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ix years after having been evicted from their villages, Ahmadis still see any settlement to their problems far off on distant horizon.

The local administration has proposed plans for the Ahmadis relocation from their temporary shelter at Wisma Transito in Mataram, but they say they are pessimistic about the prospects.

There have been few significant changes thus far at the shelter, which comprises two main buildings, 20 by 6 square meters each.

Each is divided into rooms of 3 by 3 square meters, using only used clothes or banners. Each of the 33 families occupies one room.

“What has changed is the number of us, as many babies have been born here,” the group’s spokesperson Syahidin told The Jakarta Post.

People have been staying at the shelter since they were evicted in February 2006 from their village in Lingsar district, West Lombok regency, because their beliefs are considered heretical by many mainstream Muslims.

They have complained since then that they have not been granted their basic rights as refugees. Social aid was discontinued in 2008.

“We feel that we have been neglected. I am afraid that the administration’s plan to relocate us will turn out to be just further discourse, as in the past,” Syahidin said.

He added that the refugees urgently desired recognition that they also were truly Indonesian citizens. “We need a normal life and education for our children — the country’s future generation.”

He urged the government to take care of their assets left in the village, including houses and agricultural fields. The majority of them are farmers, but they are not yet able to continue farming.

Among 140 people staying at the shelter, 48 are infants and young children, including two of Syahidin’s four children.

“We have had a total of 19 babies born here. Some have been named after the shelter such as ‘Transiti’, ‘Transita’ or even ‘Transito’,” he said.

They earn a living by working as, among other things, construction workers, ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, barbers or door-to-door food vendors.

Sarim Ahmad, 45, earned a living over the past two months selling chicken noodles. He previously sold fried snacks. “I have saved some of the earnings to buy a cart and start selling chicken noodles,” Sarim said.

He was hopeful that the government would find a solution for the Ahmadis and help them earn a living. He also urged the government to recognize their citizenship, and not just prior to elections.

The plan was raised during NTB Governor Zainul Majdi’s visit to West Lombok early last month.

“A solution to this problem has always been a concern for the provincial administration,” provincial administration public relations division head Lalu Moh Faozal said.

He said the administration was keen to make sure that the rights of the refugees, as citizens, were guaranteed.

The administration has been providing counseling through a preaching forum for displaced people in the hopes that they might return to the mainstream.

“There has been progress in the handling of Ahmadi refugees, for sure,” Lalu said.

He called on the refugees to maintain harmony with local people so as to avoid horizontal conflicts with the local community. “We keep trying to find a solution to this problem. We expect them to be patient.”

Since being sworn in 2009, Governor Zainul Majdi himself has yet to be seen visiting the refugees, despite the fact that Wisma Transito Mataram is located only some two kilometers from his office complex and takes only a 15 minute drive.