Pekanbaru (ANTARA) – Two immigrant families hosted in Pekanbaru town, Riau, have started the process of obtaining asylum at the Canadian Embassy in Jakarta.

Head of the Pekanbaru Immigrant Detention Center (Rudenim), Junior Sigalingging in Pekanbaru, said on Monday that two immigrant families were sent to Jakarta to participate in the “Canada Refugee Selection Mission to Indonesia” program. He said sending the immigrants was an effort by Rudenim to support the placement program in the destination country.

This provides some certainty about the fate of immigrants who have been living in Pekanbaru for years. Over the past two months, hundreds of migrants hosted in Pekanbaru have demonstrated in front of UNHCR and IOM representative offices because they believe their plight in obtaining asylum in third countries had not been resolved.

Nonetheless, Junior explained that both families would go through an interview session at the Canadian Embassy.

“This is a step in the process that must be taken. It is still an interview process, it is not certain that it will be accepted by (Canada),” he said .

He said the two immigrant families were accommodated at Wisma Indah and Rumah Tasqya in Pekanbaru. They are asylum seekers from Sudan and Somalia, a husband and wife couple and their children.

The transfer of foreign refugees to Jakarta used the Garuda Indonesia GA177 aircraft via Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport in Pekanbaru on Monday at 13:00 WIB to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Banten.

They will return to Pekanbaru on November 4, 2019 on board the Garuda Indonesia GA172 aircraft via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 08:30 WIB to Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport in Pekanbaru.

Junior added that Rudenim Pekanbaru now supervises 993 immigrants with refugee status abroad. Apart from this, there are seven immigrants who were confirmed not to benefit from third country asylum (person permanently rejected), one independent refugee and one immigrant.

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