https://www.scmp.com/rss/510117/feed Eko Rusdianto is a freelance journalist based in Makassar, Indonesia. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Nabi*, an Afghan refugee in Indonesia, has spent the past month demonstrating outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) building in the city of Pekanbaru with other refugees, seeking clarity about their resettlement status. When no answer was forthcoming, on December 3 Nabi and three other refugees took needles and thread and sewed their lips shut. “Absolutely it hurt,” he said. “It was so painful. But staying in Indonesia every day with no news is even more... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3159617/afghan-refugees-limbo-indonesia-sew-their-mouths-shut-protest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3159617/afghan-refugees-limbo-indonesia-sew-their-mouths-shut-protest?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Dec 2021 05:04:11 +0000 In the Indonesian city of Makassar in South Sulawesi province, there is a hive of activity on board a passenger and cargo ship that is being converted into a floating isolation facility for patients who test positive for Covid-19. Ship management officer Ramidi, who like many Indonesians only uses one name, sits in his office on the fifth deck of the Umsini, where he usually takes care of crew applying for leave or changing shifts. “In the past, every time we finished a voyage, the entire crew... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3141827/indonesias-makassar-unveils-coronavirus-isolation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3141827/indonesias-makassar-unveils-coronavirus-isolation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jul 2021 09:50:55 +0000 The number of people fleeing wars, violence, persecution and human rights violations rose for the ninth year in 2020 despite the pandemic, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency. About 20.7 million people are considered refugees under the UNHCR’s mandate. On World Refugee Day, This Week in Asia looks at the plight of Rohingya communities seeking temporary refuge in Indonesia and India. When Reyas Alam fled Myanmar 12 years ago, he was barely even an adult. Now the 31-year-old ethnic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3137999/waiting-us-die-indonesias-rohingya-refugees-left-legal-limbo-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3137999/waiting-us-die-indonesias-rohingya-refugees-left-legal-limbo-years?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000