An activity at the Refugee Learning Center. All photos from their Facebook page



The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to Zakareia Shadkaam, the manager and principal of the school. He arrived in Indonesia in March 2014 after fleeing war in Afghanistan.

Many of the 14,000 refugees in Indonesia have waited years to be resettled to a place where they can go to school or get a job. Indonesia is not a signatory of the United Nations convention of refugees, so under international law is not obliged to look after them. They cannot legally work, use public services, obtain citizenship or access formal education.Australia was the main resettlement location for refugees in Indonesia, but in 2013 it adopted strict measures to discourage new arrivals. It was providing the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with funding to meet basic needs of refugees in Indonesia, but since March last year it has begun to reduce its contribution.The Refugee Learning Center in Cisarua, West Java, was founded in 2015 by a group of refugees. It is one of several projects that have emerged from the community to provide activities and learning opportunities.