Indonesia residents remain hostile against Rohingya refugees as more arrive – ‘only bring problems later’
- Nearly 150 Rohingya refugees arrived at a beach in North Sumatra on Saturday in a leaky wooden boat that brought them from Bangladesh
- The latest arrival came after a mob of Indonesian students on Wednesday attacked a site in Banda Aceh, where 137 Rohingya were taking shelter
The group of 53 men, 39 women and 55 children arrived on Karang Gadih beach in Langkat district late Saturday, said the village head, Muhammad Amiruddin. A rickety, leaky wooden boat that brought them from Bangladesh was moored on a lighthouse island not far from the village, he said.
Five among the refugees were sick after the long journey and residents gave them food and water while they waited for instructions from immigration and local officials to decide where to take them. Residents do not want the refugees in their communities, however, and last week many protested the recent Rohingya arrivals.
“We helped them as they look very weak from hunger and dehydration,” Amiruddin said. “But many residents cannot accept them to live in our village because they will only bring problems later.”
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He said that one of the refugees told authorities that they sailed from the Cox Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh to Indonesia and became stranded on a lighthouse island.
Indonesia’s navy said on Thursday that it forcibly pushed a boat packed with refugees back to international waters after it approached the shores of Aceh province.
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It is unclear whether the refugees who arrived late Saturday in neighbouring North Sumatra province were from the same boat that was pushed away by the navy.
Indonesia has appealed to the international community for help and intensified patrols of its waters due to a sharp rise in Rohingya refugees leaving overcrowded camps in Bangladesh since November. Over 1,500 Rohingya have arrived in Aceh and faced some hostility from fellow Muslims.
Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention so is not obliged to accept the Rohingya. So far, refugees in distress have received at least temporary accommodation.
