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Refugees face rejection in West Jakarta shelter
Friendly smile: A child asylum seeker plays with a public facility maintenance worker at their new shelter in Daan Mogot Baru, Kalideres, West Jakarta on Sunday
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riendly smile: A child asylum seeker plays with a public facility maintenance worker at their new shelter in Daan Mogot Baru, Kalideres, West Jakarta on Sunday. Hundreds of asylum seekers from war-torn countries who used to line on the sidewalk on Jl. Kebon Sirih in Central Jakarta have been moved to the area since Friday.(JP/Donny Fernando)
After moving to a new temporary shelter at the former building of the West Jakarta Military Command (Kodim) in Kalideres on Thursday night, hundreds of refugees from war-torn countries face rejection from the local residents while adjusting to the new living situation.
Some residents of a middle-upper income neighborhood voiced their rejection through banners put up around the neighborhood.
The banners read “Residents of Daan Mogot Baru reject the immigrant shelter in our neighborhood”. Around the shelter location, three banners were seen on Sunday. However, 10 others were put up along Jl. Gilimanuk, Kalideres, West Java.
According to Kalideres district head Naman Setiawan, since the shelter building is located right next to Dian Harapan School, residents are worried that the presence of the refugees would disturb students who are about to resume school next week.
“Their activities could disturb orderliness since we were not informed about them by the authorities,” said neighborhood unit (RT) 005 head Jantoni as reported by kompas.id.
Jantoni added that people were also concerned because the refugees were seen roaming around outside the building.
However, vendors in the area were of a different opinion. “They often buy from me, so my sales have improved,” said Juju, 50, who owns a food stall across from the shelter. Other store employees and owners of house shops nearby also said they were unbothered by the arrangements, stating that the refugees did not affect their place of work.
As a solution, Naman implemented a 10 p.m. curfew for the refugees, adding that the location was also guarded 24/7.
“People are just worried because they still think of the refugees as strangers,” he said, adding that the reaction of the residents was normal. Naman said that as time passed people would not be worried, especially when they saw that the refugees were not doing anything to disturb the neighbors.
The two-storey building where the refugees are staying is in a liveable condition, despite lacking basic necessities.
Inside the building, some have laid tarpauline and carpet on the floor while others have put up tents. The two bathrooms, each with three small rooms inside, have no toilet and running water since they have not been in operation for years.
However, the Jakarta Environment Agency provided five portable toilets at the back of the building along with water tanks.
The building could not accommodate all of the refugees, but the Jakarta Social Agency has provided five disaster relief tents in the yard. Electricity and lighting are also available in the shelter.
However, the refugees still face a lack of basic needs and medical services.
“I cannot say that living here is better,” said 21-year-old Akram Ahmad, comparing the living conditions in the building to living on the street.
Ahmad, who came to Indonesia four years ago from Somalia, said he and his wife had no trouble adjusting to the hard living conditions in the temporary shelter, however, he was worried for his 5-month-old daughter.
“We have no water and no mattress. We [adults] can adjust, but we have many babies and it is hard for them,” he added.
Sitar Panahi, 39, said she and her son, Benyamin Hakimi, 6, had been bitten by mosquitoes and had a cough as they had to sleep outside. She got some medicine from the Kalideres community health center, which went to the shelter on Friday.
As of Sunday, the number of refugees had reached 1,093 according to food distribution data provided by the Jakarta Social Agency. However, the actual number was still fluctuating as some people were still coming from outside of Jakarta.
One of them is Muhammad Ali, a 24-year-old man from Afghanistan who had been living in a rooming house in Depok, West Java, for six years.
Ali said he knew about the refugee shelter from a friend via text message. He went on Friday afternoon hoping to get a place in the shelter.
“If I cannot get a place here [Kalideres], I will have to go back to Depok,” he said adding that he hoped the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) could process him to a third country as soon as possible.
Based on an agreement with the UNHCR, the city administration would provide shelter including sanitation and three meals daily for the refugees for one week. (eyc)
