Here is the whole short article from the Jakarta Post. Thirty Iraqis say they have lousy conditions in Indonesia and hear their friends have it great in Australia.
A group of Iraqi refugees being held in Makassar staged a rally Saturday to demand they immediately be sent to Australia.
The rally was held at the representative office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in the South-Sulawesi capital.
The refugees claim they have been living in poor conditions ever since their arrival in Indonesia earlier this year. The IOM has provided housing for them, but the refugees refused the offer because one house must be shared by seven people.
“Ever since we arrived here we have received poor treatment. Therefore we ask the IOM-UNHCR to send us to Australia,” one of the refugees, Ali Nazim Abdul, said in Indonesian.
He said two of his fellow refugees had fallen ill due to a lack of treatment.
“We want to leave for Australia as soon as possible. Three of our friends who have reached Australia told us they enjoyed decent treatment as refugees,” he said.
Thirty Iraqi refugees were relocated to Makassar after being stranded in Dompu in West Nusa Tenggara. They left Iraq to flee the war and seek asylum in Australia.
An IOM staff member declined to comment on the protest, but said the two international organizations were taking care of the Iraqis.
Keep in mind these Iraqis arrived as illegal aliens in Indonesia. Legitimate asylum seekers are to ask for asylum in the first country in which they land.