Conversation with APRRN Youth WG and Save the Children in Indonesia (EN)

Unknown Speaker  0:29  

Hello, listeners, this is Nino. Today, I and eg are hosting this episode. Joining us now are three wonderful people who have flown experience working with refugees youth and children. We have Zebedee coating and have nawapa Toronto from safety children Indonesia and higher. Ed from youth working group of the Asia Pacific refugee Rights Network, or apparant. Zuberi has offered 29 years of experience including 18 years in community empowerment, humanitarian response and preparedness and child protection system. He is now a child protection advisor at safety children Indonesia since 2015. And prior to death, he work at plan international for 14 years and at UNICEF for 10 years. experience here have no is the youth and Child Protection Program Manager at Save the Children Indonesia. He was a project manager for the organizations program for refugee from 2018 to 2019. Although he is a civil engineering graduate from a university in Jakarta, he started to be involved in humanitarian sector since the Jakarta earthquake in 2006. Hired Akbari is the chair of youth Working Group at Asia Pacific refugee.

Rights Network or aspirin. He recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in international law and international relations at Macquarie University. He is a former refugee from Afghanistan, who lived in Indonesia before settling in Australia hired advocates for refugees rights, especially refugee children and women to get access to education. Through the avenues, Hyatt has been striving to amplify his voices and participation, shall we start?

Unknown Speaker  2:29  

the Asia Pacific refugee Rights Network was established back in 2000. In November 2008. We do do the advocacy through information sharing and mutual capacity building and also joined advocacy, apron is made up of four different geographic Working Group. But also it has eight different nomadic working groups. Just to give you a bit background about the youth working group. The plan was to coordinate consultation with young people in various parts of the world, about their experiences of being refugee and and to seek ideas about creative solution. The working group also aimed to promote Youth Leadership and participation. The plan also includes selecting the youth representative to attend the consultation in Geneva in 2016.

The youth Working Group provide input and advice to inform and or to support members, which includes engage with existing youth networks in Asia Pacific region to identify gaps in existing guidelines, policies and programming in the refugee youth space. Also to continue to, to coordinate and strategy advocacy, work through appropriate channels and plan and advocacy activities for refugee youth in Asia Pacific region.

Unknown Speaker  4:03  

I’m Mohammed Zubedy Koteng, I’ve been given responsibility to offer you all the child protection related program in 30 children and actually working with child refugee that we focusing on a company’s minor, that’s the title that or maybe the term that we have been using for children who are not accompanied by any adults during their cross country movement. And then that’s one of the our area within our protection goal instead of the children. And we also highlight the importance of than the strategy on education to make sure that our children learn from quality education and for quality, safe employment and another big chunk of our work is actually on survive area that we want to make sure that no child died from preventable causes of disease before their first birthday. So, on the protection side, it’s actually we want to make sure that violence against children is no longer tolerated, based on the scope that we end up for working with UNHCR in 2018, to address the issues of children. But before that, way back can before in 2015, I think we have been also working in Ache with the refugee children. So we’re starting Yeah. So based on that background, we continue working with any allies, including

Unknown Speaker  5:57  

UNHCR. We provided the ideas on addressing the needs of children placed in the south or temporary south in Jakarta Aria, we have been working closely with UNHCR to provide services, including identifying the needs, provide consultation for unaccompanied minor in two shelters in Jakarta, facilitate the fulfillment of education, the learning activities for them, and also help them to integrate with the community by working with the surrounding communities to establish committee based child protection mechanism and facilitate them also to integrate with the other youth in Jakarta, like working with high schools to have access program, and then professional activities and also channeling them will be other unlikelier Learning Centers also provided the resilience package for children, for youth to be able to understand life skills, at least based on our resilience, the nutrition package for the refugee children, and also we facilitate them to collaborate with our youth in Jakarta, through our projects, with Arsenal Foundation, through futsal games, the futsal games, actually the entry point for children to understand their recipients need then also to address the issues through that session that we provided. By 2020 last year, we couldn’t continue because of some concerns. But but we keep working closely with UNHCR, by enforcing on the panel to determine best interest for children, any children that having decisions whether to restart in other countries or to reintegrate or to go back to their origin original countries, in just to highlight that, it’s very important to introduce that, in this context, or unaccompanied minor refugee children, that they in this difficult situation, we need also to ensure the appropriate care for them. And then the best choice for them is actually to be within the care of family setting. We also work with the other network called SOC Yaga, that we promote the family based care, attractive for children, whoever they are, including refugee children.

Unknown Speaker  9:06  

What is actually the most challenging points for a youth refugee relief refugees in Indonesia?

Unknown Speaker  9:15

 I can reflect to my own experience. So I lived in Indonesia for almost three years. As a refugee myself. I think from from personal point of view, it has been many, many years that I’ve been resettled in Australia, things hasn’t changed since then. And I gave one of the issues that really, which is very close to my head and a really important to not just refugees, but also to everyone and that is the the access to education and particularly when it comes to school, and also University. One of the basic rights of every human being is access to education, and which I was denied. When I was in Indonesia for three years, I was denied. And the only thing that the the NGOs or NGOs provided was the very, very basic classes such as learning ABCD, or learning windows, things like that.

Unknown Speaker  10:13

 I think it actually raised the important point that every human has, right. And also, that’s also applied to children, wherever they are, whoever they are. That’s the basic principle actually. And then those children who are in the title of refugee, they also have rights to survive their rights to growth and development, they have rights to protection, they also have rights to participation, even during the movement, that should be understood by everyone. If you work on the right page, approach, the orientation outside the children, we continue to advocate, we continue to work on the sea. So wherever we are, like the collaboration with UNHCR, actually, we try to make concrete actions on ensuring the education for children facilitate their class, facilitate them to be enrolled in, in any institution available within reach, to provide the kind of like model that we can do something for them, even the institution educational institutions, either government or non government institution cannot provide, we should be able to facilitate the learning process within their environment. We have been actually discussing with UNHCR that probably the most challenging in Indonesia is actually we don’t sign the convention. But at least we have to do something we have been working with the Ministry of Social Welfare, that some of the social protection schemes that can be also channeled to support children, at least, providing them opportunity to access social protection schemes, as an example, that if they got out four practices, or they got stuck on the criminal act, they should also be protected, they should got legal assistance, they should be in filling the place in the 50 Aria, and then think about their psychological distress, someone that could look after him or her, and then going through the main mechanism in place in relation to protect children or address any issues, any need for them to settle down. And then after recovery, I think it’s besides the legal framework that we have clear kind of like procedure mechanism to be implemented. But then we should also admit that our commitment to address any concerns of any children, refugee children is considered a deprived, marginalized group as well. If we don’t address this, we will be also the one that violating children’s life.

Unknown Speaker  13:37  

What kind of education that those refugee youth needs in Indonesia, during those transit period within the limitation that we all have, based on your experience, and also maybe your discussion in a plan. 

Unknown Speaker  13:57  

Yeah, I think the least that INGOs, working with refugee youth in Asia can do with the cooperation of the Indonesian government is the providing them, A: vocational training, B: sure to leave as a family in Indonesia is, is to work around the issue of integration. And that’s, that’s one of the important thing, wherever you live, you have to integrate to the society in order to leave and live peacefully. It doesn’t come from one way it has to be coordinated two way, it has to be through the the work and help of INGOs, but also the refugees, refugees themselves living there. And I think for that we also need training or Bahasa Indonesia, language in Indonesia, trying to offer free classes for them to learn to learn Bahasa Indonesia, which can help them. Young people and in generally speaking, can help them to smoothly transit or to smoothly integrated to Indonesian society. And the issue of which I’m sure you, I mean, Zubedy, you are aware of that, this issue of self harm for the past couple of months, which is a very, very concerning I personally, myself, I’m very concerned about those issues of people trying to self harm trying to kill themselves. And and we should understand why why these people are doing that. And, and I think one of the the main reason is, is around mental health. I wanted to know how INGOs are working around this particular issue of mental health of not just youth, but also, generally speaking, refugees living in Indonesia. So I think mental health is one of the other issues that needs to be raised in work. Yeah, because many times when these people, young people, generally speaking refugees living in Indonesia, and across Asia Pacific, they have they have stress anxiety of, of how long they’re going to be here, the concern and worries about the family back home, and also the financial stress that they have all these comes up and really push them. And sometimes they they do those unexpected and wrong things, which really affects not just their family, but also generally refugees living in Indonesia. So addressing the mental health issues around a refugee youth, but also also refugees in Indonesia, also across Asia Pacific is something that is really concerning, and something that INGOs and other civil society, Mr. workaround and in particular in Asia because there’s something that’s been happening for the past few months. 

Unknown Speaker 16:55

Let’s return back to part Zubedy, because apart so many of us already mentioned about resilience package by safe the children Indonesia, what is this array resilience package, pak Zubedy?

Unknown Speaker  17:08  

Right. Yeah, I think what we have been doing is actually trying to address all the concerns that I have already, the well being is actually very important. That’s why our intervention package in collaboration with UNHCR, it’s actually to develop the kind like recreational activities for children to ensure that they have an agenda that can provide them with psychosocial activities, not only the education classes, but also the same times they purported to join the PKBM non formal education committee based institution nearby, they are CELTA by having that activities it can also bring children to healthcare and also to reduce the stress or anxiety we we have deployed the social worker, at least one social worker can deal with five to seven children to have a daily conversation with them to identify their progress and their development and their well being as well as how they feel how they can move on to something better that also be part of the intervention that we provide related to the recipient is actually we have the module with us that we actually develop contextualize for the, for the children in the CELTA, the refugee children, that they have been given the lesson to understand the life fear component, like leader see the conflict resolution, whatever the the the topics that make them understand how they have been appreciated. And also to facilitate the, the activities together with the other youth. This is actually fun part because they could explore they could express them there. They’re feeling free playing games, competitions with children in the community, even they involved in in the celebration of Indonesia in dependency that some communities actually organized competitions, fun games, etc. By having that they really, really have fun, they really feel home. They really they really feel people that take care of them, and then be, be themselves to feel the time in the difficult situation. That’s what we have been doing. And then also related to the vocational, besides traveling(20:16) to the nearby professional classes like PKBM, and also SMK, vocational school, high school that can help them to get life skills. And then the other courses, including the computer course, language course, those that wanted to improve their linguistic competence in any types of language, even they join the language course, in several embassies, every organization can facilitated that while they’re having their time in Indonesia, and then at the same time, we also facilitate the process of determinations of their future life, either in, in the third country or in go back to their home country. We have some models, some debris, some have some samples that can be done by any any organization.

Unknown Speaker  21:34  

Back to 2018, and 2019, we have opportunity to run program for refugee basically live in lack of shelter, and to area and so Jakarta. So but at the end, we also reach children outside of the shelter, and psychosocial support, we use through case management approach by social workers. So we work with seven professional social worker, who are able to conduct case management because this is very important. Based on this, we can support what we need, because we cannot provide the same program, same interfancer for all children. So in this way, we decided to assign a social worker to do case management. And we also met out to identify the source system, our set of the shelter with the government that actually government have this, these services may be in the government, still lack of information about the persistence of refugee children in Jakarta, so in this way we support to access with the government and also support the opportunity to access the lack of intimacy(22:58) and possibility to get some like a certificate from the interested institution, we would like to give more opportunity to the refugee children, as we also continue with the strengthen the child protection mechanism in their area, we success encourage the community to establish like, we call it CPCP in the community based type protection in Mumbai(23:26) south Jakarta. Previously they do not understand about CPCP, and then after we give brief information, and this is good for children and also for Child Protection issue. So the village willing to establish this committee, the committee this child protection, and we provide capacity building for the member. And we mentioned that if we if we say about children, children as universal children below 18, they are universal. So including the refugee children who live in their area, and they agree on that. And then they start implement their program by doing association to the donor area and also inform to the community that there are some refugee children live in their area. Because previously they did not quite understand they’re not quite aware of but while these children live in their area, by this by this way, our re aims to have a protection from their surrounding area not only from us, because we cannot, we aware that we will not be able to give protection in 24 hours so that’s why we also encourage community surrounding on their area also support this protection.

Ah, this is what we done in two years. And also some cases already follow up by the community peace child protection. And for the resilience, we, we use safety children, youth and resilience program from civilization in Denmark(25:19). And now we have to contextualize and characteristic based on children, refugee distress and in Jakarta. So, basically, we have sometimes identity communication, like emotion, building in a good interpersonal relationship and also for the decision making. So we build communication with the children. So what do you need about this session as different refugee children and local children is different, like for example, by refugee children they choose, my body is mine, while local children as far as my experience, never choose distance. And after we were fascinated the mind body and mine from this session, then the refugees didn’t like would like more know about this session and then we provide like a like Dropbox. So they can write anything, then we can we can read and then we discuss. So we are aware that because something happened in their past, so in this way, they would like to learn more, but my body is mine, because my body is mine. We will understand that what our comfort zone so means that people should not speak with us, or maybe have activity with us so close, because we have comfort zone. So if we if we are not comfortable, we are able to say no, don’t, don’t, don’t too close with me, or something like that. And they, they also understand that the privet, the privet body that only only ask, can can can touch. So in this way they understand and they are aware, they see that it’s very important for them. From this also we develop, continue with the cash management, and we can support strengthening psychosocial, and also provide more activity. But we also understand this is the process. And this will be different from each children to others, to cope with their past.

Unknown Speaker  27:39

But it’s really interesting on the resilience package, if you have the access to the link of the modules that can be shared. Maybe later, you can share it Also with us that kind of like so called creative solution, as mentioned by Hayat is what we can do like right now, right? While we are waiting for the change of the legal framework.

Moving to Hayat again, in regards to creative solutions, you mentioned that in the app run. One of the mission is to seek ideas for this creative solutions with youth. Maybe you can tell us a little bit about the examples if you already have or something that you and the working group have already in mind about this creative solution. 

Unknown Speaker  28:33

Sure. Thanks for your question. One of the I don’t know if you can call it is a creative solution. But the question around access to education, and what we add a youth Working Group has done is that for the past six months, we will try to brainstorm finding a solution around having a informal classes to educate Rohynga refugees living in Cox’s Bazar. educating them in terms of health, whether that’s a woman leadership, the basic prize, which many of them don’t know about them, we try to have this course and we partnered with a university in the UK. And we had this module around of covering educating them about the rights about sanitization, particularly at this stage of time of COVID help which, which comes from the health but also in terms of woman leadership, how womens can be leaders as well. So we had around 16 session round of, of having, trying to deliver weekly or every two weeks of the topics that I’ve just mentioned. So this is the least you can do of educating them and providing them education.

Unknown Speaker  30:00  

So that is the example that you mentioned, is the one that you did in Cox’s Bazar. Right? Yeah, yeah. So what about the young refugees in Indonesia? Have they been involved? Or do they know about this youth working group in our friend(30:18)? 

Unknown Speaker  30:19

Yes, we have couple of NGO members who are part of us working group. But also we have individual members. And we have there is this organization who is who are working with refugees in I think they’re working mainly in Jakarta, and Bugor, I think there’s code card, something I don’t know exactly the name of the organization.

Unknown Speaker  30:44

Same skies, is it?

Unknown Speaker  30:45  

That’s right.

Unknown Speaker  30:46  

They have been one of our active member, we will work together. And we know and they know what we are doing. So how say then people in Indonesia young people, they know about work and the things that you’ve been doing. But if you were to ask me about the question of have we consulted this program that we have done in Cox’s Bazar with those people in Indonesia, that was the plan that is still a plan. From the positive feedback that we received from participants. We are thinking of piloting the same program in Indonesia. But as you all know, this is one of the issues that many times we face is the lack of funding. Funding is also one of the issues that we face. Now, although there is not a big amount of money that we spend with this. But the funding is also one of the issues that we face and delivering this program in countries. We had a plan of doing this in Malaysia, and Indonesia. And also Thailand, but because when we put this proposal for the funding that we we had for the Cox’s Bazar, we had we mentioned that we are piloting we’re thinking of piloting this program in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. 

Unknown Speaker  32:11

It’s great to hear that you’re also planning to pilot in Indonesia, because I think there are quite a number of young refugees, right? in Indonesia. And if they’re expose in this kind of information modules, and they are inspired, I think it will be a really good start. I, I really hope that it will work very soon Hayat. And if if since this is a podcast also, if there’s some young refugees in Indonesia, listening to this podcast right now, can you share, like how they can reach out to you as a youth Working Group at the app burn(32:58)? 

Unknown Speaker  32:59

Okay. I think the best way would be to email the general, which is I think Aprean(23:05), I’m not 100% sure. I can’t tell you that what. But there is a there’s a general email address which you can, which you can write for them until the expression of interest. And through that, they will get in touch with us as well. Just to give you a bit of a bit of idea of how it works. And you rightly pointed around, not required. I mean, no, there is not a big amount of money required for doing this kind of training.

We did this training with them online. Like what we did is we try to find a partner in Cox’s Bazar, who can help us trying to deliver this resources because we created or we met a textbook, not book, which tells you like it covers every single week of the training. We needed. We just needed we had to find a partner who can partner with us to deliver those resources for them. That’s all that’s all we I’m sure it’s possible. Maybe it wasn’t possible in Cox’s Bazar. But I’m pretty sure that’s possible to deliver as a group in Indonesia.

Unknown Speaker  34:15

 So yeah, thank you Hayat for sharing that. I’m just wondering about the partnership. Have you ever considered to have a partnership with the already established refugee learning centers for example, there’s plenty in Bugor area and also in Jakarta. Maybe some of them are not as resourceful as others. So some partnership with yours with already did the already tested module of education and as assets that will be very helpful for them. 

Unknown Speaker  34:52

So absolutely. We always welcome any partnership from from any any if people didn’t know before this, hopefully, you’ll get you hear this after listening to this podcast podcast, you will know a little bit of what we are doing who we are. But again, if you’re interested, you’re already our email address, you can get in touch with us. And through that the Secretariat will let us know. And we can start the conversation from there.

Unknown Speaker  35:23  

What is that sec can(35:25) suggest to the currently working organizations for refugee use?

Unknown Speaker  35:32

Because the return now is actually the national entity, just like the other national NGOs, that we can do anything to address it, including the need for refugee children, for example. And then we can also share our learning package that we have, and then join the movement, the advocacy work to the government, we can also bring the lessons from other countries that we work through with the refugee, we have been also working with the large operation in Cox’s bazar that we can pull out some of the learning points from there to be shared among the Allies or partners in within the country.

Unknown Speaker  36:37  

So many know what do you think about our conversation with pak. Edi, pak. Herno, and Hayat, what do you think is most interesting?

Unknown Speaker  36:49

Hayat working on youth working group in APR and he was refugees. And he was used to refugees in Indonesia, and both pak. Herno and also pak. Edi, they are working with refugees, and also working with the youth protection program. So this is very, very much, match speakers. And the thing that interested me much is about the needs to really care about educational skills. It’s not not necessarily have to be school, but vocational skill and trainings. And also about the integrations I am very surprised about when they raise the both raise they are raising voice about integration skill, despite the current framework, or the current frame, thinking frame of thinking that refugees are in Indonesia for transiting. But still they have this similar idea, but integration, what do you think? 

Unknown Speaker  37:55

Yeah, I totally agree with you mba. Nino, and both of them have hands on experience on the ground. And they already tried to structure it into a set of modules and capacity building programs. So I think our conversation and their resources will be useful also for others.

Any organizations can just look up into what they have done and maybe get inspired to do the same. 

Unknown Speaker  38:35

The same thing? Yeah. So for youth, they need education, not school, school in terms of going to formal school, but more like educational skill, and also integration skill, the soft skill, capacities, and also self love. self care. Yeah, the need of family, right, I think, a family and also the needs of community. Yeah, so family setting and community setting are apparently most important for children and youth.

Unknown Speaker  39:09  

I think any children refugee

Unknown Speaker  39:13  

and this is very good things. It’s like confirming what we already guess.

Unknown Speaker  39:22  

But it’s confirming everything. And I think most of organizations working on refugee protection many or refugee management will be more like have a clearer direction on what to work. Right Great. Great.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai