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Still in limbo: Afghan refugees in Indonesia see nothing new about 2022
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Thinking of home: Two Afghan refugees hold up a banner during a rally in Jakarta in this file photo. Many refugees left families behind with no way of knowing if they are alive. (JP/Wulan Kusuma Wardhani) (JP/Wulan Kusuma Wardhani)
W
ith no access to education, jobs or a way to contribute to society, Afghan refugees in Indonesia still see only a bleak future stretching ahead of them as 2022 rolls in.
It has been six years since Hassan (not his real name) left his family in West Kabul, Afghanistan, to seek refuge and peace in a foreign country.
Hassan hails from the Hazara ethnic minority that primarily practices Shia Islam, which has long been persecuted by the Taliban in Sunni-majority Afghanistan. He has seen many of his family members fall victim to the extremist group that reclaimed power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
“The Hazaras are a minority group in Afghanistan. It is because of a difference in belief that we are the targets of genocide. Afghanistan is an unsafe country for us. That's why we seek shelter here," Hassan told The Jakarta Post on Dec. 16, 2021 via WhatsApp.
Hassan's ideal is simple: He wants to live in peace, far from the atrocities of wars, massacres and other acts of violence. However, deciding to leave Afghanistan for a foreign country was no easy matter. He had to leave behind his parents and his family, whose fates remain unclear to this day. With limited cash on hand, he finally bought a one-way plane ticket to Indonesia. He never thought that his life would not take a turn for the better. Instead, he faced a different problem when he finally arrived in Indonesia in 2015.
“Before going to Indonesia, my plane landed in Malaysia. After that, I took a boat with 10 other people to Jakarta. We did come illegally, because it was difficult to apply for a residence visa at that time,” said Hassan.
“After we got off the boat, we met with the UNHCR,” he continued, referring to the United Nations refugee agency.
