Once again in both towns I had to start collecting forms and stamps. After over a month withstanding the ostensibly unbridled bureaucracy in Jakarta, Jayapura and Sorong, I arrived in the village of Haha, fifteen kilometers west of the districts headquarters Teminabuan at the south coast of the Kepala Burung peninsula. Haha is located between a gently sloping mountain range to its north and mangrove forest alternated with vast sago-palm forests, streams and meandering rivers to its south. The village has a poor outlook. People dress in rags unless attending Sunday's service for which they have one set of tidy cloths.
People have little money.
Every family possesses a bush-knife, an axe, a hammer, one or two flashlights, some basic kitchen utensils and some have a radio. Their diet consists of sago jelly eaten with few vegetables and only sometimes supplemented with fish, shrimps or pork. Children are often hungry which makes them apathetic and liable to malaria, colds and other illnesses. Many children die at an early age. Generally lait is ventilated as the cause.