The Resilience of Afghan Refugee Communities Among Uncertainty Regarding Legal Status and The Resettlement Process From A National Resilience Perspective

Riandy Posma Tobing; Muhammad Syaroni Rofii

doi:10.55681/jige.v7i3.6446

Authors

Riandy Posma Tobing Graduate School Of Sustainable Development, National Resilience Study Program, Jakarta, Indonesia
Muhammad Syaroni Rofii Graduate School Of Sustainable Development, National Resilience Study Program, Jakarta, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55681/jige.v7i3.6446

Keywords:

Afghan Refugees, Community Resilience, Legal Liminality, Transit Country, Resettlement, Social Capital, Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines community resilience among Afghan refugees in Indonesia amid prolonged legal uncertainty and delayed resettlement processes. Indonesia, as a non-signatory state to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol, positions refugees within a condition of legal liminality in which they are protected from deportation but excluded from formal integration, employment rights, and long-term legal certainty. These conditions create multidimensional vulnerabilities affecting refugees’ economic, psychological, and social wellbeing. Using a qualitative literature review approach, this study analyzes academic literature, institutional reports and policy documents related to refugee legal status, community resilience, coping strategies, social capital, and national resilience. The analysis shows that Afghan refugees in Indonesia actively construct community resilience through collective coping mechanisms, social solidarity, religious identity and informal support networks. Bonding social capital plays a crucial role in sustaining refugee communities during prolonged periods of uncertainty, while opportunities for broader social integration remain limited due to structural constraints within the Indonesian transit regime. The findings further demonstrate that refugee resilience in transit countries differs from resilience patterns commonly identified in destination countries because it develops primarily through internal community adaptation rather than institutional inclusion. This study contributes to refugee and migration studies by extending the discussion of resilience into the context of prolonged transit and legal liminality in non-signatory states. The study also highlights the broader implications of refugee resilience for human security and social stability within the framework of national resilience in Indonesia.

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