Batam rejects Aceh refugee<\/p>\n
Fadli
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Batam<\/p>\n
After surviving the quake-triggered tsunami, dozens of Acehnese
\nrefugees are now having to endure another kind of pain.<\/p>\n
Fleeing to Batam to find their relatives, local authorities
\ndenied them entry because they failed to meet requirements as
\nstated in the city's regulations.<\/p>\n
Under Batam Bylaw No. 2\/2001 on population control, any
\nvisitor requesting to temporarily stay in the city has to produce
\nan identity card as well as a return ticket and a deposit.<\/p>\n
One of the refugees, Maswir, said on Thursday that he came to
\nBatam after finding out that refugee camps in Medan and Banda
\nAceh were not fit to live in.<\/p>\n
\"I came here because I have relatives in Batam, but it turns
\nout that there are just so many requirements to enter the
\nisland,\" Maswir sighed. \"The authorities asked many things from
\nme, like a return ticket, my relatives' address, as well as
\ndeposit money.\"<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old arrived in Batam with 30 other refugees from
\nAceh on Wednesday, by ship from Medan.<\/p>\n
They chose to go to Batam after learning that there was not
\nenough food and water in the refugee camps in Banda Aceh and
\nMedan.<\/p>\n
\"My ticket was given to me by people who felt sorry for me.
\nAnd now, it turns out that it's very hard to even enter the
\ncity,\" Maswir said.<\/p>\n
The refugees were denied entry to the city because they failed
\nto show proper identification and deposit money. Every person
\narriving by sea is required to deposit Rp 130,000 (US$14) per day
\nto the authorities before being granted entry to the city.<\/p>\n
Since the refugees failed to meet these requirements, they
\nwere immediately sent to the Sekupang Transit House where they
\nhad to spend the night until the next ship arrived to take them
\nback to where they had came from.<\/p>\n
Head of Batam's population and civil registration office,
\nBuralimar, said he was aware of the refugees' arrival in the
\ncity, ostensibly to seek help from their relatives.<\/p>\n
According to office data, there were 35 people who were
\ncurrently staying at the transit house.<\/p>\n
\"It is our standard regulation that all visitors have to meet
\nrequirements as determined in our bylaw,\" Buralimar said.<\/p>\n
He dismissed the suggestion that such regulations were
\ninsensitive to the plight of tsunami survivors, while all over
\nthe world people were working together to ease their suffering.<\/p>\n
\"We have to question their intentions in coming here because
\nthere were cases where they were claiming to be tsunami victims
\nbut it turned out they were just looking for jobs.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/batam-rejects-aceh-refugee-1447893297",
"image": ""
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