Bangladeshi immigrants run away from shelters in Aceh

A total of 15 Bangladeshi immigrants have left their temporary shelter in Lhokseumawe, Aceh province, recently while the immigration office was preparing documents for their deportation.

Their escape reportedly took advantage of the recent heavy rains that poured down over the area, said an immigration officer.

Zaini Usman, an officer on duty at the Lhokseumawe immigration office said on Thursday that the immigration office only recently learned of the escape when an immigrant reported it.

Kompas.com reported that local residents said the immigrants took a minivan heading toward Medan, but there was no confirmation from the authorities.

Actually, the gate of the migrant shelter, which was formerly an immigration office, was guarded by military, police and immigration office personnel. They are suspected of climbing the fence to avoid the guards, a local resident said.

“Over the past few days, the immigrants requested that they be returned to their home country like the other Bangladeshi immigrants. They said they were bored and wanted to immediately meet their relatives,” Zaini said.

The Lhokseumawe Immigration Office planned to deport 150 Bangladeshi immigrants for not having proper documents. So far, the office deported 19 Bangladeshis from Kuala Namu airport in Medan, North Sumatra.

At least 238 Bangladeshis were stranded in Aceh along with hundreds of Rohingya migrants two months ago. According to Indonesian government policy, Rohingya migrants are allowed to stay in the country for one year, while the Bangladeshis will be deported.

According to Zaini, they have to wait for deportation while the immigration office completes their documents, including those from the Bangladeshi embassy in Jakarta.

In July, seven immigrants also ran away from their shelter in Lhokseumawe, but the police managed to arrest them.