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COVID-19: Indonesian embassies ramp up efforts to help citizens abroad
As many countries have imposed stringent measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesian citizens abroad are beginning to face hardships, prompting Indonesian missions to ramp up efforts to ensure their well-being during the pandemic.
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A vendor wearing a protective mask waits for customers at a market during the movement control order to combat COVID-19 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 27. (REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng)
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ndonesians diplomatic missions are ramping up efforts to help citizens abroad who are facing hardship amid the stringent measures imposed by many countries in the battle against COVID-19.
For the last few days several embassies have been actively delivering aid to isolated citizens or those whose livelihoods have been disrupted as a result of the policies of the countries they live in.
In Australia, for instance, the Indonesian Consulate General in Sydney has delivered aid packages to 210 Indonesians with Work and Holiday Visas (WHV) who have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
The packages consisted of staple foods such as rice, cooking oil, eggs, sugar, milk, instant noodles and hand sanitizer – all of which are now scarce in Australia. They were delivered to three states – New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia – Indonesian Consul General in Sydney Heru Subolo said in a statement on Thursday.
Heru explained that the aid aimed to help Indonesians who were affected by the physical distancing policy. He also suggested they arrange for their return to Indonesia if they thought it was too difficult to maintain their livelihoods over the next six months.
The Indonesian Embassy in Kuwait City, the capital of Kuwait, said on Wednesday that it had been receiving reports from Indonesian citizens starting to face difficulties. The embassy received about 240 reports on April 2, but the number rose to 1,700 on Tuesday.
The embassy said in a statement on Wednesday that most Indonesian citizens were concentrated in Sharq, Jahra, Fahaheel, Abu Halifa and Kuwait City, as well as Jleeb and Mahboulla – the two areas that are currently under regional lockdown as authorities in Kuwait have found a significant increase in confirmed cases there.
As of Tuesday, the embassy had delivered 860 packages of aid to the affected Indonesian citizens.
“Aside from food supplies, they [Indonesians] also asked for aid to cover their residential costs and one-way tickets to return to Indonesia as companies in Kuwait are also facing hardships amid this crisis,” the statement said.
Read also: COVID-19: Indonesian mission in Turkey offers virtual assistance to diaspora
In Egypt, the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo is monitoring more than 7,500 Indonesian students, of whom more than 1,400 have notified the embassy that they need assistance amid the pandemic.
COVID-19 has forced the students to halt their part-time jobs. In addition, many of the students’ families in Indonesia also faced financial struggles that made providing financial support for the students a challenge.
The embassy has, so far, delivered 210 packages of staple foods to the students.
“The next phase is to begin soon,” said Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt Helmy Fauzy in a press release on Monday, adding that the embassy would also provide personal protective equipment for them.
In Malaysia, Indonesians who lived in red zones such as in Selangor, for instance, had also received a total of 600 packages of aid on Monday.
The Malaysian government has been isolating seven villages in Hulu Langat – a district 30 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur, where 500 Indonesian nationals live – since March 30 after 71 cases of COVID-19 were found in the area.
"The team [from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur] managed to enter the red zone of Hulu Langat in Selangor after trying for the last three weeks [to get through],” said Soeharyo Tri Sasongko, the embassy’s first secretary in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday as quoted by antaranews.com.
Soeharyo said the convoy carrying the supplies had to face at least seven checkpoints and roadblocks before it finally arrived at the location. The supplies were then transferred to Malaysian authorities’ vehicles as they only allowed people wearing hazmat suits to enter the area.
