On February 5th 2016, West Papuans refugees from across Port Moresby held a candlelit church service to commemorate 161 years to the day since Christian missionaries first arrived in West Papua.

They sang West Papuan songs and prayed for unity and the hope for West Papua’s freedom.

Watch EMTV’s report on the service here

In an interview with EMTV News, West Papuan Matthew Hosor said

“We have a God, he has given us this land. Yes we are under Indonesia now but we must not stop believing that our time will time. Whenever it may be.”

He went onto say

“It is One People, One Soul. That is part of our motto, our West Papua motto. We are fighting for our freedom, our self-determination, our Independence.”