The UNHCR failed to provide them with the promised solutions during their last negotiation
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Refugees, including children, again staged a rally outside the Jakarta office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR), here Thursday, protesting their uncertain future even after having lived in Indonesia for several years.

They brought posters demanding resettlement in third countries, that UNHCR meets their rights and asked the UNHCR official to step down for failing to take care of refugees. The UNHCR failed to provide them with the promised solutions during their last negotiation, they said.

The refugees walked from Kalideres, West Jakarta, where they are temporarily accommodated, starting at 9 a.m. local time, and arrived at Ravindo Tower, the UNHCR office, in Central Jakarta at 1 p.m.

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Thousands of refugees have been living for years in Indonesia, pinning hopes of someday being repatriated to third countries.

Most refugees are from conflict or war-torn nations, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, and Somali.

The UNHCR data reveals that Indonesia is home to some 14 thousand refugees, mostly from Afghanistan, Syria, and Sudan, while some 600 of them are Iraqis.

The refugees are found in Jakarta, Pekanbaru, Medan, Tanjung Pinang, Bintan, and Makasar, and some other places.

They rely on financial aid from the UN funds managed by NGOs, the International Organization of Migration (IOM), and UNHCR.

Each refugee receives Rp500 thousand (US$35.1) to Rp1.5 million (US$105) every month.

They admitted that the money was not sufficient to live in a big city, including Medan, at a time when taking up jobs for a living is not an option for them.

Frustration rides high also since they are not allowed to find jobs and their children cannot go to schools here.

Jakarta has been facing trouble on account of these refugees since many of them lived along the roadside of the capital city and most were accommodated temporarily by the Jakarta administration.

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Translator: Livia Kristianti, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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