Over 100 Rohingya refugees arrived on the beach in Aceh Indonesia

Over 100 Rohingya refugees arrived on the beach in Aceh Indonesia
Photo: AP Photo/ Zik Maulan

19-03-2022

Margaret-Elisabeth Mc Coy 

Indonesia Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence 

In the early morning on Sunday, March 6th, over 100 Rohingya refugees landed on the beach of the Aceh region in Indonesia. The NGO, Aksi Cepat Tanggap told reporters that they had no knowledge on how long the 114 refugees, including 35 children, had been at sea and that some of them needed medical assistance. They seem to have spent quite a while on sea and were clearly looking hungry as well as dehydrated. At the local villages, the refugees were asking for protection and ended up staying there longer than expected.

In late December, the Indonesian navy rescued over 100 Rohingya refugees from their sinking boat. As Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1959 U.N Convention on Refugees and they are predominantly a transit country for refugees. Most of the 720.00 Rohingya refugees, which have fled Myanmar since 2017, have been situated in camps across the border of Bangladesh.



Sources and further readings:

Yayan Zamzami (2022, March 6) More than 100 Rohingya land on beach in Indonesia’s Aceh. AP News, retrieved March 18, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/indonesia-aceh-97972d24d86e902c6576c1ed3e8d54a6 

Stringer in Bireun, Fransiska Nangoy & Raissa Kasolowsky (2022, March 6) Over 100 Rohingya refugees arrive by sea in Indonesia’s Aceh province. REUTERS, retrieved March 19, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/over-100-rohingya-refugees-arrive-by-sea-indonesias-aceh-province-2022-03-06/