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At least 150 undocumented foreigners in Maluku: Ministry
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Two Chinese nationals allegedly working illegally in Central Kalimantan, are detained at the local immigration office. According to the Law and Human Rights Ministry's provincial office in Maluku, more than a hundred undocumented foreigners reside in the province. (Antara/Ronny NT)
T
he Law and Human Rights Ministry’s provincial office in Maluku estimates that more than a hundred undocumented foreigners reside in the province.
Most of the foreigners were former fishermen, while some were victims of human trafficking, office head Priyadi said on Thursday, citing data collected by his office.
"We estimate that there are at least 150 people," said Priyadi, as quoted by kompas.com, adding that 95 people were believed to be living in the city of Tual, while the rest were in Saumlaki and Aru Islands.
Priyadi said the majority of the foreigners had blended in with local residents and used the local language.
He said officials had met with a number of foreigners in the aforementioned locations and found several of them to be fluent in the local dialect, making it hard to distinguish them from Indonesian citizens.
The office is now seeking assistance from immigration authorities to register all the foreigners that lacked proper documents to reside in the country.
"The difficulty is that some of them often travel around or out to sea, and there are those who open kiosks at the market. I once met one at the market who already speaks the local tongue," Priyadi said.
He said in addition to immigration authorities, other authorities had also been asked to register the foreigners in border areas due to concerns over the large number undocumented in Maluku.
"We have instructed [them] to visit sub-district and village heads to conduct proper documentation, because we are certain there are still many foreigners who do not have official documents in Maluku," said Priyadi.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) would also cooperate with the government, specifically when it comes to deporting the foreigners, he added.
Priyadi admitted it was difficult to deport them, but letting them stay was against the law. (liz/bbn)
