JN Joniad

10/05/2023

“In the depths of adversity, I’ve learned that hope and resilience can reshape even the harshest realities. My journey showed me the power of compassion and unity to create change. I’m dedicated to giving voice to the silenced and believe that together, we can forge a future where justice and freedom prevail for all in Myanmar.”

One million Rohingya are stranded in dire refugee camps in Cox Bazaar, Bangladesh.

06/16/2023

In a world that thrives on unity and compassion, the Rohingya crisis stands as a heartbreaking reminder of the challenges we face.

Imagine an entire community uprooted from their homeland, enduring unimaginable atrocities, and seeking refuge in a foreign land.

Let's join hands to shed light on their struggle, raise awareness, and strive for justice and a brighter future for the resilient Rohingya people.

For the first time in Canada, a Panel discussion will be held in Parliament Hill organized by MP Sameer Zuberi in partnership with the Parliamentary Centre and Parliamentary Friends of Democratic Burma group co-chaired by Adam Chambers and Garnett Genuis

The panel is on 19 June from 4 to 6 pm. RSVP is required to attend the Panel.

Here is the registration form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhteBF1pdsFKjwv1MZQZOT39AG_6xw8vmReIVJdRHnCo7KPg/viewform?pli=1

If you can’t make it in person, the panel will be live-streaming on Parliamentary Centre's page and on this page.

06/11/2023

JFA Canada and Saifullah Muhammad from the held an encouraging discussion with MP on the situation of Rohingya refugees. Our team expressed concern over the lack of global funding for food, basic supplies, and long-term education for refugee youth. Thank you MP Zuberi for expressing concern and proposing viable solutions for our advocacy team to pursue under the leadership of Rohingya activists in Canada.

“JFA Canada and Saifullah Muhammad from the held an encouraging discussion with MP on the situation of Rohingya refugees. Our team expressed concern over the lack of global funding for food, basic supplies, and long-term education for refugee youth.…”

06/07/2023

The Rohingya Crisis: A Call for International Action and Canada’s Leadership in Resettlement

“I don’t even know what my human rights are in Myanmar,” continued Ro Ziya. “I was not even sure if I was ever treated as a human being. I was called an illegal immigrant in my own land. I could not even travel within my own country, nor can I apply for a job. All I can recall is the hatred and discrimination against us.”

Although faced with genocide few Rohingya refugees are now in Canada

06/07/2023

I had the honour of meeting with distinguished members of the Canadian parliament, representatives of University of Toronto, Parliamentary Centre, and IDRC / CRDI to discuss potential solutions for ending the Rohingya crisis and supporting a federal democratic government for Myanmar.

The Rohingya crisis is urgent and ongoing and requires immediate attention and action.

We can make a difference through humanitarian aid, protection and security measures, political reforms, diplomatic negotiations, advocacy, and support for organizations dedicated to the welfare of the Rohingya.

Let's work together towards a brighter future for Rohingya by joining hands.

06/07/2023

The Rohingya Crisis was discussed at the Foreign Affairs community meeting today.

Zaw Kyaw, the spokesperson of the NUG(National Unity Government), attended as a witness to describe how Canada's sanctions against the military regime are affecting them.

During the meeting, Member of Parliament, Sameer Zuberi asked about the NUG's plans to include the Rohingya in the Nation Building process and how power will be shared among the diverse ethnic groups of Myanmar, including the Rohingya.

05/31/2023

I would love to share this beautiful story of the Aceh people who have rescued several boats of Rohingya refugees from the deplorable situation in Bangladesh.

I am truly inspired by the compassionate care and support the people of Aceh have shown towards the Rohingya.

This is a powerful lesson that the world can learn from these humble villagers. Despite having limited resources to provide for their own families, they selflessly extend a helping hand to others in need.

https://www.ourbetterworld.org/series/refugees/blog/how-people-aceh-are-restoring-hope-rohingya-refugees-0?fbclid=IwAR3LW2molyeCNd13FvQCxc2JGjJKvxy4mtGnvLD5LxeGyPNgBc5OtJpElTw_aem_th_AQeC9RO0gLMpUrsiDntf6vpggKwTXMaFq8u8K44KBGXmG4tr0oYr75qYiBIbDWjoOV8

In February 2020, 800 Rohingya boarded a ship to escape dire humanitarian conditions in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, intending to reach Malaysia. Many wished to reunite with their estranged family members, children to their fathers and newlywed brides to husbands.

02/05/2023

It’s two years since Myanmar’s military seized power in the country. Refugees from the heavily persecuted Rohingya minority are once again on the move, attempting dangerous sea journeys in large numbers during 2022. The UN warns a regional response from countries including Australia and Indonesi...

12/29/2022

Rohingya are trapped in an uncertain situation where they can neither return to their home in Myanmar nor rebuild their home in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh refuses to integrate them locally, while the military in Myanmar continues to deny their identity as citizens and their right to return to their homes in Rakhine state.

“Here, we are not treated as human beings in the camps. We have no basic rights. Children are growing up without education. There are very limited medical facilities. Many people are dying from various diseases and infections. It is like hell here.” Mohammad added.
https://opencanada.org/we-are-dying-please-save-us/

11/01/2022

I used to be stateless. That's why I value my Canadian permanent resident card so much

From a stateless Rohingya to a Canadian permanent resident, JN Joniad shares what it means to finally have a paper that says he belongs somewhere.

10/14/2022

This is a neat graphic of JN Joniad ✨️ Special thanks to Aquilliana!

She's a talented Graphic Artist from Yogyakarta, Indonesia who has also helped us with our film posters that is currently on our profiles everywhere ✨️

Her website of aquilliana.com is currently under maintenance although it will be back online at some point so you can check her other works 👍. But its nonetheless a nice artistic expression for each of the film star (Ashfaq and Azizah coming soon).

Spread the words about this film and the issues around it. And visit our website and other socials for the latest update about our film! (freedomstreetfilm.com)

05/25/2022

the archipelago was founded to support writers in refugee communities in Indonesia and create deep relationships between writers internationally. We mentor displaced writers in Indonesia to become published journalists, poets and creative writers, and we publish literature in multiple languages from...

01/16/2022

We have lost three more innocent refugees' souls in Indonesia in the past few days.

Two of them faced unfortunate and tragic death due to medical neglect, and another one had given up living a life without hope and meaning.

We have lost three more innocent refugees' souls in Indonesia in the past few days. Two of them faced unfortunate and tragic death due to medical neglect, and another one had given up living a life without hope and meaning. When I arrived in Canada, I thought I would give up on refugees in Indonesia...

11/02/2021

‘In May, I even tried to burn myself in front of the UNHCR. Can the world understand why I want to commit su***de and why many refugees are committing su***de in Indonesia?’ asked Fouzia Taj, a thirty-thee-year-old female Afghan refugee who has been stranded in Indonesia for the last eight years. She continued:

As members of a vulnerable refugee population, we, the refugees of Indonesia, seek the intervention of the international community to bring us a safe future. Failing this, refugees in Indonesia will continue to be trapped within harsh systems and condemned to slow death by attrition.

08/02/2021

FMR 67 Public health and WASH / Non-signatory States and the international refugee regime

The latest issue of Forced Migration Review, now online, includes two features. In the Public health and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) feature, authors discuss challenges, responses and innovations across a wide range of settings, and identify learning which could help inform future public health and WASH work with forced migrants. Meanwhile, in the second feature, authors explore the status of protection in non-signatory States, examining, in particular, the role of UNHCR, civil society and legal actors in facilitating access to protection for refugees and asylum seekers. This issue is available in two formats: a 68-page magazine and a 6-page Editors’ briefing, both online at www.fmreview.org/issue67. It will also be available in Arabic, French and Spanish. FMR is Open Access and free of charge. For print copies, please email [email protected]

You can read my article on page 65: The challenges we face in a non-signatory country.

07/29/2021

07/14/2021

06/16/2021

Since January 2021, one hundred refugee people have been protesting in front of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) offices in Indonesia’s most infected city, Jakarta, which has at least 19,000 active cases as of June 16. The protesters include families with young children, single women and men from countries stricken with conflict: Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Sri Lanka. They shout the slogan: “Justice, equality and fair process for resettlement.”

Since January 2021, one hundred refugee people have been protesting in front of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) offices in Indonesia’s most infected city, Jakarta, which has at least 19,000 active cases as of June 16.

06/11/2021

Refugees' uncertainty start from the very first day when they flee to escape war, genocide and persecution in their countries.

Read the article on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CP3C7OTBQGr/

02/15/2021

Is freedom worth fighting for?

Since the beginning of human history many martyrs sacrificed their lives fighting for the freedom. And there is no country in the world liberated from tyrannical government without fighting for their freedom.

Can you imagine your life being controlled by someone else and going the way someone else wants?

When you go out in every city in Myanmar, you can clearly see the pain and agony in eyes of those little children working in hard labors; those ladies selling their respect and privacy; those begging for the jobs to feed their families. those living in fear of being imprisoned for no reason, extorted, harassed, beaten; those denied their citizenship living as illegal immigrant in their own country; those who have lost many lives just to be recognized their existence and given them the freedom they deserve.

On the other hand, your country has remained one of the poorest countries in the world is because you have not had freedom to invest your ideas, thoughts, beliefs openly out into the world. You cannot even pursue the degree you want to because your fate is being decided by someone else.

You are entitled to so many rights and freedoms so that you can do what you want, you can speak, sing, dance, sleep however you feel to.

Freedom is your birthright, YOU, ME. Everyone was born free without restrictions. if someone binds you, prevents you from projecting your ideas to the world, if someone prevents you from holding contrasting beliefs or those which are against those of the society, then they are wrong.

Because you have the freedom to hold your own opinions and they cannot challenge them, because holding someone's freedom and thoughts and ideas is one of the greatest sins.

We all need freedom; a peaceful sky to lay under; pure breeze to breathe. This is the reason why freedom is important: thus, it is worth fighting for.

02/01/2021

As a writer, reporting on these stories breaks me emotionally. Yet I feel that it’s only the beginning of what’s to come as people are deprived of their basic right to live as human beings. Most refugees I have met are experiences mental crises so severe that it is difficult for them to remember even their own birthdays. With no work or ways to pass the time, most of them languish through the day suffering from insomnia, depression and stress over daily survival. Single and unaccompanied refugees are particularly vulnerable as they have no-one to support them.

I have been writing and striving to address and raise the awareness of the suffering of refugees in Indonesia for nearly three years, but I have not yet seen any significant change and improvement in the situation. Indonesia has a small number of refugees compared to countries like Bangladesh and Syria. If Australia and other safe third countries were willing to take half of them and Indonesia a third, the problem would be solved right there. But it seems unlikely that politicians will ever give up on their agendas to trap refugees and use them as pawns.

Refugees in Indonesia need citizen awareness as they can no longer rely on politicians to restore their hope for the future. If people in the free world can spare one minute of their time and advocate for refugees, it will make a world of difference to their lives.

The impact of Operation Sovereign goes beyond the offshore detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island. It also manifests itself through money and political influence in Indonesia, which has indirectly become another detention centre for refugees turned away from Australia. Thos...

01/18/2021

01/13/2021

Here is our upcoming documentary trailer available to share on Social media. We hoped to finish and release it this year.

“This hellish situation does not happen naturally; rather, created by politics and politicians. Their very fundamental essence was supposed to serve the people. Instead, they are destroying these innocent human beings by leaving them just barely surviving, but not living”, Joniad adds.

read here how this is made:
http://rightnow.org.au/opinion-3/freedom-street/

Watch the trailer here
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=866656467486621

And feel free to support us here:
https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/freedom-street/

14000 refugees are trapped in limbo; caught in the crossfire of Australia’s border policy and Indonesia’s indifference.

01/08/2021

My article on a Rohingya refugee seeking education has been published in indonesia today. Please read in google translation.

Seorang remaja berusia 19 tahun merupakan salah satu pengungsi Rohingya yang terdampar di Provinsi Aceh. "Satu-satunya alasan saya mempertaruhkan nyawa dengan menyeberangi lautan adalah menemukan negara di mana saya bisa menempuh studi."

Seorang remaja berusia 19 tahun merupakan salah satu pengungsi Rohingya yang terdampar di Provinsi Aceh. Dia bertekad menempuh pendidikan tinggi, saat menumpang kapal dari kamp pengungsi di Bangladesh.

12/17/2020

I give up several times to write on this topic because it affects me mentally in turn but the circumstances of refugees in Indonesia always compels me to do so. I just five ago, I published a story of a refugee who took his life in Makassar.

This month, two more refugees weary souls give up their on bodies suffering severely in the state of uncertainty in an infinite limbo, a system designed by selfish politicians in both Australia and Indonesia.

It really brokes me emotionally when I write this kind of stories After publishing that story. I hoped that I would not to write another story on this topic, but it seems like it is just the beginning of more refugee tragedies to happen as long as their situation remains unchanged and unaddressed.

The second reason, I feel like to give up on writing about refugees in Indonesia is because, since 2018, I have published several stories in world-leading media and have sacrificed a lot myself and yet I have not seen a significant change and refugees are still continued to suffer the same situation as five years back.

Until now, I have had a strong faith in writing to change the system, but it seems like it doesn't work in certain countries for certain people.

However, I will try to keep writing their stories to at least let the refugees know that their voices heard and this only what I can do being in limited Freedom.

If people in the free world can spare one minute of their time and advocate for refugees, it will make a world of difference for refugees.

From my understanding of the situation, unlike other refugees crises in other countries, Indonesia refugee's crisis does not really require you to donate money to resolve, but strong advocacies and supports.

Indonesia has a tiny fraction of refugees compared to refugees in another country like Bangladesh and Surya. in Indonesia has only around 14,000 refugees. If Australia and other countries are willing to take a half and Indonesia, a third, it is solved there.

But these politicians will never give up on their self-interest seeking agendas to trap refugees and use them as pawns.

Refugees in Indonesia need public and citizen awareness and supports more than political resolutions.

10/23/2020

Life is like an exam:

We came to this world for a limited time only. Someday, we will all have to leave this world forever. How we want to spend this lifetime, whether as a good person or bad person, depends entirely on us. As we are already alive, we cannot choose not to exist. We have to live this life, but we still have a choice of how we live it.

In life, sometimes we do good things and sometimes bad ones; we also make a lot of mistakes. It is important for us to realize is that every single experience teaches us a lesson, regardless of whether it is positive, or negative. I believe that making mistakes is not a bad thing at all. In fact, we need to make mistakes to learn what is right and what is wrong.

We call a wrong a mistake because it is useful: every mistake opens a new way for us to learn something good from our wrongdoing. Moreover, making mistakes is training for the next step, going forward. But we must be prepared to change as we learn from our mistakes; we do this by examining the past critically and applying its lessons to the present.

By .khan

10/15/2020

Dear fellow rohingya brothers and sisters, I won't say much but this: We are running out of time!

It is time you stopped all those dramas and look around what's happening to your people. They are dying everywhere unnoticed and unrecognized in tragedy.

We always reply on other to do things for us. Well, it is time for you to admit that you need to help yourself. If you continue to be dependent on others, and by the time realise that it will be too late.

Act today and now! Your community need you now more than ever!

10/02/2020

What an inspiring woman! Here is a worth reading good morning story for you!

In her house in Indonesia, Marwh Ali Mamosy’s awards cover her wall.

If she were in a country like Canada and London, she might have become the next Ramla Ali, who was the first Muslim woman to win an English boxing title. Instead, she lives in limbo.

In 2017, she was recognised as the best woman fighter in Jakarta and has been selected twice to fight in Asian tournaments in Malaysia, but she couldn’t go.

As an Iraqi refugee in Indonesia, she cannot travel outside the country to compete.

“I have been offered a lot of big fights both nationally and internationally, which could have changed my life. As a refugee, I was denied this opportunity,” she said.

Marwh dreams of becoming an international boxing champion. Her refugee status in Indonesia means she is unable to compete internationally and instead lives in limbo.

09/30/2020

Everyone is responsible for everything else happening around the world; your actions might not have a direct effect to causes, but we are all wirelessly connected to each other. We cannot deny the fact that we are all social creatures and we thrive through each other help. Since the resources and wealth, you have, must come from somewhere, we are accountable to each other, and your every action affect everyone you know. Far or near, there is always a side effect of every action. You might not realize it, but others have to pay this with their lives.

09/24/2020

Described by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as “one of, if not the, most discriminated people in the world”, the Rohingya are an unrecognised and persecuted ethnic minority group in Myanmar. Since 1982, they have been denied citizenship and faced rampant human rights abuses in their home country.

In Indonesia, while life may not be as brutal as in Myanmar, the Rohingya, and the wider refugee community, experience acute hardship of their own.

“The hospital here told me that they have no treatment and that such surgery is expensive, which the IOM [International Organization for Migration] refused to pay,” said Muhammed Shiraj, a 44-year-old Rohingya refugee who has been suffering from gastric cancer since 2018.

He’s been stranded indefinitely for eight years in Indonesia, unable to move forward or back from his predicament.

“They recommended that I seek resettlement to a third-country where I can receive proper treatment. I have requested UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] several times for the resettlement, yet I have not seen anything. Nowadays, I vomit and urinate blood.”

As many refugees fail to receive necessary medical treatment over a period of years in Indonesia, the health impacts are apparent.

09/16/2020

I understand that Indonesia has not signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, but I believe it is not necessary to sign to show humanitarian spirit and serve humanity.

Indonesia has already committed itself as a humanitarian country according to the second principle of Pancasila “Just and civilized humanity.”

Indonesia’s culture reflects the edicts of Prophet Mohammad. According to Islamic law and tradition, Muslims and non-Muslims alike who are in danger and are seeking protection, have the right to approach an Islamic community for Protection and are not required to prove that they have been persecuted.

Based on this tradition, refugees should be granted asylum upon their request and they should be given the same rights as all nationals, including rights to work, education, free movement and family reunification.

Dear Mr. President, I would like to express my humble gratitude to you for your kind consideration in letting us

09/13/2020

In July 2014, at the age of sixteen, Asif fled Afghanistan. He managed to find a smuggler who helped him to flee from India to Malaysia, then to Indonesia. He hoped to be resettled in Australia through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) resettlement program. However he arrived just days after Australia’s announcement that refugees registered with UNHCR after 1 July 2014, would no longer be resettled to Australia. This news broke his hope for a safe future. He decided to wait for UNHCR to find him a third-country resettlement.

https://www.thearchipelago.org/remembering-asif-rezaie/

Remembering the life of Mohammad Asif Rezaie, 1998-2020.