The 'losmen' of lost dreams

The 'losmen' of lost dreams

Duncan Graham, Contributor, Surabaya

East Java's Pasir Putih is the frazzled Surabayans' weekend
escape spot, a four-hour drive east from smog city.

Despite its name, the beach is more gray than white, but the
sea is shallow and safe. It is ideal for parents who want to
relax and let the kids have a splash, a sail and a bit of
freedom.

Freedom? That's something a small group of foreigners at Pasir
Putih long for as they gaze across the Madura Sea and wonder if
they will ever leave their involuntary home and reluctant host.

Decision time is looming. Their claims for refugee status have
been rejected and officials say their only option is repatriation
(see sidebar).

But still they hope.

These are the almost forgotten folk, 27 Iraqis, five Afghans
and three Iranians who fled their homelands but failed in their
bid to reach Australia.

They are all former customers of people-smugglers whose
Indonesian boats were turned back by the Australian Navy.

They were then caught by Indonesian police and transferred to
Pasir Putih where they pray against the odds for a home in the
West.

"I cannot return to Afghanistan, it's too dangerous," said
Juma Khan Nasiri, 25, a veteran of three attempts to reach
Australia. The first, in 2001, cost him US$4,000. It lasted only
a day before the boat's engines broke down an hour out of
Surabaya. There were about 300 people on board.

Trip two cost US$500 and for this fee he spent 15 days in the
ocean, again with a failed engine. "We just drifted," he told The
Jakarta Post. "I don't know where we went, but I think that God
helps us." This time the boat had around 150 passengers.

They eventually landed on Sumba island, East Nusa Tenggara
province, and were sent to Jakarta after sheltering in a mosque.

Undaunted, Nasiri and 130 other hopefuls tried again in 2002.
He said he now had only US$200. That just happened to be enough
for a spot on an unnamed boat that set out from Mataram in
Lombok.

They were never to glimpse their promised land. Instead, the
boat was boarded off Ashmore Reef (in the Timor Sea) by
Australian navy sailors.

Nasiri alleged he and five other young men were handcuffed
when they protested against not being allowed to proceed, and
that some passengers had threatened to sink the boat.

Nasiri said he was a Muslim from a persecuted minority sect.
He is a personable young man with an extraordinary grasp of
English, despite claiming no university education, formal
learning or close involvement with native speakers.

"I just wanted to talk to the people who were responsible for
making the rules that said we could not land in Australia," he
said. "I have an uncle in Adelaide (South Australia) and I will
do any work. Some Afghan families have already been granted
refugee status."
He said the boat's engine was repaired, the people were fed and
after five days found themselves closer to Indonesia than
Australia. They beached near Kupang.

The asylum seekers occupy an old, six-unit losmen overlooking
the beach. Each unit has its own toilet. The International
Organization for Migration (IOM) pays for their food and
accommodation. This arrangement allegedly causes resentment
amongst some Indonesians.

There are no obvious guards and the foreigners are free to mix
with locals and tourists at the beach. The children cannot go to
school, an issue concerning the adults.

Some units have television sets and other electrical
appliances bought by sympathetic visitors, including relatives
who have become citizens of Western nations.

Firas Noubi, 29, was on the same boat as Nasiri, but says he
was not handcuffed.

With six other relatives, all members of the minority Mandaean
religion, Noubi fled Iraq for Australia where his mother now
lives on a permanent resident visa.

The Mandaeans come from the Iraq-Iran border and follow the
teachings of John the Baptist but say they are not Christian.
They claim persecution by Muslims and the state.

Unlike Nasiri, who said he enjoyed good relations with local
Indonesians, Noubi said there were some tensions and alleged that
he had already been assaulted.

Noubi's Iraqi neighbors are the Munir family led by aunt Rajaa
Yousif, 55. They are Catholics and include three feisty young
women who have become fluent in Indonesian. The family has three
relatives in Germany, one in Holland and claim there are none
left in Iraq.

They said they were prepared to go anywhere. They also alleged
they had received no help from Indonesian Catholics.

Noubi and his family said they paid US$1,000 each for their
place on the boat from Mataram. "We thought the Australians would
be sympathetic toward us when they saw the old people and the
children," he said. "The sailors simply replied that they had to
follow their government's new rules and could not accept refugees
from the sea.

"We cannot go back to Iraq; it's too dangerous. We want to go
anywhere where we will be treated as people."

Noubi, a goldsmith who has had a university education in his
homeland, said he did not want people to feel sorry for the
failed asylum seekers, but to understand their plight.

"We are fed and sheltered but we are not allowed to work," he
said. "We've been here more than three years and we don't know
what the future holds. We have nothing to do. We feel like
animals, not humans.

"Why can't anyone find a solution? The problem is not that
great."