Sudanese Refugee Pitches Tent in Front of UNHCR Building in Indonesia’s Makassar

MAKASSAR, KOMPAS.com – A Sudanese man who is identified as Yusuf was arrested by personnel of the Immigration Detention Center (Rudenim) and Metropolitan Police (Polrestabes) in Makassar on Tuesday, December 22.

The 30-year-old man was arrested after setting up a tent in front of the Bosowa Tower building in Makassar.

Rita, acting head of Rudenim in Makassar, said that Yusuf had already built the tent for four days and stayed overnight in front of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

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The Sudanese refugee also had pillows, clothes, a water container, and a dispenser in tow. He was then taken to the Rudenim office in Makassar after refusing to return to his shelter.

“What the refugee did was quite disturbing for the pedestrians, especially when he set up a tent in front of an office building,” Rita said in a statement on Wednesday, December 23.

Yusuf set up the tent as a form of protest. He has temporarily lived in Indonesia for eight years, waiting for resettlement to a third country.

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Rita said that Yusuf felt that he had a transit in Indonesia for too long without receiving any clarity on his application.

“We are securing him temporarily while we are coordinating with the UNHCR office in Makassar,” said Rita, who is also head of the Registration, Administration and Reporting Section at Rudenim in Makassar.