I'm blacklisted?

On April 5, 1997, I was on my way to a midnight movie at a local theater in Central Jakarta, when three men stopped me. One of them said they were from immigration and wanted to see my passport. I asked to see their identification. One of them produced identification so we went back to my house where I showed them my passport which contained a valid visa and an entry stamp.

The leader said I would have to go to their headquarters, near the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, with my passport so they could compare the information in it with the data in their computer. So my wife, daughter and myself, along with three officials headed off to their headquarters at 1 a.m.

At the headquarters, the computer said I was "blacklisted", supposed to be prevented from entering Indonesia. Three questions immediately sprang to mind:

1. When I was deported on Feb. 18, 1997, why didn't the immigration officials tell me or my wife that I was blacklisted?

2. Why did the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore issue me another Social Visa on Feb. 25, 1997 if I was blacklisted?

3. If I'm blacklisted, how did I get through the immigration checkpoint at the Jakarta international airport on March 19, 1997? Why did they stamp my entry card?

Indonesian government officials were not able to answer my questions.

I was told I would have to be deported again. My wife, daughter and I were taken home where my son joined us. Here I was allowed to pack for a long trip, both in distance and time. The immigration officials waited six hours for me to pack.

Next I was taken to the airport where I bid my family farewell before I boarded an expensive Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore.

This situation is a good example of Indonesian government officials' incompetence.

My wife recently went to see the Director General of Immigration to plead for the reunification of our family. Of course, following his usual pattern of behavior in any matter that may call for a little bit of compassion, he refused to see her. He's also never replied to the question of the whereabouts of my belongings, which were confiscated by immigration.

The American embassy in Singapore, which seems to be staffed by decent, honest people, has accepted and is processing my application for a repatriation loan.

At the time of writing this letter, I'm still waiting for a decision from Washington. The U.S. embassy in Jakarta refused to allow me to submit an application for a repatriation loan.

I will continue to fight for truth, justice, honesty and liberty.

JACK WEST

Singapore