The people of Indonesia & their culture, politics, economy and environment - Inside Indonesia: The peoples and cultures of Indonesia

Refugees & IDPs

Acehnese fishermen and Rohingya rescue at sea

The criminalisation of people smuggling has created complex moral and legal difficulties for those who assist refugees in peril

‘We never invited you to come here’

Refugees battle racism in Indonesia

Untreated trauma in Nduga

The plight of Papua’s internally displaced persons is not being recognised by the Indonesian government

No justice at home or abroad

Indonesia’s children wrongly imprisoned in Australia still haven’t been compensated

Surviving while seeking asylum

A change in Australia’s asylum policy has denied refugees in Indonesia vital support

When ‘home’ is not home

The worn-down, wooden-plank exterior of a house, bare but for a mural of a bull on a red background - PDI-P's symbol. (Laila Kholid Alfirdaus)

Locals react coolly to ex-transmigrants who return to Java after fleeing violence elsewhere

Hope in the darkness

A Hazara fleeing persecution has dedicated her life in Indonesia to helping her fellow refugees in Bogor

No durable solutions

Exercising inside the immigration detention centre in Tanjung Pinang. (Credit: Dave Lumenta)

A new presidential decree delivers little for asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia

Bagaimana Indonesia menangani migrasi paksa

Kasus Rohingya mengungkap bagaimana sulitnya melawan kejahatan transnasional dalam migrasi paksa

What the future might hold

Opening new prospects for asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia and Southeast Asia

Filling the legal vacuum

Improving prospects for asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia is a matter of political will

Shelter versus shielded borders

The Rohingya case reveals the difficulty of combatting transnational crime associated with forced migration

Rocking the boat

Jose da Costa and 17 others fled Indonesia-occupied East Timor on a small fishing boat and sought asylum in Australia

Ugly sanctuary

The Galang Island refugee camp has a chequered history

Marriage denied

Refugees, asylum seekers and stateless migrants face significant barriers to marrying their Indonesian partners

Resisting limbo

Self-organisation amongst refugees in Indonesia

All alone

Unaccompanied minors face precarious conditions in Indonesia

Asylum in Indonesia: Can temporary refuge become permanent protection?

The international refugee system is in disarray. As Europe struggles to craft a response to an unprecedented influx of migrants and asylum seekers, the United Nations refugee agency reports that displacement is at a record high of 60 million people. While most of the world’s displaced remain inside their own countries, almost 20 million people are refugees seeking protection in other states. Indonesia and the region are not immune from these global challenges.

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Lontar Modern Indonesia

A selection of stories from the Indonesian classics and modern writers, periodically published free for Inside Indonesia readers, courtesy of Lontar.