The Battle of Two Impatient and Depressed Refugees

Once upon a time, there were two old refugees in a community house. Unlike other refugees, they were both living alone in two separate rooms. They were respected by their fellow refugees because they were the oldest people among all the refugees. They spent all of their times in two separate rooms until the International Organisation for Migration decided to transfer the refugees to a new community house. This meant that they couldn't get separate rooms at the new community house again because it didn't have enough capacity. Therefore, they both had to live together in one room. It was very difficult for them as they were used to living alone in their former community house, but they didn't have any choice this time. They began to live together in one room like others. They didn't really like each other because of their differences and comportment, but had to get along and live peacefully. Both of them began to get rid of each other somehow and live alone in the room like in their ex community house, so they started to back bite each other to their fellow prisoners. Eventually this caused significant hatred in their hearts like two enemies. They always complained about each other's actions and behaviors, and frequently argued in their room‌ for useless things. Although some of their fellow refugees advised them to live in peace and with love like two brothers, their arrogance and selfishness didn't allow them to do so because they didn't want each other anymore and wanted to separate which was just a dream for them and would never happen. Their relationship even got worse day by day, on the other hand, their fellow refugees started to keep a distance from them after knowing about their characters and behaviors. Though every rooms had their own bathrooms and toilets, the refugees had shared bathrooms too, one in each hall. The two old refugees often prevented others to use it which caused even more distance between them. The entire refugees were fed off them and didn't want to talk to them anymore. This war continued. The two old refugees even started to flatter and bribe the immigration police to help them to win the game. In addition, they began to insult each other by writing dirty things on their room's wall about each other. Their lives turned into a hell. They turned into the worst enemy to each other, and always verbally fought in their room. They even bothered each other at sleep. Their verbal warfare continued until one day they brawled and engaged in a physical fight by attacking each other using knife and stick. Their fellow refugees didn't want to separate them. They beat each other until they were tired and couldn't continue again. As a result, their foreheads, faces, arms and heads were all badly wounded and bleed. When the fight was over in the room, one of them left the room and went to the kitchen. It was not over! Soon the other man followed and beat him in the head with a broom which caught on CCTV. The man who was beaten on the head with a broom complained to the immigration police who immediately reported them to the head of detention center. This is what these two old refugees wanted from the beginning with the hope of being separated. The next day, both of them went to the detention center to give their statements about their brawls and physical engagement. I accompanied them to help them with translation as they both didn't understand any Indonesian and English languages. We spent the whole day there without any food and water. The head of detention center wanted to lock them in the detention center after a long investigation, but the two old refugees begged, cried and swore not to repeat it again. Both were granted another chance and were seriously threatened to get along and live in peace otherwise they would end up in the detention center behind the bars for months. We were brought back to our community house by an immigration officer. All the people laughed at them because they both lost the war and came back with empty hands. They felt shy and hanged their heads down and began to live together again, but their fellow prisoners never stopped laughing at them and continued to kept distance from them forever. Although I had repeatedly advised them to calm down and live with peace and respect, but unfortunately they never listened and continued to verbally attack and blame each other. As a result, their deteriorated relationship never healed. There was no doubt that these two old men were highly affected by depression and mental problems due to a long and unknown period of waiting in limbo. This is not something new among the refugees, but has become usual because you can witness such kind of incidents in almost every community house across Indonesia. Depression, stress and boredom affected almost everyone, except a few strong refugees with tremendous patience who have managed to overcome it by making friends with locals and travelling around. Almost all the victims of depression and mental problems are the aged refugees because they can't make friends with locals and move around because they can't speak Indonesian language and can hardly speak a few words of English. Unlike the aged refugees, the young refugees have many opportunities to create happiness for themselves wherever they live across Indonesia, if they want. They have learned good and basic Indonesian language which helps them to make more new friends and keep them busy to catch up with locals.

Refugee accommodation (House 155 B) at BTP in Makassar, Indonesia