Being reluctantly exiled is foreigner's worst nightmare<\/p>\n
By Multa Firdaus<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): No one expects to find themselves stranded in a
\nforeign country, far from home, without friends or relatives to
\nshare their sorrow. But this is the bitter reality of life in the
\nimmigration quarantine center in Kalideres, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Seventy-six foreigners, including two women, are currently
\nbeing held in the center. Most of them are waiting and hoping the
\nUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will find
\nthird countries that will accept them, while others just want to
\nbe sent back to their home countries.<\/p>\n
Like birds, many of them are locked in four-meter-by-four-
\nmeter rooms with barred doors. In these small rooms they sleep,
\neat, wash and dry their clothes, bathe, pray and go to the
\ntoilet. With only 56 cells, some of the detainees must double up.<\/p>\n
The corridors were filled with unpleasant smells when The
\nJakarta Post visited the center last week. Most of the cells were
\ndirty and the walls covered with graffiti. The majority of the
\nforeigners in the quarantine center are from Afghanistan,
\nPakistan, Iraq, Iran and different African countries.<\/p>\n
A 20-year-old, handsome Afghan, Zahid Khan, stood behind the
\nbars of his cell and flashed a friendly smile as the Post
\napproached him.<\/p>\n
\"There is too much fighting in my country. I don't want to go
\nback there,\" he opened the conversation in English.<\/p>\n
Behind Zahid, a football coach from Pakistan, Najib Karim,
\nseemed troubled. He was standing, looking out the window and
\ntalking to himself while pointing at something outside, beyond
\nhis bars.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in a cell across the corridor, a 27-year-old man
\nasked the Post to call him Jim Morrison Jr. He said he had spent
\n12 years in his cell. \"I just want papers to write,\" said the
\nyoung man who claimed to hail from Jupiter.<\/p>\n
He repeatedly referred to a Linda Goodman. \"Linda wakes up
\nagain, Linda is my teacher,\" he said, adding that he loved
\nIndonesia and wanted to stay here forever.<\/p>\n
It was obvious he suffers from mental illness, and he is not
\nthe only one.<\/p>\n
A 45-year-old man from China, Chen Lik Chon, was standing in
\nhis room holding his penis. He has been detained at the
\nquarantine center since January 1995. He did not speak, but made
\na gesture to ask for a cigarette.<\/p>\n
Jamaican Joseph Horrison, who has been detained since March
\n1995, did not stop shouting and banging on the door of his cell.<\/p>\n
Another detainee, a 21-year-old Croatian named Danco Jiavic,
\nsat quietly in his cell and stared blankly at the door. He has
\nspent three years in the cell. \"I want to go back to my country,
\nbut I don't have a ticket,\" he said, adding that he only had the
\nT-shirt and shorts he was wearing.<\/p>\n
\"I am very sick now and my teeth are becoming soft. I cannot
\nsleep for weeks,\" said the man, who claimed to be an orphan. He
\nsaid he was caught by immigration officers at Tanjung Priok Port
\nin early 1998.<\/p>\n
Other detainees have complaints about their health. A 41-year-
\nold Iraqi who has been held for eight months said he was
\nsuffering from kidney and prostate problems. Before he was taken
\nto the quarantine center, he was hospitalized twice in Jakarta.
\nThe man said he had a wife and child in Iran, and he wanted UNHCR
\nto relocated him to a third country. \"I don't want to go back to
\nIraq. There is always war, bombs, gunshots until I can do
\nnothing.\"<\/p>\n
Three Africans from Sierra Leone -- Benjamin Norman, 25,
\nMelvin Valentine, 24, and Abu Kamara, 18, also are seeking the
\nhelp of UNHCR. \"We don't want to die here. Please tell UNHCR that
\nwe think of our future,\" they told the Post.<\/p>\n
A Sri Lankan, Gengatharan, said he would leave the quarantine
\ncenter next week because he had received refugee status from
\nUNHCR. He does not want to go back to his country because of the
\nwar there.<\/p>\n
Jamaludin, 47, the only Malaysian in the center, said he lost
\nhis passport last month and hoped to return home soon.<\/p>\n
All of the detainees are being held at the center for
\nimmigration violations. Those who have travel documents can be
\ndeported with the help of their respective embassies here. But
\nproblems arise when they do not have any papers to prove their
\ncitizenship.<\/p>\n
John Charles Sawor, 75, is the oldest detainee and he said he
\nhas been quarantined since 1955. He claims to be an American
\njournalist from a reputed paper who was assigned to cover the
\nAsia-Africa Conference in Bandung in 1955. He said he lost his
\npassport and the United States refused to accept him because he
\nhad no documents.<\/p>\n
John said he wanted to die here. Holding a small radio, he
\nsaid he had no more hope for life. It is difficult to understand
\nhim because he mumbles his words. His tearful eyes were almost
\nclosed. His room was squalid and packed with dirty clothes. \"I am
\nalone in this world,\" said the Native American.<\/p>\n
John is one of a number of foreigners who do not have to
\nremain in their cells. He has gained the trust of the immigration
\nofficers and has the freedom to walk by himself around the
\nquarantine center, or even in the surrounding neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Help<\/p>\n
According to the head of the complex, Hatomy, the quarantine
\ncenter is facing numerous problems. \"The main problem is funding.
\nThe government does not allocate funds to treat those detainees
\nwho have mental problems,\" he told the Post by phone on Monday.<\/p>\n
He said the center can only afford to take detainees to a
\nnearby medical clinic for treatment or to a hospital in Tangerang
\nfor those who are seriously ill.<\/p>\n
\"For a long time, we have been expecting the government to
\nprovide a medical doctor to treat the sick. We also expect
\nfoundations or non-governmental organizations to lend us a hand
\nto cope with the problems,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hatomy said caring for the foreigners posed a heavy burden.
\n\"We want to send them back to their countries, but we don't have
\nthe money to buy them tickets.\"<\/p>\n
The embassies of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq also
\nhave financial problems that prevent them from helping return the
\ndetainees to their countries, he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia currently houses about 880 illegal immigrants who
\nentered the country without proper documents.<\/p>\n
According to a report issued last month, UNHCR has granted
\nrefugee status to 386 foreigners and is processing 368 others.
\nThe status of the other detainees remains unresolved.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/being-reluctantly-exiled-is-foreigners-worst-nightmare-1447893297",
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