Officials reported that at least 184 Rohingya refugees, many of whom were women and children, arrived in Indonesia’s westernmost state on Monday after being abandoned at sea and forced to swim to land.
Each year, thousands of the highly persecuted Rohingya, who are mostly Muslims, risk their lives on perilous sea voyages, frequently in subpar boats, in an effort to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.
Locals in Peureulak, an East Aceh town, discovered the gathering, which authorities say included 94 men, 70 women, and 20 children. They then informed the police.
“There was no boat on the beach when they arrived,” Nasri, the head of Peureulak subdistrict who, like many Indonesians, has one name, told AFP.
“There are some refugees who look weak, they probably have not been eating for days.”
At least five of them were transported to the hospital, while others were brought to the grounds of a mosque for shelter, food, and medical attention, he claimed.
The same number of arrivals was verified to AFP by a Saharani official from the East Aceh social affairs agency.
A spokesperson for the UNHCR said the organization was still collecting data on the recent arrivals.
One of the travelers claimed that the boat’s captain had cast them off at sea and instructed them to swim to land.
Local authorities are currently engaged in discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration to provide shelter for refugees.
As per the UNHCR, over 2,000 Rohingya refugees attempted to undertake the perilous journey to Southeast Asian nations in 2022.
The agency also estimated that nearly 200 Rohingya refugees either lost their lives or went missing while attempting hazardous sea crossings last year.
