Refugees' departure to the U.S. suspended

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

A number of Afghan refugees here who are scheduled to leave next month for the U.S. might have to delay their departure due to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an immigration official says.

The head of immigration control at the Bogor immigration office, Saffar M. Godam, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend that the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had planned to send a number of refugees to the U.S. in November but his office had not received any confirmation about their departure.

"The plan might be delayed due to the World Trade Center bombings," he said.

About 1,600 migrants are stranded in the country and are sheltered in several places, including in Bogor.

After a long process, those who are lucky are granted refugee status by UNHCR, but they still have to wait for years before they can leave for the country where they will start a new life.

Among them are three families, one from Afghanistan and two from Iraq, who live in Villa Nely Murni, Cipayung village.

Ahmad, 31, said that they were all scheduled to leave for the U.S. on Nov. 15.

"If I can't go there, that's OK, I will remain in Indonesia," he said.

His wife Mesume, 25, said they had been living here for one and a half years with their two children, Majeed, 9, and Zahra, 5. She said they left their hometown of Dymerdad, Afghanistan, because they could not stand the 24-year civil war.

"My house was burned by the Taliban," she said.

She said that during their stay in Indonesia, the family had received Rp 1.3 million monthly from IOM.

"Rp 1 million is for food, and the rest is to rent the house," she said in broken Indonesian.

The neighborhood chief, Engkos Kosasih, said that locals welcome the refugees. "Every Thursday night, they always join the Koran recital gathering," he said.