The government is planning to make polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests mandatory for travelers across all modes of transportation, officials say, in a bid to prevent another wave of COVID-19 infections amid increasing public mobility ahead of the year-end holiday season. Currently, negative PCR test results are required only for passengers traveling by air in Java and Bali, as well as in other regions with a high risk of COVID-19 transmission. Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who oversees the pandemic response for the two islands, said on Monday that nearly 20 million people were estimated to be traveling in these regions over the New Year’s holidays, and that the government was keen not to “repeat past mistakes”. “Despite having mandated PCR tests for flight passengers during the year-end holidays last year, infections still surged afterward as a result of increased mobility,” Luhut said in his weekly update on public activity restrictions. He said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had instructed authorities to lower the price cap on PCR tests to make them more affordable for the general public. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2021/10/26/govt-to-mandate-pcr-testing-for-all-holiday-season-travel.html.
EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD
Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.
“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”
