Come to be stranded: the dynamics of refugee influx in three Indonesian government regimes

https://doi.org/10.22146/mgi.81436

Bagas Aditya(1*), Agus Joko Pitoyo(2)

(1) The University of Melbourne
(2) Faculty of Geography Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract


Abstrak. Indonesia telah menjadi salah satu negara transit pengungsi sejak abad ke-20. Namun, hanya beberapa sarjana yang mempelajari dinamikanya. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan dinamika pengungsi internasional di Indonesia dari tahun 1978 hingga 2022 dengan menggunakan pendekatan geografi sejarah dan desktop research. Studi ini menemukan bahwa pengungsi yang masuk ke Indonesia pada masa Orde Baru dan masa Transisi mayoritas berasal dari Asia Tenggara. Krisis besar yang terjadi pada masa itu antara lain krisis manusia perahu, krisis pengungsi Kamboja, pengusiran warga Timor Timur, dan krisis pengungsi MENA. Pada era reformasi hingga saat ini, jumlah pengungsi dan sebaran negara asal semakin meningkat dengan krisis utama adalah krisis laut Andaman dan krisis Rohingya. Faktor-faktor yang mendasari para pengungsi internasional memilih Indonesia sebagai negara suaka adalah kedekatan geografis, konflik regional, kedekatan sosial, sejarah, dan budaya, serta kebijakan anti pengungsi dari negara penerima.  Sementara itu, kebijakan internal terkait pengungsi antar pemerintahan tidak terlalu berpengaruh pada dinamika pengungsi sebab indonesia konstan pada posisinya sebagai non penerima pengungsi.

 


 

Abstract. Since the twentieth century, Indonesia has been a refugee transit country. However, only a few academics have investigated its dynamics. This study uses historical geography and desktop research methods to explain the dynamics of international refugees in Indonesia from 1978 to 2022. According to this study, most refugees who arrived in Indonesia during the New Order era and the crisis transition period were from Southeast Asia. The boat people crisis, the Cambodian refugee crisis, the East Timorese refugees, and the MENA refugee crisis were all major crises at the time. The number of refugees and the distribution of countries of origin have increased during the reform era, with the main crises being the Andaman Sea and the Syrian refugee crises. Geographic proximity, regional conflicts, social, historical, and cultural proximity, as well as the receiving country's anti-refugee policies, all contribute to international refugees choosing Indonesia as a country of asylum. Meanwhile, internal refugee policies have little impact on the dynamics of refugees because Indonesia continues to be a non-recipient of refugees.

 


Keywords


refugees; Indonesia; transit country; historical geography; migration

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/mgi.81436

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Accredited Journal, Based on Decree of the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education, Republic of Indonesia Number 164/E/KPT/2021

Volume 35 No 2 the Year 2021 for Volume 39 No 1 the Year 2025

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