- Title: Afghan refugees in Indonesia call for expedited resettlement
- Date: 24th August 2021
- Summary: JAKARTA, INDONESIA (AUGUST 24, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF POLICE AND PROTESTERS SCUFFLING POLICE VEHICLE AND POLICE OFFICERS ON MOTORCYCLES AT PROTEST POLICE OFFICERS ON MOTORCYCLES VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS BEING PULLED INTO POLICE VAN RELATIVES OF DETAINED PROTESTER ATTEMPTING TO STOP POLICE VAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFGHAN REFUGEE, HAKMAT ZIRAKI, SAYING: "We came here to ask, to know about our future, we are tired of waiting in limbo. We have waited about eight to ten years everyone, we have lost our family members, our loved ones everyone is painful here, everyone have the same pain. We want the world to hear our voices and we are really thankful to Indonesian people, to Indonesian government for understanding us. We are really sorry, we are really really sorry to have broken this COVID-19 lockdowns." PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNER BEHIND BARBED WIRE VARIOUS OF PROTESTER ADDRESSING CROWD USING LOUDSPEAKER PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNER BESIDE ROAD SIGN READING (English): "Resettle Afghan refugees from Indonesia!" (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFGHAN REFUGEE, OMIDULLAH MUQORIAH, SAYING: "Of course I worry a lot, because when I heard the Afghanistan destroyed by Taliban I can't sleep, I'm thinking about all Afghans. It is not just me, all of refugee in Indonesia, we are stuck here, we are transit in this country." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CHANTING SIGN READING (English): "I am a refugee" (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFGHAN REFUGEE, ABDULLAH NEBIZARA, SAYING: "They cannot leave, and I don't have any news from them (whether) they are still alive or not, about four months I don't have any contact with them. Because there is no signal, the Taliban broke down the tower signal and I cannot contact with them and I don't know they're alive or not. Before I came here, the Taliban also arrested my father and I don't know about him also because they're not show the dead body or anything about him." PROTESTERS IN FRONT OF UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR) OFFICE PROTESTER WAVING AFGHAN FLAG
- Embargoed: 7th September 2021 09:31
- Keywords: Afghanistan Indonesia Kabul UNHCR United Nations asylum seekers conflict police protest refugee resettlement
- Location: JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- City: JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001ERN0NYF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING
Hundreds of Afghan refugees protested in Indonesia's capital Jakarta on Tuesday (August 24) against a prolonged resettlement process, saying they needed to be offered new homes now that repatriation was out of the question with the return of the Taliban.
Minor scuffles between police and demonstrators took place outside the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), after warnings had been given to disperse given the public health risks, with the capital still recovering from a wave of coronavirus infections.
A spokesperson for UNHCR was not immediately available for comment.
Thousands of refugees from Afghanistan, most of them from the Hazara ethnic minority subjected to religious persecution by the Taliban, have lived in Indonesia for years as they await resettlement in third countries such as Canada or Australia.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 U.N. Convention on Refugees and is predominately seen as a transit country for those seeking asylum to a third country.
(Production: Yuddy Cahya Budiman) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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