PUPILS were given an inspiring lesson in standing up for what you believe when they were visited by a freedom fighter.
Benny Wenda is an exile from West Papua which is fighting for independence from Indonesia.
The tribal leader who heads the Free West Papua Campaign visited Clifton Lodge School in Mattock Lane, Ealing.
Wearing traditional dress, he sang a West Papuan song and showed several artefacts last month.
Members of the school's politics club, aged 10 and 11, gave a presentation on their research into West Papua, while younger students performed poems they had composed about freedom, presented West Papuan flags they had made and sang Bob Marley's Redemption song.
Mr Wenda escaped a 25-year jail term in Indonesia, for raising the West Papuan flag, to find refuge in England. He now lives in Oxford.
History and religious studies teacher Karl Hill organised the visit after seeing the tribal leader speak at an Amnesty International event in Ealing.
He said: "It was a completely different experience for the children, they loved it. I wanted to make the point that you can make a difference in the world and that standing up for what you believe in is important."
