Indonesian Citizens Are Advised Not To Travel To The Middle East

Director of Protection of Indonesian Citizens and BHI Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha (Azmi Samsul Maarif)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government has given an appeal for travel for Indonesian citizens (WNI) not to visit Middle Eastern countries regarding the security situation in the country.

"To our citizens who have planned trips to Lebanese, Syrian, Iranian, Israeli, Palestinian and Yemeni regions, we strongly urge them to postpone their journey to these points," said Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI (Kemlu RI), Judha Nugraha, as reported by ANTARA, Monday, October 7.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reminded Indonesian citizens who are currently still in several Middle Eastern countries to immediately report themselves and always communicate with the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in Beirut.

"And for those who have a flight to the Middle East region to continue to monitor the situation, anticipate flight disruption as in the event of an attack between Iran and Israel," he said.

In addition, Indonesian citizens are reminded to always follow the instructions and directions of local authorities, ensure personal security and pay attention to locations that can be visited.

"Because if there is an open war to the Beirut region, it will certainly affect the ability of the Indonesian Embassy in Beirut to carry out rescue steps," he said.

In this case, Judha said, if his party has succeeded in repatriating 40 Indonesian citizens (WNI) and one Foreign Citizen (WNA) from Lebanon, it will run safely and smoothly. In the evacuation stage at 40 Indonesian citizens, it consists of 38 adults, two children.

"In addition, there is one foreigner from Lebanon, who is the wife of one of our Indonesian citizens who came home," he said.

Of the dozens of Indonesian citizens who entered the fifth wave at the evacuation stage from Jordan, there were two flying groups (cluters).

Where, he continued, for the first group consisting of 20 people and one Indonesian citizen, had traveled from Amman, Jordan using Qatar Airways QR967 with arrival at 07.49 WIB.

"The return of Indonesian citizens from Lebanon has arrived for the fifth wave. A total of 20 Indonesian citizens and one foreigner used Qatar Airways QR967 at 07.49 WIB," he said.

Then, followed by the second batch, which consisted of 20 people with arrivals at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten at 15.30 WIB.

"Thank God it has arrived in Indonesia, of these 41 people are part of the process of evacuating Indonesian citizens by land which is complex and long from Beirut to Damascus and then to Amman and we fly them to Indonesia," he said.

He said, for the total number of Indonesian citizens who could be evacuated by the Indonesian government, a total of 65 people were counted since the decision of the emergency status by the embassy of the Republic of Indonesia on August 4, 2024. However, until now there are 116 Indonesian citizens who still live in Lebanon.

Until now, there are still 116 Indonesian citizens who choose to stay in Lebanon despite local security conditions in an emergency.

"There are still 116 people, who still live in Lebanon. The majority of them choose to stay there for personal reasons," he explained.

Of the hundreds of Indonesian citizens who are known to be still alive, they consist of students and migrant workers. They reasoned to choose to live in Lebanon because they were still undergoing education and the relationship between work contracts in the country.

"Of the 116 who are still in Lebanon, they are Indonesian citizens who are married to local residents. The second is students, students who study in Lebanon and the third is migrant workers," he said.