Dying to Survive

Very sad news about a group of Afghan asylum seekers who escaped from Kupang and tried to set sail for Australia this week — names below. They arrived in Indonesia on 11 December 2008 having come direct from Afghanistan. They were intercepted by Indonesian police and placed in detention. It is unclear how many men or children have actually drowned.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/15/asia/AS-Indonesia-Immigrants-Drown.php
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/15/4-afghan-immigrants-die-after-detention-breakout.html

There are three unaccompanied minors aged 15 years, 16 years and nine years. The nine year old may have been held in a separate place — we can only hope so. What hope would a little nine year old from landlocked Afghanistan have of surviving stormy seas alone?
We do not know if these people were given access first to IOM then to UNHCR to seek asylum as is the process in Indonesia which is not signatory to the Refugee Convention. We do not know if UNHCR intervened to protect the unaccompanied minors.

Quote from Indo news in December:

The 13 illegal immigrants admitted to the NTT Police investigator that they had paid a police officer Rp. 25,000,000 per person to allow them to leave Indonesia waters, and to head in the direction of Sand Island (?) in Australia.

The Afghans detained by NTT Police include

Mohammed Akbar Goldad (20), Nasser Rajaby (24), Mohammed Hashim (21), Masihaullah (16), Zakariah Mohammed Tessa (28), Mohammed Jawid Rahim Dad (27), Najeebullah Ali Ahmed (42), Rouhallah Najecballah (15), Iqbal Nawrooy Ali (33), Moneer Ahmad Iqbal (9), and Ghulam Rajabi (25). The other two foreigners are Mohammed Farid (29) from Saudi Arabia and Mohammed Younas Ali Shier (38) from Pakistan.

Pamela Curr

Picture below, good for those who can read Indonesian: