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.