After weeks of drifting at sea, more than 300 Rohingya refugees were stranded after arriving off the coast of western Indonesia on Sunday (December 10).
At 3 a.m. local time (2 a.m. Singapore time), 180 Rohingya refugees arrived by boat on a beach in Pidie, Aceh province. Another boat carrying 135 Rohingya refugees arrived in neighboring Greater Aceh County a few hours later.
The authorities left the refugees on the shore where they landed, and the mothers carried their children, some of whom were naked**. Some of the refugees gathered at a plantation on the shore to drink the water given to them by the locals. Some people lie on the ground and rest.
The reporter saw that ** found piles of United Nations refugee cards in a cardboard box brought by the refugees.
"We noticed that some of these refugees have refugee cards. Therefore, they were first re-registered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration. ”
Pidi said earlier that there would be no tents or other basic needs for the refugees. They said they would not "incur any costs" and that there were no shelters available.
Since the arrival of more than 1,000 Rohingya last month, local authorities and residents have refused to accept the Rohingya and threatened to drive them back to sea.
"We will continue to explain the situation to people and make sure they are not burdened by dealing with refugees," said Rahman, UN Refugee Agency Protection Assistant. He acknowledged that the designated shelters were already out of capacity, but said the agency and Indonesia** were working to find a place to settle the refugees.
Indonesia's ** Jokowi said on Friday (8th) that temporary relief will be provided to refugees while "prioritizing the interests of local communities".