Quarantine center remains unrepaired
Quarantine center remains unrepaired
By Emmanuelle Annastashya
JAKARTA (JP): The immigration quarantine facility in
Kalideres, West Jakarta, which was damaged by fire in April, has
not yet been repaired due to a lack of funds, even though half of
the building was destroyed.
"We are still waiting for the finance department to process
the budget," said Tinggartomanu, chief of quarantine supervision
at the Directorate General of Immigration.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, he said.
Prior to the fire, the facility held 76 illegal immigrants,
though the facility could hold a maximum of 100 people. Now there
are 41 people being detained there, originating from a wider
range of countries, including Myanmar, China, Bangladesh, Iran,
Iraq, Kenya, Vietnam, the U.S., Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Tinggartomanu said some detainees escaped during the fire,
however, soon after, some turned themselves in, saying that it
was difficult to make a living outside the detention facility
because they did not possess legal identification documents. Some
detainees were recaptured by immigration officers.
"At least here they get free meals and a place to stay," said
Syahrudin, the supervisor at quarantine.
The detention facility appears to have a laid-back atmosphere,
with some of the detainees chatting comfortably in the front yard
on Friday.
Most of the cells were locked from outside, as many residents
were outside the compound.
Apparently, since most of the detainees have no future outside
the compound and do not have any other place to go, they are
given permission to walk around the surrounding neighborhood.
The rear section of the building, blocks C and D, was burned
down and has not been restored yet.
Many of detainees are granted permission to stay outside the
immigration quarantine building, with guarantees given by their
embassies, as the immigration office lacks adequate space to
house them.
Director General of Immigration Mohammad Indra said on
Thursday that the six German students arrested by the police last
Saturday for visa violations were not held in the quarantine
facility because there was no space in the building. But more
importantly, they were released with guarantees issued by the
German Embassy. He said the deportation for the students,
scheduled on Tuesday, was delayed due to a lack of funds.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) also
rents some houses for many detainees.
It has been reported that there are 880 illegal immigrants in
Indonesia, about 500 of whom have applied for refugee status.
Most of the foreigners refuse to be sent back to their
countries of origin.
"I don't want to return to my country, there's too many
problems there," Saeed Ahmad Taher, a Pakistani who has been at
the quarantine center, told The Jakarta Post.
Feeding the detainees is also another problem.
"The International Office of Migration is currently assisting
us in providing food at the quarantine facility, but for how
long? We can't rely on them forever," Tinggartomanu told the
Post.
The future of detainees declared stateless is even more
uncertain as their respective embassies have rejected their
nationality because they entered Indonesia without passports or
other documents. Most claimed to be fishermen when they were
captured in Indonesian waters.
"This is another problem. There is no time-frame stating how
long a detainee can remain in the quarantine facility. Some have
lived there for 14 years.
"If they are not recognized by any country, then we have to
accommodate them ... perhaps for the rest of their lives,"
Tinggartomanu said.