At least 75 Rohingya refugees have been saved from drowning after their wooden boat began to sink off the coast of Aceh Province, Indonesia. Image source: Aceh, via X.
At least 75 Rohingya refugees have been saved from drowning after their wooden boat began to sink off the coast of Aceh Province, Indonesia.
Reports indicate approximately 150 people were on board when the vessel capsized on Wednesday 20 March.
The boat likely sank as a result of overcrowding and poor conditions, though no cause has been confirmed.
The province posted footage on X (formerly Twitter) that shows survivors huddled together on top of the boat’s sinking hull.
Nelayan Aceh tolong satu boat Rohingya yang tenggelam sekitar 7 mil dari Kuala Bubon Aceh Barat Rabu 20 Maret 2024 @Refugees pic.twitter.com/Bk1AjwnDuu
— Aceh 🇮🇩🇹🇷🇵🇸 (@Aceh) March 20, 2024
[“Acehnese fishermen helped a sinking Rohingya boat 7 miles from Kuala Bubon, West Aceh, Wednesday 20 March 2024.” Translation original.]
The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS Aceh) confirmed that 42 men, 18 women, and nine children were brought to shelter on Thursday.
An additional six people — four women and two men — were previously rescued by Acehnese fishermen.
KontraS Aceh coordinator Azharul Husna said it was the responsibility of Indonesian authorities to rescue the refugees as soon as possible.
“Humanity cannot wait, and this is a life-or-death situation,” said Husna.
Faisal Rahman, a United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) representative, spoke with the survivors.
Their testimonies indicate that many people who boarded in Bangladesh were not accounted for and feared drowned.
“We can’t confirm the exact number of casualties, but according to information from the six who were rescued, there are many dead,” Rahman told Al Jazeera.
“They assume about 50 people died when the boat capsized.”
Amnesty International and the United Nations (UN) have described the Rohingya Muslims as one of the most persecuted people in the world.
The single largest community of “stateless” people in the world, the Rohingya face genocidal violence at the hands of Rakhine Buddhists in Myanmar.
Conflicts date back to British colonisation, which “exploited” religious and ethnic tensions between the Rakhine population and the Rohingya minority.
According to the UNHCR, nearly 4,500 Rohingya fled Myanmar in 2023 — two-thirds were women and children.
Many fled to Bangladesh, where an approximate 1.1 million Rohingya live in overcrowded refugee camps.
Though not a signatory to the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention, Indonesia was seen as sympathetic to the plight of the Rohingya.
Recent years have seen an increase in hostility towards the Rohingya, with Acehnese residents calling for a boycott.
As safe return to Myanmar is virtually impossible, the survivors have been provided with temporary shelter.
