Chandrashekar, who arrived in Jakarta on Jan. 21, had an Indonesian tourist visa and was originally sent to Indonesia by the Canadian Humanitarian Appeal for the Relief of Tamils (Canadian HART) in hopes of getting an update
on the situation that the asylum-seekers have found themselves in. She did not have the proper permission to approach the vessel and was held by the government along with two Australians.
According to Chandrashekar, 254 Sri Lankan refugees are aboard the ship. The boat was intercepted by Indonesian authorities en route to Australia. Those aboard refuse to get off the ship because they worry that it will take too many years to be allowed to relocate to Australia.
Australia has washed its hands of the issue and will not accept the ship packed full of asylum-seekers.
“The boat is located off the coast of the Merak Village, so I wanted to go there and see it for myself and take some updated pictures so that I could communicate the condition [of the boat],” Chandrashekar said.
According to Chandrashekar, as soon as she got close enough to the shore to see the boat, an undercover police officer came up to her and started asking questions.
“[The police] took me to the police station in Merak and held me there for quite some time. [They] questioned and interrogated me and took away my passport and cell phone and would not let us call an embassy,” she said.
Nanang, a spokesperson for Merak’s water police, told the Sydney Morning Herald on Jan. 27, “To enter that premises, permission from the foreign ministry is needed and, furthermore, they tried to give some documents to the asylum seekers.”
Saradha Nathan, another Tamil activist from Australia who accompanied Chandrashekar during her trip, told the Sydney Morning Herald on Jan. 26 that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had refused to give her permission to visit the boat.
Chandrashekar said that she was deported soon after her release by Indonesian authorities.
‘[The police] took me to the police station in Merak and held me there for quite some time. [They] questioned and interrogated me and took away my passport and cell phone and would not let us call an embassy,’
—Jessica Chandrashekar, York student
“Two days later, [the police] gave me my passport back and said I was being deported and that I would be arrested if I left our hotel or spoke to the media,” she said.
Chandrashekar returned to Canada on Jan. 30 and she said she is still worried about the asylum-seekers on the boat.
Chandrashekar said she will not be able to see them any time soon, however, because she is not allowed into Indonesia for the next six months.
Chandrashekar said there are some people on the boat who she is especially concerned about, including a woman who is eight months pregnant and a one-year-old child who is sick.
Now that Chandrashekar is back in Canada, she said she plans to raise more awareness about the situation that the asylum-seekers are in.
“There are 102 people on the boat who have family in Canada, so there is a possibility for these families to sponsor their relatives. I feel I carry this responsibility to communicate their stories and conditions,”she said.
She noted that she would “definitely” like to cooperate with the Canadian government, since Canada has a history of welcoming many Tamil people.
Krisna Saravanamuttu, president of the York Federation of Students, commended Chandrashekar’s bravery.
“For me, as a Tamil individual, [the struggle of Tamil people] is something that’s always on my mind and my heart, and it gives me pride to see that people like Jessica are advocating
for these issues,” he said.
He called Chandrashekar a “shining” model of what all students across the country should be doing.
Sujananth Thirunavukkarasu, a communications outreach director of CanadianHART, said the organization has more work to do, including helping out activists on the ground.
“If the situation is favourable, [CanadianHART] will definitely consider sending more people [to Indonesia],” he said.
Thirunavukkarasu noted that CanadianHART is expecting Indonesian authorities to make sure that the asylum-seekers will not be sent back to Sri Lanka, which he called the “main priority” of
the organization.
“We want to make sure that the Indonesian government talks to the Australian government and finds solutions to this difficult situation,” he said.
According to Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald article dated Jan. 27, “Indonesia has asked for Australia’s help to resolve the stand-off, but Australia insists it’s Indonesia’s problem.”
Alex Bilyk, the director of media relations at York, said that he commends Chandrashekar’s passion for what she is doing.
“I wanted to remind all York students that, when you are overseas, you may or may not be treated as you would be in Canada,” he said.
“We are fortunate to have so many passionate students [at York] who act in a responsible way and try to create change.”
Despite our multiple attempts to contact Indonesia’s Consulate General in Toronto, Excalibur’s phone calls were not returned by press time.
– With files from the Sydney Morning Herald
By The Numbers
100
days is the minimum amount of time that the Sri Lankan asylum-seekers have spent on the boat, refusing to leave
50
people is the maximum capacity of the boat, according to Chandrashekar
254
is the number of people living on the boat, according to Chandrashekar
11
hours is the amount of time Chandrashekar spent being questioned and interrogated
102
is the number of asylum-seekers who have relatives in Canada, according to Chandrashekar
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