Daily TribuneSurvivors were given shelter in an old Red Cross building, but dozens of locals stormed the facility
MEULABOH: Newly arrived Rohingya refugees rest at the shelter initially allocated for them in Meulaboh, West Aceh, on March 23, 2024. — AFP
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Dozens of Rohingya refugees saved after their boat capsized off Indonesia’s westernmost coast last week have been forced from their temporary shelter due to local protests, a United Nations refugee agency official said Wednesday.
The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on long and expensive sea journeys to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.
But the influx of refugees has sparked anger in Indonesia’s Aceh province, where some locals have pushed boats carrying Rohingya back into the sea or tried to storm their temporary shelters in recent months.
The survivors of last week’s capsizing were taken a 10-minute drive away to the local government chief’s office in West Aceh, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees protection associate Faisal Rahman told Agence France-Presse.
“They are moved to the backyard of the bupati (local regent) office,” he said.
Authorities last Thursday rescued 69 Rohingya refugees found after clinging to the hull of their overturned vessel for more than a day. Six others were rescued by fishermen a day earlier.
At least 11 Rohingya were found dead at sea after rescuers called off the search Friday, despite some survivors saying more than 150 people had been aboard the boat when it capsized.
