young Catholic teacher killed in Papua: investigations are underway to understand the reasons

Wednesday, 14 September 2016 youth   justice   violence  

Unicef

Timika (Agenzia Fides) - "We are shocked and condemn the barbaric act of gratuitous violence against the innocent. We immediately looked for information to understand the reasons of the crime. We asked all the young people in Indonesia to pray for Esra and his family": says to Agenzia Fides Fr. Antonius Haryanto, Executive Secretary of the Commission for young people in the Indonesian Bishops' Conference, after the brutal murder of Esra Patatang, 27, a Catholic catechist and teacher, killed on September 12 with a bullet to his head in Puncak Jaya district, in the diocese of Timika, in the southern area of Indonesian Papua.
"It is unclear what or who is behind the execution. Esra is the victim of those who use violence to achieve their ends. Esra remains an example for young Indonesians, for his dedication to serve others with joy in a tense and difficult social situation", adds Fr. Haryanto,
As reported to Fides, the local police in Papua has increased security measures and two special teams are at work on site to investigate the crime, considered a proper execution, and to hunt down the culprits. "We will arrest those who committed the barbaric and inhumane act to kill a teacher who dedicated his life to the education of children", said the head of the local police Waterpauw.
Esra Patatang, a 27-year-old Catholic, had been teaching at the elementary SDN Kulirik school in Mulia, in Puncak Jaya district for two years. In addition to his work as a teacher, Ezra also drove a motorcycle taxi to earn a bit more money. He was also the Catholic Youth leader of Illaga parish, in Mulia. On the afternoon of September 12 he was carrying a passenger from Kota Baru in Kota Lama, where his home is also located. "Why was he killed in this way?" asks his sister Resty Patatang, also a teacher. Ezra’s body was transported on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, to be buried in Luwuk, where the young man was born. (PA-PCP) (Agenzia Fides 14/09/2016)


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