Introduction: Forced Migration and Protracted Transit in and Southeast Asia

Danau Tanu1, Antje Missbach2 and Dave Lumenta3 The University of Western , Monash University and Universitas Indonesia

In May 2015, boats carrying several thousand Rohingya created a tense situation in the region as Indonesia and neighboring ASEAN countries initially refused to let them come ashore (Amnesty International, 2015). Refugees dominated regional headlines for weeks for the first time since the end of the Vietnam war in 1975, when Indonesia and many other Southeast Asian states saw the arrival of tens of thousands of people from Vietnam and then later from Cambodia. The public outcry at the time led to a strong support for finding a regional solution for refugees. Despite this, the protection of asylum seekers and refugees across Southeast Asia remains weak to this day (Gleeson, this issue; Tan, 2016). Although Southeast Asia currently hosts more than one million4 asylum seekers and refugees (Amnesty International, 2017; UNHCR, 2017b), most Southeast Asian countries, with the exception of Cambodia, Timor Leste and the Philippines, have not signed the 1951 Convention and do not offer local integration for refugees in their respective territories. Refugee issues have attracted media attention for brief moments in the region, especially during diplomatic rows or election periods. More than often, the reportage on asylum seekers and refugees is characterized by racial stereotypes and a broad lack of knowledge about why they had to flee their home countries. However, interest in refugee issues in Indonesia and Southeast Asia is growing, not least as policies in the region shift and politicians come to realize that the issue of asylum seekers and refugees is here to stay. Besides the media, there is a growing number of local and international researchers, in recent years, who focus on refugee issues in Indonesia, seeking to document the latest developments and engage in comparative research. This emerging scholarly interest in refugee issues in the region is significant. Although the current “refugee crisis” is deemed to be a global crisis, most research focus on Europe, while leaving other hotspots widely ignored. With seeing an exodus of more than half a million Rohingyas fleeing violence since late August 2017, the refugee situation in Southeast Asia sees no prospect of abating in the near future (Amnesty International, 2017). It is therefore highly important to shed some light on this crucial regional issue in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Most notably, the increasingly hardline asylum policies of both Australia and the United States have had a significant impact on the lives and number of asylum seekers and refugees remaining “in transit” in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. In 2013, Australia, whose domestic election campaigns regularly capitalize on anti-refugee sentiments, enacted a “zero tolerance” policy towards asylum

1 Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. Tanu’s contribution to the initial conference panel for the three articles in this section was funded by the Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship and the host institutions Universitas Indonesia (Dr. Suraya Afiff and Dr. Dave Lumenta) and Universitas Hasanuddin (Dr. Nurul Ilmi Idrus). The writing of this introductory article and editing work for the three articles in this section was made possible by funding from the Australia-Indonesia Center for the Attitudes Tactical Research Project, whose team members include all three authors of this Introduction.

2 Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow at Monash University.

3 Researcher and Lecturer, Universitas Indonesia.

4 This figure combines the numbers projected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Rohingyas who fled Myanmar after the UNHCR published its report.

ANTROPOLOGI INDONESIA No. 1 2017 1 seekers arriving on its shores on boats. Its border involves transiting through Indonesia as they protection policy sought to “stop the boats”, await resettlement in a third country through the leading to fewer refugees being resettled in United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Australia. More recently, the advent of the Trump (UNHCR) or, in the past, journeyed onwards to administration appears to have had an impact Australia (Clark, 2016). The time they spend in on the duration that refugees spend in transit in transit in Indonesia can range from two to five Indonesia. Based on personal observations, it years on average, though in some cases longer. appears that some refugees, whose application for In recent years, there has been growing resettlement in the US had been approved prior to interest in refugee issues in Indonesia, among Trump’s election, remain stuck in Indonesia even the public, media and academics, as a result 12 months after they had attended orientation of the rising number of refugees remaining in sessions for resettlement prior to Trump’s the country, as well as the ongoing Rohingya inauguration as president. Asylum seekers and crisis. Most notably, the first scholarly book on refugees stuck in Indonesia are now forced to refugees in Indonesia, Troubled Transit: Asylum stay longer in the country, which can be several Seekers Stuck in Indonesia, was published in 2015 years, as their numbers have risen by 40 per cent and translated into Indonesian earlier this year in three years from 10,316 in 2013 to over 14,000 (Missbach, 2017). Since then, scholarly interest in late 2017 (UNHCR, 2016, 2017a). in the issue has continued to rise. Existing research on refugees tend to focus on In response to the emerging interest on their experiences of resettlement in the countries refugees in Indonesia, Dave Lumenta (Universitas of their final destination, such as the United Indonesia) and Danau Tanu (University of States, Canada, Australia, or one of the European Western Australia) organized a panel entitled countries. However, in recent years there has been “Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Southeast growing interest in the experiences of asylum Asia and Beyond” for the 6th International seekers and refugees while in transit—the time Symposium of Journal Antropologi Indonesia after they leave their country of origin and before held in July 2016. The panel was a collaborative they reach their country of final resettlement—in effort between Indonesian and Australian countries such as Libya and Turkey, as well as researchers, featuring nine speakers, including Indonesia (Phillips & Missbach, 2017; Suter, Antje Missbach (Monash University and author 2017). of Troubled Transit); Wirya Adiwena (Habibie Scholars have begun to recognize the Center); Madeline Gleeson (University of New significance of the time asylum seekers and South Wales and author of the award-winning refugees spend in transit, which in some cases book on refugees, Offshore: Behind the Wire can be semi-permanent or permanent, as their on Manus and Nauru); Realisa D. Masardi lives hang in limbo (Briskman & Fiske, 2016). (University of Amsterdam); Fairuziana Humam For example, many ethnic Hazaras who fled Hamid (Penn State Harrisburg University); during the Afghan Civil War (1996– Selly Riawanti (Universitas Padjadjaran); 2001) have continued to remain as refugees in Max Walden (University of Sydney and Asian neighboring countries such as and Pakistan Correspondent); Thomas Brown (University two decades later due to the religious and ethnic of Adelaide); and Danau Tanu (UWA). The persecutions that they would face should they papers covered a diverse range of refugee issues return to Afghanistan. However, given increased relevant to Southeast Asia from the regional persecution of Hazaras in Pakistan and their Rohingya crisis of 2015 (Gleeson) and Islamic precarious legal status in Iran, many Hazaras perspectives on refugee issues (Adiwena) to a have journeyed onwards to find a safe haven in historical study of Australian media coverage of other countries. For some, part of this journey Vietnamese refugees in the late 1970s (Walden)

2 ANTROPOLOGI INDONESIA No. 1 2017 and a psychological study of adolescent Acehnese Rights Watch, 2015). Eventually, Acehnese refugees who escaped to the United States in fishermen rescued some of those stranded and the early 2000s. The panel also included five Indonesia allowed them to stay in the country as a papers on Hazara refugees living in a state of temporary measure. In the aftermath of the crisis, limbo in Indonesia (Brown, Masardi, Missbach, the region was forced to reconsider its approach to Riawanti, and Tanu). The panel was attended by refugee protection. Gleeson uses a legal approach both Indonesian and overseas scholars, as well as to assess the multilateral fora and mechanisms Hazara refugees living in Jakarta. Significantly, employed to form a better regional response to it is encouraging to see greater interest in refugee such incidents in the future and the long-term issues among Indonesian scholars, and not role of some states as “transit countries”. In her just foreign scholars, given the current times. article, Gleeson suggests that the region still has Indonesian scholars have much to contribute to a long way to go in fulfilling its commitment the global debates on refugees. to engaging in a more cooperative approach to It is also encouraging to see greater interest refugee issues. Gleeson’s article is extremely among the Indonesian public on refugee issues. timely given that the ongoing crisis faced by the The symposium hosted a public photography Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar may test exhibition of refugee life in Indonesia entitled, the region again. “Living in Transit: Refugee life through the Thomas Browns’ article turns our attention eyes of the Afghan Hazara community”. The from regional policies on refugees to the exhibition featured photographs taken by ten impact of Indonesia’s domestic policies on Hazara refugees depicting their everyday lives the lived experiences of refugees staying spent in limbo in Cisarua, Bogor. The exhibition within its territory. Using data collected from was accompanied by a Q&A session with the participant observation, Brown details the photographers, drawing a large crowd of students, everyday experiences of ethnic Hazaras living academics, lawyers, members of the media, as in a state of limbo as they await resettlement well as a large contingent of Hazara refugees in a third country. Brown’s article focuses on themselves. Cisarua, Bogor, where an estimated 3,000 asylum The current special section is made possible by seekers and refugees live, and sheds light on the the success of the panel. Three of the four articles ways in which they deal with the “protracted, featured are based on papers that were presented yet impermanent, situation” of living in a at the symposium, with each representing a transit country without access to education and different aspect of the refugee issue relevant to employment. The article provides a comparative Indonesia. It also includes a fourth article based discussion of Hazara diaspora groups in Pakistan, on a collaborative creative endeavor between Iran and Australia before focusing on those living refugees and researchers that emerged out of the in Indonesia. According to Brown, ethnic Hazara symposium. Madeline Gleeson’s article is one refugees in Cisarua form strong community of the most detailed, comprehensive accounts to bonds among themselves while living apart be published on the Andaman Sea crisis of 2015 from the host community due to the structural and offers a timely analysis of its significance constraints placed upon their lives in Indonesia, to the region. In May, 5,000 Rohingya refugees including “formal and informal legal frameworks and Bangladeshi migrants were abandoned for refugees, [lack of] access to education and by people smugglers and stranded at sea. The employment, cultural and linguistic differences, region subsequently fell under the international and discrimination”. spotlight after Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand In contrast, Fairuziana Humam, Traci L. refused to allow the boats to land and were Weinstein, and Holly L. Angelique’s co-authored accused of playing “human ping pong” (Human article shifts the focus from refugees entering

ANTROPOLOGI INDONESIA No. 1 2017 3 into Indonesia to those who fled from Indonesia. social and physical space which challenged the Humam et. al.’s article studies Acehnese refugees rigidity of institutionalized binary positions, such who were adolescents when they fled Indonesia as “host” and “migrant”, “local” and “refugee”, between 1990 to 2005 during the conflict between or “researcher” and “informant”. Through the the Indonesian military and the separatist creative process, these binary positions dissolved movement Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM). to give way to strikingly more fluid relations Humam et. al. takes a psychological approach to based on the shared experience of being youths, understand the path to wellbeing that was taken musicians, or merely human. Lumenta et. al. by Acehnese adolescents who lived in prolonged also use the collaborative process to remind transit in neighboring Malaysia—during which students of anthropology of the significance of time they were deprived of education—before the ethnographic methodology. being resettled in the United States. The article Each of these articles contributes to our highlights the role of developmental resources, understanding of refugees amid a dearth of such as ecological systems of support, in helping scholarship on refugee issues in Indonesia. adolescent refugees transition from childhood Current events and trends show that there is a to adulthood in the aftermath of the trauma of pressing need for more research on refugee issues conflict in the country of origin (Indonesia), in the region if we are to encourage better policies prolonged state of limbo in the country of transit for the protection of highly vulnerable people. As (Malaysia), and culture shock in the country of this journal issue goes to print, the media reports resettlement (United States). that a staggering number of more than half a Finally, Dave Lumenta, Rhino Ariefiansyah, million Rohingyas have fled violent persecution and Betharia Nurhadist offer an anthropological in Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh almost reflection on their collaborative music project overnight. Likewise, with the United States and with ethnic Oromo refugees from Ethiopia who Australia having tightened their borders to stem are living in transit in Indonesia. Using music the flow of asylum seekers, the number of asylum art as a medium, Lumenta et. al. immersed seekers and refugees remaining in Indonesia themselves in participatory engagement with will continue to rise as fewer resettlements take young Oromo refugees, UI students and alumni, place. Refugee issues in the region are not going as well as famed Indonesian musicians to arrange, to disappear any time soon. It is imperative that record, and perform musical pieces composed Indonesia and its neighbors help find a durable by the young refugees. Lumenta et. al. found solution. that the creative process organically produced a

4 ANTROPOLOGI INDONESIA No. 1 2017 Reference

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