Hundreds of Rohingya refugees arrive by boat in Indonesia's Aceh province | DW News
Summary
TLDRNearly 600 Rohingya refugees have landed in Indonesia's Aceh province, having fled persecution in Myanmar and overcrowded camps in Bangladesh. Traveling on perilous sea journeys in search of better opportunities, they are in urgent need of food, water, shelter, and medical help. The local community and international organizations are providing aid, but there are concerns about the refugees' integration and Indonesia's capacity to accommodate them, as the country is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention.
Takeaways
- 🚢 Nearly 600 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Indonesia's Aceh province, all by boat from Bangladesh.
- 🌍 Bangladesh is currently hosting up to a million Rohingya refugees in camps due to persecution in Myanmar.
- 🛳️ The refugees have undertaken dangerous sea journeys in search of better opportunities in Southeast Asian countries.
- 🏖️ Upon arrival in Indonesia, the refugees are in urgent need of food, water, shelter, and medical help.
- 👶 There are many babies and children among the refugees, highlighting the vulnerability of this group.
- 📅 One refugee mentioned starting their journey on October 26, indicating the recent nature of these arrivals.
- 🏚️ Local communities are providing aid, but there are concerns about suitable accommodation and potential incidents.
- 🚫 Some locals are rejecting the refugees, citing difficulties in assimilation and cultural differences.
- 🤝 International organizations like UNHCR are facilitating the refugees' arrival and providing assistance.
- 🏛️ Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and feels it lacks the obligation to accommodate refugees long-term.
- 🔮 The situation suggests a need for regional cooperation among ASEAN countries to address the ongoing refugee crisis.
Q & A
How many Rohingya refugees have arrived in Indonesia's AE province recently?
-Nearly 600 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Indonesia's AE province in the past week.
Where did the Rohingya refugees arrive from?
-The refugees arrived by boat from Bangladesh.
Why did the Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar?
-They fled persecution under the military crackdown in Myanmar.
What conditions are the Rohingya refugees escaping from in the camps in Bangladesh?
-The refugees are escaping dangerous overcrowding and poor conditions in the camps in Bangladesh.
What is the current situation of the refugees upon arrival in Indonesia?
-The refugees are in urgent need of food, water, shelter, and medical help upon their arrival in Indonesia.
What is the local community's reaction to the arrival of the refugees?
-The local community is providing food for the refugees, but they are concerned about the lack of suitable accommodation and the potential for undesirable incidents.
How long was the sea journey for the refugees?
-The refugees were at sea for about 14 days, as mentioned by one of the refugees.
What is the condition of the boats that the refugees used for their journey?
-The boats were rickety and decrepit wooden boats, putting the lives of the refugees in danger.
What is the current stance of Indonesia regarding the Rohingya refugees?
-Indonesia is not part of the UN Refugee convention and has not ratified it, feeling that they do not have an obligation to take in refugees or provide a long-term solution for them.
How are the refugees being facilitated upon their arrival?
-The UNHCR and International Organization for Migration are facilitating the refugees upon their arrival, providing immediate medical assistance and food.
What is the future plan for handling the Rohingya refugees in Indonesia and other ASEAN countries?
-There have been meetings and sessions discussing the refugee situation not just in Indonesia but also with ASEAN countries, as the refugees are also trying to go to Malaysia and Thailand.
Outlines
🚢 Rohingya Refugees Arrive in Indonesia
Nearly 600 Rohingya refugees have reached Indonesia's Aceh province by boat from Bangladesh, where they were hosted in camps after fleeing persecution in Myanmar. The perilous sea journey was undertaken to escape overcrowded camps and in search of better opportunities in Southeast Asian countries. Upon arrival, they were in urgent need of food, water, shelter, and medical help. The local community and organizations like UNHCR are providing aid, but there are concerns about the lack of suitable accommodation and potential issues due to the refugees' unfamiliarity with local norms. The Indonesian government is aware of the situation but has not ratified the UN Refugee Convention, indicating a lack of obligation to provide long-term solutions for the refugees.
🌐 Local Reactions and Indonesia's Refugee Policy
The second paragraph delves into the experiences of a Rohingya refugee mother and her children who survived a 14-day sea journey with limited food and water, highlighting their hope for safety and a better future. Local reactions to the refugees are mixed; some communities, like in Beran, have rejected the Rohingya, fearing they cannot assimilate and will disrupt long-standing cultural norms. Indonesia's stance on the refugee issue is further complicated by its non-ratification of the UN Refugee Convention, which leaves it without a legal obligation to accommodate refugees. The country is engaged in discussions with ASEAN nations, as the refugees also aim to reach Malaysia and Thailand, indicating that a regional approach may be necessary to address the ongoing arrivals and the uncertain future of the Rohingya refugees.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Rohingya refugees
💡Indonesia's Aceh province
💡Bangladesh
💡Military crackdown
💡Overcrowding in camps
💡Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia
💡Sea journeys
💡Decrepit wooden boats
💡Urgent need for food, water, shelter, and medical help
💡Local community and government response
💡UN Refugee Convention
Highlights
Nearly 600 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Indonesia's Aceh province, all by boat from Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is currently hosting up to a million Rohingya refugees in camps.
The refugees have fled persecution under the military junta in Myanmar.
They have undertaken dangerous sea journeys to escape overcrowding in camps and seek opportunities in Southeast Asia.
Hundreds of Rohingya refugees have arrived on a beach in Indonesia after weeks at sea on decrepit wooden boats.
A refugee recounts the perilous journey, mentioning seasickness and the presence of many children on the boat.
There are nearly 600 refugees at AA beach in urgent need of food, water, shelter, and medical help.
Community members reported a ship with thick smoke heading towards land at high speed.
Almost a million Rohingya have been living in refugee camps in Bangladesh due to military crackdown in Myanmar.
Poor conditions in Bangladeshi camps have pushed them to flee to Indonesia, displacing them a second time.
A refugee expresses sadness over their parents' situation in Bangladesh and pleads for protection and help.
Local villagers are bringing food for the refugees but do not want them to disembark due to accommodation concerns.
Indonesia has stated it does not have suitable accommodation for the refugees and past experiences have been problematic.
This is the third boat to have arrived in Indonesia in recent days, with more expected as the sailing season begins.
DW correspondent Sharon Sumang reports from the location where some refugees have arrived.
500 refugees are staying in the largest shelter in Aceh, with over 300 being recent arrivals.
Upon arrival, the refugees received food and aid from the local government and international organizations.
The refugees arrived in dire nutritional condition, with some requiring immediate medical assistance.
Locals in another regency in Aceh have rejected the Rohingya refugees, fearing they cannot assimilate and follow local norms.
Indonesia is not part of the UN Refugee Convention and does not feel obligated to provide a long-term solution for refugees.
Future discussions will involve ASEAN countries as the refugees also aim to go to Malaysia and Thailand.
Transcripts
nearly 600 rohinga refugees have arrived
in Indonesia's AE province in the past
week all arrived by boat from Bangladesh
you'll remember Bangladesh is hosting up
to a million rohinga refugees in camps
after they fled persecution under the
military hun in Myanmar The refugees
have made dangerous sea Journeys over
the past few years to escape dangerous
overcrowding in camps and in search of
opportunities in countries like Malaysia
Thailand and Indonesia
here's more on the recent arrivals in a
in
Indonesia hundreds of rohinga refugees
arrive on a beach in Indonesia they've
been traveling for weeks across the sea
in decrepit wooden boats that put their
lives in
danger I don't remember anything about
how long and what it was like
why I was seasick so I don't know
anything I started my trip uh on 20 26
October on the boot and there are 240
people with me in the boot I can save my
life but there are so many babies and so
many children in the boat please protect
[Music]
them there are nearly 600 refugees at AA
beach in urgent need of food Water
Shelter and medical
help people in the community told us
they saw a ship heading towards the land
with a fairly high speed and Thick
Smoke around 11:30 local
time when we came here we saw they were
rohinga almost a million ringas have
been living in refugee camps in
Bangladesh after escaping military
Crackdown in
Myanmar poor conditions in Bangladeshi
camps have pushed them to flee to
Indonesia displacing them a second time
in their lives I stood there as a
refugee I I feel very sad because my my
parents are in trouble in Bangladesh
please protect us and please help us to
go
anywhere people from nearby villagers
are bringing food for the refugees but
they don't want refugees to get off the
boat we simply do not have suitable
accommodation for
them based on past experiences they
indeed can be
problematic at times they tend to wander
off and we are concerned that there
could be undesirable
incidents it's not that we don't care
about
Humanity
this is the third boat to have arrived
in Indonesia over the last days
organizations monitoring the ringas say
more boats are on the way and it is what
they call the start of the sailing
season and joining me now for more is DW
correspondent Sharon sumang who's in a
where some of the refugees arrived
Sharon where are these refugees now and
are they being looked
after yes be so right now uh I'm in PD 2
hours from the city band AE here behind
me is the building where there are 500
refugees uh are staying this is in fact
the biggest shelter in AE and um 300 of
them more than 300 of them are the
refugees that have just arrived two days
ago on Tuesday and also W uh Wednesday
on two different boats so as you can see
behind me there are children teenagers
men men and women staying here and the
rest like another 100 or so they have
been staying here for uh at least a year
and yes after they arrived uh people
provide them them with food and also I'm
looking right now at Food Truck where
people where the local government also
uh providing them uh food uh as an aid
for the refuges that just arrived and
the unhcr and uh International or
Organization for m ation both of these
organizations have been facilitating the
refugees uh for their arrival can you
talk to us a bit about the condition
that these refugees arrived and given
that they were on rickety boats that
were at sea for many
days yeah they came here in a weekend in
dire nutrition uh in fact there are four
people who are sick and got immediate uh
medical assistance uh from the locals
and also um I just talked to one of the
refugees uh a woman uh that that just
arrived on the first boat she came here
with three of her children and she just
bring like very limited food on uh for
their um for their food on the on the
sea and they had they had to survive
with a very limited food and also drink
and they were on the sea for like 14
days um so when I asked her like for
example do you know that um
you can actually like wait for God knows
for how long or like for years until you
can go to Malaysia she just said like
when wherever it is at least she can
have a better safety and better future
for their children can you talk to us a
bit also about uh how the locals are
reacting to these uh refugees on boats
that are arriving in
a yeah so uh we got an information that
um 3 hours from here in beran another
Regency in AE um the locals are
rejecting the uh refugees the rohinga
refugees and they have been rejected
twice actually uh the third boat uh to
land on the beach why it's because the
locals uh feel like they cannot
assimilate well they uh they don't obey
like the norms and also the cultures
that have been implement mented uh for
years uh and they feel like um there has
been like um influx massive influx of
refugees coming to AE uh like and they
they just don't expect it to be this
many so so what does that say about how
Indonesia in general plans to handle
these uh somewhat regular boat arrivals
given also that the foreign Ministry has
said that the country has no capacity to
accommodate
refugees
yeah so not just uh not having the
capacity but Indonesia in fact uh is not
um part of the UN Refugee convention
they uh Indonesia hasn't ratified it so
Indonesia feels that they don't have the
obligation to take the refugee in and to
give the long-term or permanent solution
for them so um there's been
um meetings sessions talking about
refugees not just uh Indonesia but also
with asan countries that are involved
because yes they're trying to go to
Malaysia and Thailand too so uh in a
future it will not only be on
Indonesia's side how to handle this
issue but also with uh asan countries
that are involved and what and one
question remains is what are uh the
ringas uh refugees future
be we'll leave it there for the timing
but thanks so much for bringing us up to
date on the situation in our DW
correspondent Sharon sumal along
reporting from there thanks so
much
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