Yahokina (AsiaNews) – Priests in western Papua use ultra-light airplanes to reach believers in more remote areas. This allows for the "transport" of pastoral and sacramental services as well as merchandise and material aid. Communication is difficult in this remote region, where 55 people died of hunger and malaria in November amid overall neglect.

The territory consists almost entirely of mountains and forests, without roads or other pathways. In western Guinea, 70% of links and transport take place by air; there are 600 airstrips for light airplanes, most of them made by residents. The state air service covers only 10% of transport needs: the rest is met by two religious organizations: the Catholic Associated Mission Aviation (AMA) and the Protestant Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).

In the dioceses, 75% of Catholics live in places which can be accessed only by air. In 1959, Mgr Herman Ferdinand Maria Nunninghoff, bishop of Jayapura, decided to use airplanes for visits to communities and he sent six Franciscan priests to Holland to learn to pilot them. At the time, Papua was a Dutch colony; it was annexed in 1963 by Indonesia. Western Papua is made up of the archdiocese of Merauke and the sub-dioceses of Agats-Asmat, Jayapura, Manokwari-Sorong and Timika.

Now AMA uses four Cessna-185 four-seater planes and three Pilate Porter PC-6 six-seaters, which allow access to more remote communities. They are not used only for pastoral ends. "Fifty percent of the load factor of AMA planes has been marked with pastoral care, while the rest of another 50% for commercial services," said Thomas Darmadi, an AMA official. AMA is well known among the population and the authorities for its ability to reach any part of the island and to deliver the necessary.

It is also a dangerous service: two Cessna were lost in the last three months, they crashed in mid-November (the motor stopped a few metres before landing) and in August. The November accident caused much concern among all the population of Sorong, even non-Christians, because "the Cessna has become the only means of transport to reach areas like that," said Darmadi. However, Hilarius Datus Lega, bishop of Manokwari-Sorong, said these accidents would not stop pastoral services, nor would they affect AMA's activities. There are at least 50 landing areas for light airplanes in the diocese.

Augustinian priest, Fr Anton Tromp, said: "These disasters will certainly not stop our pastoral mission to communities in remote areas."