Indonesia: a boat with a hundred Rohingya refugees rescued in North Sumatra

Rohingya refugees awaiting evacuation as they arrive at a port in Aceh, north Sumatra, Indonesia, December 31, 2021. via REUTERS - ANTARA FOTO

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The Indonesian navy has finally decided to rescue more than 100 Rohingyas who were trying to land on the coasts north of Sumatra on the night of Thursday 30 to Friday 31 December.

The wooden boat had broken down since Christmas.

The local authorities have so far refused to welcome them, so they bowed to pressure from the international community and the local population.

Advertising

Read more

The rescue took place at night in extreme conditions, on rough seas, with strong winds.

The Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, crammed into a small wooden boat that was taking water, were finally able to disembark during the night from Thursday to Friday.

As soon as they set foot on the ground, they were sprayed with disinfectant and transferred to buses.

For now, the refugees are placed in centers sheltered from the torrential monsoon rains, where they are tested for Covid-19 and quarantined for 10 days.

►

Outrage by UNHCR and fishermen

Until now, the archipelago has refused to welcome these exiles from this persecuted Muslim minority in Burma.

Authorities had dispatched a technician to the damaged wooden boat to repair it, asking the castaways to

.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Amnesty International were then outraged by the Indonesian project.

Fishermen in the Aceh region have also publicly opposed the abandonment of these refugees fleeing a country marked by repression and violence.

They were the ones who first came to their aid and provided them with water, food and clothing.

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• Indonesia

• Burma

• Rohingya

• International Migration