Batam rejects Aceh refugee

Batam rejects Aceh refugee

Fadli
The Jakarta Post/Batam

After surviving the quake-triggered tsunami, dozens of Acehnese
refugees are now having to endure another kind of pain.

Fleeing to Batam to find their relatives, local authorities
denied them entry because they failed to meet requirements as
stated in the city's regulations.

Under Batam Bylaw No. 2/2001 on population control, any
visitor requesting to temporarily stay in the city has to produce
an identity card as well as a return ticket and a deposit.

One of the refugees, Maswir, said on Thursday that he came to
Batam after finding out that refugee camps in Medan and Banda
Aceh were not fit to live in.

"I came here because I have relatives in Batam, but it turns
out that there are just so many requirements to enter the
island," Maswir sighed. "The authorities asked many things from
me, like a return ticket, my relatives' address, as well as
deposit money."

The 34-year-old arrived in Batam with 30 other refugees from
Aceh on Wednesday, by ship from Medan.

They chose to go to Batam after learning that there was not
enough food and water in the refugee camps in Banda Aceh and
Medan.

"My ticket was given to me by people who felt sorry for me.
And now, it turns out that it's very hard to even enter the
city," Maswir said.

The refugees were denied entry to the city because they failed
to show proper identification and deposit money. Every person
arriving by sea is required to deposit Rp 130,000 (US$14) per day
to the authorities before being granted entry to the city.

Since the refugees failed to meet these requirements, they
were immediately sent to the Sekupang Transit House where they
had to spend the night until the next ship arrived to take them
back to where they had came from.

Head of Batam's population and civil registration office,
Buralimar, said he was aware of the refugees' arrival in the
city, ostensibly to seek help from their relatives.

According to office data, there were 35 people who were
currently staying at the transit house.

"It is our standard regulation that all visitors have to meet
requirements as determined in our bylaw," Buralimar said.

He dismissed the suggestion that such regulations were
insensitive to the plight of tsunami survivors, while all over
the world people were working together to ease their suffering.

"We have to question their intentions in coming here because
there were cases where they were claiming to be tsunami victims
but it turned out they were just looking for jobs."