VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A migrant seeking refuge in the US crosses the Rio Grande river with his son on shoulders, at the border towards Del Rio, Texas, US, as seen from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, Sep 23, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Daniel Becerril) - 

Only a few hundred mostly Haitian migrants were left camping out under an international bridge in Del Rio, Texas on Friday (Sep 24), down from nearly 15,000 people who had converged there last week as US officials ramped up expulsions to Haiti and some releases into the United States.

Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens, who has been keeping tabs on the number of people in the camp, said there were 225 people left under the bridge that connects the United States and Mexico on Friday morning.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately respond to a request for comment but on Thursday evening had said there were 5,000 people currently in the Del Rio border sector, which would include people who had been moved to federal facilities for immigration processing.

Reuters photos and videos of the camp show camping tents pitched closely together and some shelters made out of sticks and tarps.

Haitians have also set up camp on the Mexican side of the border in Ciudad Acuna, as hundreds retreated back across the Rio Grande after US officials began sending planes of people back to Haiti.

Mexican officials urged Haitians to give up hopes of seeking asylum in the United States telling them instead to return to Mexico's southern border with Guatemala to request asylum in Mexico.

US President Joe Biden has faced strong criticism in recent days over the expulsions to Haiti. Rocked by the assassination of its president, gang violence and natural disasters, some 1,401 Haitian nationals have been sent back to Haiti on 12 repatriation flights since Sunday, Sep 19. The Caribbean island is the poorest in the Western hemisphere.

On Thursday, the US special envoy to Haiti quit in protest over the Biden administration's deportations of migrants to the Caribbean nation.

That followed widespread outrage stirred up by images of a US border guard on horseback unfurling a whip-like cord against at Haitian migrants near their camp.

Most migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border can be summarily expelled under a public health order known as Title 42 that was put in place at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic early last year.

But hundreds of other migrants, deemed particularly vulnerable or otherwise not eligible for Title 42, have been allowed into the United States to pursue their immigration claims in US court. Still others may be transferred to immigration detention, though DHS did not provide a breakdown of the diverging fates of migrants who had recently arrived in Del Rio.

On Friday, more than a hundred migrants were dropped off at a center welcoming migrants in Del Rio, according to a Reuters witness. From there most head to other destinations in the United States to reunite with family members.

Yet pressure is also growing on Biden to tighten the border, and Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) is starting to return migrants to the southern Mexican city of Tapachula so they can file asylum applications there.

"We're not taking them out of the country," INM chief Francisco Garduno told Reuters. "We're bringing them away from the border so there are no hygiene and overcrowding problems."

Haitians who made the perilous, costly journey from Guatemala to Ciudad Acuna on the Mexico-US border are skeptical about the merits of going back to a city where they had already unsuccessfully tried to process asylum claims.

Willy Jean, who spent two fruitless months in Tapachula, said if Mexico really wanted to help the migrants, it should allow them to make their applications elsewhere.

"Tapachula's really tough, really small, there's lots of people," he told an INM agent trying to persuade him to go south. "There's no work, there's nothing."

Official data from Mexico show Haitians are already far less likely to have asylum claims approved in Mexico compared with many nationalities, even if their chances are starting to improve//CNA

President Jokowi gives his remarks during the National Movement for Vaccination on Seven Million Residents of Plantations and Productive Villages in 17 Provinces event organized by the Projo organization and the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI). (ANTARA/Indra Arief) - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) urged all parties to collaborate to lend assurance to the public that COVID-19 vaccination is safe and halal, so the country can immediately achieve herd immunity, with more citizens getting vaccinated.

"All parties should collaborate to offer a sense of assurance to the public that vaccination is safe and halal while also expediting vaccinations in all reachable areas to cover as many citizens as possible," Jokowi noted virtually during the National Movement for Vaccination on seven million residents of plantations and productive villages in 17 provinces, an event organized by the non-governmental organization Projo and the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), which was monitored from the GAPKI IPOA YouTube channel, here, Friday.

To this end, the president welcomed the good gesture of Projo and GAPKI to help the government in expediting vaccinations for Indonesian citizens.

According to Jokowi, it is crucial to support the plantation and agriculture sectors in handling COVID-19 since they are strategic sectors that are of key importance to the community. In addition, the growth of plantation and agricultural sectors is also positive amid the pandemic.

The head of state reminded the public that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic could not be forecast. Hence, he invited the public to help stem the spread of COVID-19 through joint efforts.

He appealed to the public to continue to adhere to health protocols and get accustomed to it despite having received the COVID-19 vaccination.

Jokowi believes that the new habit of adhering to health protocols, if followed diligently by all segments of society, right from business actors, farmers, and planters to students in schools, will be an essential step to help the nation transition from the pandemic to endemic stage.

"(By following health protocols,) we can conduct our productive activities while remaining safe from COVID-19," President Jokowi stated//ANT

Archive photo: A policeman checks documents of motorbike riders in Gorontalo district, Gorontalo province on Monday (September 20, 2021). (ANTARAPHOTO/Adiwinata Solihin/FR) - 

The Indonesian government must tighten monitoring of people's mobility to prevent a COVID-19 spike during and after long holidays, public policy researcher from civil organization The Prakarsa, Eka Afrina Djamhari, has advised.

Speaking to ANTARA on Friday, he said that people may anticipate that the government will limit mobility during long holidays and therefore adjust their plan to avoid the impact of such a policy.

According to Djamhari, people's mobility must be monitored on the borders between regions as well as villages and districts.

Based on previous experience, the government must tighten the monitoring of motor vehicle traffic since land travel has looser traveling requirements compared to air travel, he opined.

"If we want to learn from past experience, the implementation should be done in toll booths, in certain locations, since we know the resources of the authority are limited, so the check should be done at random," he explained.

Djamhari also stressed that the government must be careful in relaxing the policy pertaining to the restriction of people's activity in order to control COVID-19 infections.

"The implementation of policy relaxation should be done in a cautious manner since this is the moment when cases go up," he explained.

He also underscored the importance of remaining wary of a spike in people's mobility at the end of the year.

The government must also prepare health facilities to anticipate the possibility of a third wave of COVID-19 infections, he added.

Djamhari also stressed that the primary factor for success in preventing a rise in COVID-19 cases is policy implementation that involves the public//ANT

General Secretary of North Sumatera PASI, Drs Suharjo MPd (ANTARA/HO/rst) - 

The North Sumatra chapter of the  Indonesian Athletic Association (PASI) is targeting to pocket two gold medals in Athletics at the XX Papua National Games (PON).

Secretary General  of PASI Chapter in North Sumatra  Drs Suharjo MPd, stated that the athletes had continued to finalize preparations while also mapping out the strengths of their counterparts from other regions, who will be their opponents.

"Our athletes also had time to undergo training in cold weather, specifically in Berastagi. This aims to acclimatize their body temperature to areas with cold weather as well to strengthen their bodies," he noted on Friday.

Suharjo believes that the strength of each participating athlete in Papua PON is quite alike. However, Suharjo is aiming to build their spirit that will determine the achievement.

"All opponents are equally tough. However, the important aspect is that we remain aware of the strength of all opponents. At the end, the most prepared athlete is the one who will be the winner," he remarked.

Regarding the toughest opponents expected to be stumbling blocks for North Sumatra to win a medal are the athletes from Java, such as Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, and East Java, according to Suharjo.

"Meanwhile, Papuan athletes, as the host for this National Games, cannot be considered as the toughest competitors. This is because their preparation is considered normal," he stated.

Those competing in the Papua PON Athletics branch, North Sumatra, comprise Welman Pasaribu, Abdul Hafiz, M. Syahrial Bakti, Hardodi Sihombing, Syafaad Tarigan, M. Kahairuddin Syahputra, and Pramoedya Sufallah.

The others competing in the branch are Shafwan Hafizh Nasution, Berman Siahaan, Firton Lumbantoruan, Pretty Sihite, Agustina Manik, Sri Astuti, Rustika Sibagariang, Ananda Monika Tarigan, and Nur Ainun Warin Angin//ANT