Peace Brigades International Indonesia Project is saddened to inform you that Emmanuel Goo a long time friend and client of PBI in Indonesia died in hospital on Monday 24 May 2010, he was 34 years old.
Emanuel Goo was best known for his work as an independent journalist and author based in Nabire, Papua. He wrote for the weekly SPP (Suara Perempuan Papua, Women’s Voice Papua), one of the newspapers most critical of district and provincial politics, corrupt practices and illegal extraction of resources. He was also a member of the AJI (Aliansi Jurnalis Independen, Papua, Alliance of Independent Journalists, Papua). In 2009 he published a book on local indigenous peace culture in Papua.
In addition to his work as a journalist, Emmanuel Goo was a strong believer in the development of civil society through social work. He was the founder of a peace-building NGO, Elpama (Lembaga Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Papua, Institute for the Empowerment of Papuan Society), which focused on using peace and legal education to resolve social issues such as land rights, human rights and civil rights.
As a result of his work, Emanuel Goo became the subject of intimidation and surveillance by security forces over the last several years of his life. The threats and intimidation he received ranged from directly being ‘advised’ not to investigate a case to increasing interest in his whereabouts and strange SMS messages and 'phone calls. It was as a result of these threats to his personal safety that in September 2008 Emmanuel Goo became a PBI client.
In recognition of Emanuel's dedication to the cause of human rights, he was nominated for the Dutch Government's Tulip Award in August 2009. The award is given annually to "acknowledge persons who have shown exceptional moral courage in protecting and promoting the rights of fellow citizens."
All of us whose lives and work have been influenced by Emmanuel Goo will remember a dedicated human rights activist who had time to talk. In the last years of his life he worked prodigiously for the causes that he believed in. He will be sorely missed.
