Refugees in Bogor Regency

Bogor Regency is one of the districts located in West Java Province with the district capital located in Cibinong District. As of 2020 Bogor Regency has a total population of 5,965.410 with an annual population growth rate of 0,0247%. [fn] “Bogor Regency in Figures,” Kabupaten Bogor, 2020. [Online]. Available: Bogor, Badan Pusat Kabupaten Bogor Statistik. [/fn]Bogor Regency has enormous tourism potential, there are 11 international golf courses, Pakansari Stadium with the 14^th best architectural design in the world, the only circuit in Indonesia “Sentul Circuit”, Pongkor National Geopark and other tourism sites [fn]“Kabupaten Bogor the City of Sport and Tourism,” Bappedalitbang Kabupaten Bogor, 2019. https://bappedalitbang.bogorkab.go.id/topik/kabupaten-bogor-the-city-of-sport-and-tourism/  (accessed Jan. 20, 2021).[/fn]. To further capitalizing its tourism sector, Bogor Regent and her deputy pledged to branding Bogor Regency as ‘City of Sport and Tourism’ through their Regional Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMD) 2018-2023.

In 2019 it was reported by International Networking for Humanitarian that there were approximately 1.700 refugees in Bogor Regency[fn]N. C. Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra, “INH Sebut Pencari Suaka di Kabupaten Bogor Capai 1.700 Orang,” Tempo.Co, 2019. https://metro.tempo.co/read/1227833/inh-sebut-pencari-suaka-di-kabupaten-bogor-capai-1-700-orang (accessed Jan. 20, 2021).[/fn]. Before residing in Bogor these refugees initially came from Sunda Strait in Banten Province en route to Christmas Island, Australia, then continuing the land route through the West Java and Greater Jakarta areas[fn]N. S. Ridwan, Bambang Wahyudi, “The Role of Local Government in Handling the Potential Conflict Between Middle East Immigrant and Local Communities in Cisarua, Bogor West Java,” J. damai dan Resolusi Konflik, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 16, 2019.[/fn].  For the most part refugees that have arrived are likely to settle in Cisarua, a southern sub-district in Bogor Regency.  Upon the initial refugee arrival, the Bogor Regency Government firmly reminded the refugees that they cannot open any business activities, as stated by Indonesia law [fn]Haryudi, “Kawasan Puncak Tempat Favorit Pencari Suaka asal Timur Tengah,” SindoNews, 2019. Kawasan Puncak Tempat Favorit Pencari Suaka asal Timur Tengah (accessed Jan. 21, 2021).[/fn]. In 2019, the government began to monitor the refugees’ population in the area but was challenged because they are moving frequently[fn]Yosep, “1.300 Imigran Bermukim di Cisarua, Didominasi Pencari Suaka dan Pengungsi,” Radar Bogor, 2019. https://www.radarbogor.id/2019/06/14/1-300-imigran-bermukim-di-cisarua-didominasi-pencari-suaka-dan-pengungsi/ (accessed Jan. 21, 2020).[/fn]. There is a wide range of stakeholders that engage with refugee communities, as of now there are more than 20 identified stakeholders as follows:

Table 1. Active Stakeholders in Bogor Regency

The majority of refugees who come to Bogor Regency reside in Puncak, Cisarua sub-district. Because the area is a tourism spot the government had complained and insisted to relocate the refugees to a larger and easier area to monitor[fn]Y. Fahmi, “Bupati Minta Penampungan Imigran Dipindah dari Puncak Bogor,” Liputan 6, 2020. https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/4321600/bupati-minta-penampungan-imigran-dipindah-dari-puncak-bogor (accessed Jan. 23, 2021).[/fn].  Hazara ethnic who predominantly live in Puncak live by renting a house for an average price of one million rupiah, after the contract expires, they will usually go to other areas[fn]N. S. Bambang Wahyudi, Priza Audermando Purba, “Pencegahan Potensi Konflik Imigran dengan Masyarakt Lokal di Cisarua, Kab Bogor, Jawa Barat,” Bogor, 2017. [Online]. Available: http://opac.lib.idu.ac.id/unhan-ebook/assets/uploads/files/8154c-pencegahan-potensi-konflik-imigran-dengan-masyarakat-lokal-di-cisarua-kab.-bogor-jabar_opt.pdf.[/fn]. Refugees do not have permanent shelter (accommodation) and they are heavily dependent on IOM living cost consequently (they are independent refugees without IOM allowance support; hence the housing choice is depending on the funds availability) they are forced to move often. Besides living in residential areas, some of them occupy tourist sites and make use of the lodging places either for themselves or in groups[fn]N. S. Bambang Wahyudi, Priza Audermando Purba, “Pencegahan Potensi Konflik Imigran dengan Masyarakt Lokal di Cisarua, Kab Bogor, Jawa Barat,” Bogor, 2017. [Online]. Available: http://opac.lib.idu.ac.id/unhan-ebook/assets/uploads/files/8154c-pencegahan-potensi-konflik-imigran-dengan-masyarakat-lokal-di-cisarua-kab.-bogor-jabar_opt.pdf.[/fn].  Not all areas in Cisarua are occupied by refugees, the Head of Cisarua District stated that the results of the 2019 data collection showed that the refugees were scattered in 7 villages of Cisarua Village, North Tugu, Cibeureum, Tugu Selatan, Batulayang, Citeko, and Kopo[fn]B. R. Rahayu Marini Hakim, “Camat: Imigran Arab Kerap Pindah-Pindah di Beberapa Desa,” Republika, 2020. https://republika.co.id/berita/qej7f9330/camat-imigran-arab-kerap-pindahpindah-di-beberapa-desa (accessed Jan. 22, 2021).[/fn].

The Refugees in Bogor Regency challenged by lack of access to primary healthcare services due to financial and administrative barriers. Healthcare services commonly provided by NGOs and intergovernmental organizations such as Jesuit Refugees Indonesia, Church World Services and UNHCR, IOM. Nonetheless, their service ability is relatively limited, health assistance is prioritizing refugees who are in critical condition or suffer from chronic illnesses[fn]M. Bernie, “Nasib Tanpa Tujuan Pencari Suaka di Tengah Pandemi COVID-19,” Tirto.id, 2020. https://tirto.id/nasib-tanpa-tujuan-pencari-suaka-di-tengah-pandemi-covid-19-eMkY(accessed Jan. 25, 2021).[/fn]. Subsequently, many refugees who are sick do not get necessary medical checkup. Furthermore, several refugee-led organizations within the area offer a health-related workshop (e.g. Women Support Group Indonesia workshop on women’s health), whilst refugee-led education hubs provide psychosocial interventions through their teaching programmes and activities[fn]T. M. Brown, “Building resilience: The emergence of refugee-led education initiatives in Indonesia to address service gaps faced in protracted transit,” Austrian J. South-East Asian Stud., 2018, doi: 10.14764/10.ASEAS-0001.[/fn] [fn]T. Brown, “Refugee-led education in Indonesia,” Forced Migr. Rev., vol. 58, 2018, [Online]. Available: https://www.fmreview.org/economies/brown#:~:text=Refugee-led education initiatives in,that is empowering and sustainable.[/fn].

More often refugees are forced to forgo their education due to the difficulty of entering Indonesia’s education system. The refugee communities overcome this challenge by forming their own learning centers. Cisarua Refugee Learning Center (CRLC) is one of the most notable examples of a successful refugees-led education initiative. CRLC provides primary and lower high school education to children and teens, and basic literacy lessons to adults[fn]M. Ali, “Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre,” Global Compact on Refugees, 2020. https://globalcompactrefugees.org/article/cisarua-refugee-learning-centre (accessed Jan. 26, 2021).[/fn]. The learning center is substantially run by volunteers such as refugee teacher volunteers (RTVs) and has managed to gain outside support from Australia. Following the success of CRLC, there are now five refugee-led education centers operating in Cisarua [12].

Indonesian law forbids refugees to work or engage in business activity that might generate income, this law applies to all refugees across Indonesia including in Bogor Regency. Most refugees usually end up becoming heavily reliant on financial assistance from IOM, UNHCR or donors (not in the case of independent refugees in Bogor or in Jakarta). In the case of refugees in Cisarua, they are economically different from most refugees by having the ability to support themselves financially through savings or remittance networks (this!) [11].  Additionally, refugees also sell valuables (e.g jewelry or watches) that they may have brought with them[fn]L. R. Muazafar Ali, Briskman and L. I. Fiske, “Asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia: Problems and potentials,” Cosmop. Civ. Soc. An Interdiscip. J., 2016, doi: 10.5130/ccs.v8i2.4883.[/fn]. Learning centers provide opportunities for refugees to work as RTVS, teaching also proven to provide comfort and solace amongst the refugee volunteers[fn]“Refugee-run school in Indonesia a model for governments to emulate,” TheCionversation, 2016. https://theconversation.com/refugee-run-school-in-indonesia-a-model-for-governments-to-emulate-55378 (accessed Jan. 26, 2021).[/fn].

The social interaction between the refugee and the host community is limited to surface level. Despite living in residential areas, the refugees have little incentive to forge social bridges with the locals due to language barrier and restricted opportunities to participate in local school, workplaces, and clubs [16]. The learning centers, however, help improve social capital amongst refugees through various self-help activities and strong culture of mutual support [11]. The communities also often engage in sporting events such as football tournaments held by the learning centers.