Despite tough
immigration policies introduced by United States President Donald Trump,
American representatives in Medan and Makassar have begun to resettle Rohingya
Muslim refugees, giving light to the country’s recently eclipsed image as the
world’s beacon of democracy, freedom and tolerance.
The refugees from
Myanmar whose boats washed ashore in Aceh two years ago, have passed interviews
conducted by the US Consulate in Medan, North Sumatra, with the assistance of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Juha P. Salin, US
Consul for Medan confirmed the transfer of Rohingya refugees to America, adding
that the process would be conducted gradually.
“These cases are
being processed continually and those who have the approved travel documents
can travel to the US,” said Salin.
He refused, however,
to confirm the number of Rohingya refugees who had been permitted to resettle
in the US.
Trump had ordered a
fourmonth hold on allowing refugees into the US and a temporary ban on
travelers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, which he
said would protect Americans from violent Islamists.
The executive order
has been blocked by the lower courts, but immigration authorities have
continued to conduct raids across major cities in America.
The Ambassador to
Indonesia Joseph R. Donovan has reassured Indonesia that the executive order
will not affect the American value of religious tolerance.
“Both Americans and
Indonesians are very tolerant people at their core and I believe that these
values that we share, the importance of tolerance and respect for religious
beliefs, particularly other people’s religious beliefs, are the kind of values
that will prevail in both of our societies,” Donovan said earlier.
(Read
also: Rohingya refugees in Indonesia worried by Trump presidency) http://bit.ly/2jnQyYh
The resettlement
process for Rohingya refugees in Indonesia began in November after the US
Consulate in Medan started to interview the 184 Rohingya Muslims, stranded in
Aceh.
The process,
however, did not involve Rohingya refugees stranded in Medan for a longer
period of time.
About 800 Rohingyas
are currently staying in Indonesia, all of whom have been granted refugee
status by the UNHCR.
According to a
Rohingya refugee who was not included in the resettlement process, at least
three had already flown to the US in the resettlement program.
Yudi Kurniadi, the
head of North Sumatra Immigration Office, said Trump’s policy had not affected
the asylum applications of Rohingya refugees because Myanmar was not on the
list of Trump’s banned countries.
“Several Rohingya
refugees were sent to the US this month. This was the first batch since the
inauguration of Trump as US President,” Yudi told The Jakarta Post.
Yudi said the
refugees from the province sent to the US over the past few months were only
those from Myanmar. Some others had been sent to Australia and Canada.
Medan hosts 2,089
refugees, 390 of whom are from Afghanistan, 363 from Sri Lanka, 490 from
Myanmar, 283 from Somalia, 279 from Palestine and 129 from Iran.
Their destination
countries include the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
In Makassar, South
Sulawesi, Zarida, another refugee from Myanmar currently living in the city, is
also scheduled to be sent to the US on Feb. 14.
Zarida has been
staying in Makassar since 2013. The city hosts 1,900 refugees from the Middle
East and 60 from Myanmar.
Ramli, the head of
the South Sulawesi immigration office, said Zarida’s departure to the US was
facilitated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“She passed the
verification process and so she will be sent to the US on Feb. 14,” said Ramli.
Zarida was first
discovered as an undocumented immigrant four years ago in the city.
She was later
verified and granted refugee status under the supervision of the IOM.
US begins to
resettle Rohingya refugees, transferred from Indonesia Myanmar not subject to
Trump’s executive order
Source: http://bit.ly/2kXLt8j