Logging post • Agats, 2014
Agats / A logging post in the capital Agats where transmigrants, often owners of such posts, employ Asmat people to log the wood that the Asmat people themselves have gathered from the forest. In 1982, Asmat was a place where illegal loggings by the military and traders were rampant. Asmat people were abused; they were not being paid, whipped by stingray tails, and were strongly discouraged from celebrating their rituals. The Catholic Bishop at the time Alphonse Sowada pledged against such activities, resulting in the removal of the perpetrators (mostly government officials). Today, however, loggings are still rife among the Asmat and the traders themselves.
In 1982, Asmat was a place where illegal loggings by the military and traders were rampant. Asmat people were abused; they were not being paid, whipped by stingray tails, and were strongly discouraged from celebrating their rituals. The Catholic Bishop at the time Alphonse Sowada pledged against such activities, resulting in the removal of the perpetrators (mostly government officials). Today, however, loggings are still rife among the Asmat and the traders themselves.