The Jakarta Post
Dozens of refugees circled around an officer of the Jakarta Social Agency who was shouting out approximately 300 names listed on papers through a loudspeaker on Thursday afternoon on Jl. Kebon Sirih in Central Jakarta. The refugees, who had escaped wars in their home countries of Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan, listened carefully, making sure that the male officer called their names before getting on buses that would take them to a temporary shelter in a former building of the West Jakarta military command (Kodim) in Kalideres. The Jakarta administration has taken measures to provide shelter for the refugees after they slept on sidewalks in Kebon Sirih for the past two weeks. The decision was taken after the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Indonesia made a formal request to the Jakarta administration. City secretary Saefullah said the relocation was unde...