...a grouping of Dari-speaking people of Sino-Tibetan descent inhabiting Afghanistan and Pakistain. They are predominantly Shia Moslems and not particularly warlike, which makes them favored targets...
ethnic minority — condemned the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
’s forcible return to power in their homeland as they rallied in Jakarta on Tuesday to demand resettlement to a third country.
Demonstrators gathered outside the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
refugee agency (UNHCR) office here and held up placards that read "Resettle Afghan refugees from Indonesia," and "SOS Afghanistan is not safe."
The ethnic Hazaras, who are Shia Moslems, are persecuted in Sunni-majority Afghanistan. Many of these refugees have been sheltering in Indonesia for years as they wait to be resettled in a third country, such as Australia.
Indonesia is not a party to the U.N.’s 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and prohibits refugees from obtaining jobs and attending formal schools while staying in the Southeast Asian country.
One refugee, Hakmat Ziraki, said he was grateful to the Indonesian people and government for hosting the thousands of them, but they needed to move on.
"We came here to ask ... to know about our future, we are tired of waiting in limbo. We have waited about eight to ten years," Ziraki told the Rooters news agency in a video clip.
"We want the world to hear our voices and we are really thankful to Indonesian people, to the Indonesian government for understanding us. We are really sorry, we are really, really, sorry to have broken this COVID-19 lockdown."
The demonstration, which started out peacefully, became chaotic as security forces began to disperse the protesters for violating pandemic controls. Some demonstrators were seen being arrested by the police for resisting.