A group of 185 Rohingya disembarked in Aceh, Indonesia on Monday. The refugees boarded a boat in Bangladesh in late November, after which they were stranded at sea for weeks. Another boat carrying 180 refugees is said to have sunk.
The 185 men, women and children who were treated on Monday in Aceh are in serious condition. “After all those weeks at sea, they are now very weak from dehydration and exhaustion,” a local police chief told the news agency. ap.
Images of their arrival are shared on social media. Many are emaciated and collapse from exhaustion or call for help. One of the passengers said against ap that twenty people died along the way. Their bodies were thrown into the sea, she said.
The Rohingya group was taken to a school for temporary shelter on Monday evening. It is not yet clear whether they can stay in Indonesia.
Myanmar’s Muslim minority suffers from murder and violence. As a result, many Rohingyas have fled. An estimated one million now live in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. Every year, hundreds of Rohingya risk their lives to flee the desperation of reception centers by sea.
Indonesia has already disembarked 58 refugees last Sunday. According to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, a third boat was driven adrift. Since no further signs of this have been heard, fears UNHCR for the lives of all 180 on board.
