Carry Out Humanitarian Tasks, 3 MER-C Volunteers From Indonesia Refuse To Be Evacuated From Gaza

Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha (right) delivered a press statement in Jakarta on Wednesday (1/11/2023). (ANTARA/Yashinta Difa)

JAKARTA - Three volunteers from the humanitarian organization MER-C from Indonesia who served at the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza refused to be evacuated from the center of conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group.

"The three Indonesian citizens have chosen to stay and carry out humanitarian duties at the Indonesian Hospital (in Gaza) and we respect this choice," said Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, November 1.

He explained that in accordance with Law 37 of 1999 concerning Foreign Relations, the task of the state is to save Indonesian citizens from a dangerous zone to a safe location, but it must be done voluntarily. "We cannot force it. The state is tasked with preparing and providing these (evacuation) facilities, but the option is to return to the individuals of each Indonesian citizen," Judha said. Meanwhile, seven other Indonesian citizens in Gaza are waiting to be evacuated by the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo who have now arrived at the Rafah border.

The seven Indonesian citizens consist of two Indonesian families who are married to Palestinians, along with their children. Evacuation of the Indonesian citizens will be carried out from their homes, each in northern Gaza and southern Gaza, towards the Rafah border then entering the Egyptian region, before being flown to Jakarta. Judha emphasized the government's priority in evacuating Indonesian citizens, namely ensuring their safety. "We cannot move our citizens if the conditions are not safe. Because the situation on the ground is very dynamic, this effort requires cooperation and communication from various parties," he said. Since the eruption of the conflict triggered by Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the government has facilitated the evacuation of four Indonesian citizens out of a total of 136 Indonesian citizens who were registered in Israel at that time.

The government also noted several other Indonesian citizens who carried out independent evacuations using commercial flights. Currently, said Judha, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recorded that 123 Indonesian citizens in Israel chose to stay in their respective areas because they still felt safe. Most of the hundreds of Indonesian citizens are students in Israel, whose condition continues to be monitored by the government through the Indonesian Embassy in Amman in Jordan.