22 June 2016•Update: 29 June 2016
By Ainur Rohmah
TUBAN, Indonesia
Indonesian authorities revealed Wednesday that they are coordinating with the Sri Lankan embassy to repatriate more than 40 ethnic Tamil who have been stranded on Sumatra island for over a week.
The chief of the immigration office in northern Aceh province told Anadolu Agency, “through the Directorate General of the Immigration Office in Jakarta, we communicated with the Sri Lankan embassy so we can decide on further action."
Aceh immigration is awaiting the results of the verification process conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration as they document the migrants and their reasons for leaving their home country.
Achmad Samadan said that since the migrants -- among whom are many women and children -- had arrived without the required documentation, they are currently classified as foreigners who violated immigration regulations.
The Sri Lankans had been headed for Australia on board an Indian-flagged boat when they became stranded off Aceh for the first time June 11, prompting Indonesian authorities to help repair the vessel before ushering it out to sea.
After it broke down a second time, Indonesia drew global condemnation by refusing to allow the Sri Lankans ashore, but relented Saturday when huge waves threatened to further damage their boat.
On Wednesday, the asylum seekers were moved from a makeshift tent on Lhoknga beach and transported to a new shelter at the immigration office of Lhokseumawe city after authorities determined that their vessel was no longer seaworthy.
Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah was quoted by Tribunnews.com as saying, “we will move them to the better shelter."
Officials from Sri Lanka’s embassy are set to meet with the migrants in the near future, and Abdullah underlined that while Aceh’s government had decided to temporarily accommodate them, it sought their immediate repatriation.
Some of the migrants, however, have expressed distress over the prospect of being repatriated, asking that Indonesia’s government provide them with a new vessel so they can sail to the Australian territory of Christmas Island.
Sudha, who is six-months pregnant and arrived in Indonesia with her husband and son, told the Aceh News Agency, “I do not want to go back to India".
She insisted, "I want to find a better life."
