Health of Afghan hunger strikers deteriorating
Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara
Entering their third day on hunger strike, the health of seven illegal immigrants in Mataram is deteriorating rapidly.
When visited by the Post on Friday, their legs and hands were trembling while they stood. Some of them held their stomachs, saying they were suffering from cramps. They haven't eaten any food since Wednesday.
Despite their weak condition, there is no sign that they will bring their hunger strike to an end.
The insist that they will continue refusing food until the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) accedes to their demands that they be given refugee status and transported to a third country.
"My hands are so weak I'm not table to write. My knees are trembling also so that I can't walk," said an immigrant named Naimatullah.
The refugees said that the hunger strike was a last-ditch effort after they had been living in uncertainty in Indonesia for three years.
There are currently 67 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan living in a refugee camp in Mataram, including the seven people staging the hunger strike. They refuse to be transported back to Afghanistan, and instead say they wish to be sent to New Zealand or Canada, or some other country willing to give them political asylum.
Naimatullah and the other 66 refugees in Mataram have been less fortunate then other refugees. At one stage, the number of refugees in Mataram amounted to 200. Most were interviewed by the UNHCR, accorded refugee status and transported to third countries.
Besides Naimatullah, the six others staging the hunger strike were named as Ayatullah, Ikhsan Haedar, Ubaidillah, Ali Rizal, M. Amin and Abdullah.
Naimatullah said that he had written a letter to the UNHCR complaining about their problems, but the UN body apparently was still unwilling to accommodate their demands.
"I have been waiting for two-and-a-half years, but I've had no luck so far," said Naimatullah, a father of two children.
The possibility of deaths remain remote as one doctor and two nurses have been monitoring the hunger strikers condition since Wednesday. The medical workers are being provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
"We have prepared medicine. So far, the refugees have not requested any help," said Yong Lai Kong, the IOM coordinator for West Nusa Tenggara and Bali.
Stephane Jaquemet, the Indonesian country representative of the UNHCR, could not be contacted for comment on Friday as he was still in Malaysia on a working visit.