A group of people residing near the Nevada Hotel had staged several rallies objecting to the asylum seekers being sheltered there, head of the Pekanbaru Immigration Office's detention house, Yanto Ardianto, told journalists on Wednesday.
Considering the sensitivity of the situation, Ardianto said he had decided not to recommend the use of the Nevada Community House for accommodating foreign refugees and informed Pekanbaru Mayor Firdaus of his decision.
“The Immigration Office's detention house does not want to move the refugees if they then clash with local residents,” he informed.
Early this week, more than a hundred refugees had staged a protest in front of the Pekanbaru Immigration Office's detention house over what they called "overcapacity at Satria Hotel" where they have currently been accommodated.
Responding to the protest, Ardianto said foreign refugees may not be aware of the standard procedures stipulated by Presidential Decree Number 125/2016 on the Treatment of Refugees from Overseas.
According to the presidential decree, the location of shelters for foreign refugees in Pekanbaru has to be decided by the city administration's National and Political Unity Office (Kesbangpol), he informed.
To resolve the issue raised by the refugees, the Pekanbaru Immigration authorities thoroughly checked the availability of rooms at Satria Hotel, he said.
They found 20 vacant rooms at the hotel that could be utilized to resolve overcrowding, but the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is yet to respond to this proposal, he added.
"We are not in a position to determine the community house for the refugees. We have no interests at all in this matter. But, one thing is clear. The local community's sense of security must be accommodated, because we do not want to have conflict with our community in handling the refugee issues," he continued.
Currently, there are 976 foreign refugees residing in Pekanbaru. They have been accommodated at eight community houses. Issues related to overcrowding have cropped up in some community houses, where one room is often shared by five to seven people.
Several refugees have even been staying at some community houses for seven years, but they are yet to receive any citizenship status from third countries, such as Australia and Canada, said officials.
At the same time, the birth rate among refugee families is relatively high, they added. (INE)
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Translator: FB Anggoro, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
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