Passing as Other Aliens: The Representational Strategy of Hazara Unaccompanied Youths While in Transit in Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Indonesia is still perceived as a safe transit country for unaccompanied refugee children from Afghanistan, albeit with the prolonged waiting period. In Indonesia, Hazara refugee youths have to deal with the highly stigmatised identities associated with them as Afghan, refugee and Shia persons. This article aims to answer two questions: (1) what are the forms of passing that the Hazara refugee youths perform in Indonesia; (2) what are the meanings of their passing? I argue that refugee youths' passing is not a random act but reflective of their understanding of how Indonesians categorise who are tolerable others and who are not.