JN Joniad
The massive refugees protest in Jakarta
Rohingya journalist and refugee advocate JN Joniad reports from Jakarta in August 2021 as hundreds of refugees, detained in Indonesia due to Australia’s deterrence policies, protest outside the UNHCR office to request resettlement. Further protests by refugees have since been held in Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia. (Note: this is an audio recording.)
So when I arrived at the detention, I was so scared to see all these giant walls and electric fences, that refugees are trapped in this prison. Like in real prison. As I was going through the gate I was asking myself what I had done wrong that I got me into this jail, if seeking safety is a crime...In the detention centre, I saw hundreds more refugees from different countries, all of whom had intended to go to Australia, all detained in the detention. And later, I saw an old man coming down the street from another building. And I was kind of curious to learn about the family, about them. And later when I heard that they had been in that building for the last 17 years, I was like, Oh my God.