INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Dozens of hungry and weak Rohingya Muslims were found on a beach in Indonesia’s northernmost province on Sunday after weeks at sea,
officials said.The group of 58 men arrived on Indrapatra beach at Ladong, a fishing village in Aceh Besar district, said local police chief
Villagers who saw the group of Rohingya on a rickety wooden boat helped them to land and then reported their arrival to authorities, he
said.“They look very weak from hunger and dehydration
Some of them are sick after a long and severe voyage at sea,” said Away, adding that the men received food and water from villagers and
others as they waited for further instructions from immigration and local officials in Aceh.At least three of the men were rushed to a
health clinic for medical care, and others were receiving medical treatment, Away said.The UN and other groups on Friday urged countries in
south Asia to rescue as many as 190 people believed to be Rohingya refugees on a small boat adrift for several weeks in the Andaman Sea.A
boat aground on Indra Patra beach in Ladong village, Aceh province, Indonesia that arrived carrying dozens of Rohingya refugees
Photograph: Rahmat Mirza/AP“Reports indicate those on board have now remained at sea for a month in dire conditions with insufficient food
or water, without any efforts by states in the region to help save human lives,” said the UN refugee agency, UNHCR
“Many are women and children, with reports of up to 20 people dying on the unseaworthy vessel during the journey.”Away said it wasn’t
clear where the group was traveling from or if they were part of the aforementioned group of 190 Rohingya refugees
One of the men who spoke some Malay said they had been at sea for more than a month and had aimed to land in Malaysia to seek a better life
and work there.More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017,
when the Myanmar military launched a clearance operation in response to attacks by a rebel group
Myanmar security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands of homes.Groups of Rohingya have attempted to
leave the crowded camps in Bangladesh and travel by sea in hazardous voyages to other Muslim-majority countries in the region.Malaysia has
been a common destination for the boats, and people smugglers have promised the refugees a better life there
But many Rohingya refugees who land in Malaysia face detention.Although Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN’s 1951 refugee convention,
the UNHCR said a 2016 presidential regulation provided a national legal framework governing the treatment of refugees on boats in distress
near Indonesia and help for them to disembark.Indonesian police officers watch a group of Rohingya people who landed on Indra Patra beach in
Ladong village, Aceh province, Indonesia
Photograph: Rahmat Mirza/APThese provisions have been implemented for years, most recently last month when about 219 Rohingya refugees,
including 63 women and 40 children, were rescued from two boats off the coast of north Aceh.“We urge the government of Indonesia to rescue
the boats and allow them to safely disembark,” said Amnesty Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid
“We also urge the Indonesian government to lead a regional initiative to resolve the refugee crisis.”The UN special rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, on Thursday urged governments in south and south-east Asia “to immediately and urgently
coordinate search and rescue for this boat and ensure safe disembarkation of those aboard before any further loss of life occurs”.“While
many in the world are preparing to enjoy a holiday season and ring in a new year, boats bearing desperate Rohingya men, women and young
children are setting off on perilous journeys in unseaworthy vessels,” Andrews said.
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
