116 Foreign Refugees On Hunger Strike In Pekanbaru

Pekanbaru, Riau, (Antarariau.com)- Some 116 foreign immigrants or refugees in the Pekanbaru immigration detention house are on a hunger strike from Monday (Oct. 19), demanding action from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regarding their fate.

Most of the refugees coming from conflict-ridden countries, such as Afghanistan demanded the UNHCR to send them to a third country, Ferdinan Siagian, the head of the Riau justice and human rights office, stated.

Indonesia is merely a transit country for the refugees who are mostly disappointed that the UN body did not care about them.

The UNHCR should process the transfer of refugee card holders to a third country, Syah Wali Syahab, a refugee from Afghanistan, remarked.

So far, the refugees were visited twice by the UNHCR staff, and one of them was transferred to a third country.

"For instance, this treatment is different from that given to refugees who are being accommodated in other regions, such as Makassar (South Sulawesi). There, some refugees had stayed for only few months and were then sent to a third country. In Pekanbaru, some of us have been staying for three years, and none have been transferred to a third country," he noted.

Tedi Kuantano of the Pekanbaru immigration office confirmed that no UNHCR staff had paid a visit during the past few months.

The UNHCR had once planned to open a representative office in Pekanbaru, but it was never realized, he pointed out.

In the meantime, the staff of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Pekanbaru refused to give any comment regarding the fate of the foreign refugees being detained in Pekanbaru.