Al Jazeera Net correspondents
Jakarta- Activists pointed out that a refugee boat was approaching Rohingya From the southern eastern coast of the province Aceh The Indonesian, yesterday, Friday, 17 days after he sailed from the southeastern coast of…Bangladesh Close to the Myanmar border.
According to the recording obtained by Al Jazeera Net, these refugees set off on their journey on the first of this October.
The boat carried 165 people, some of whom were women and children, and they remained for a while in the Andaman Sea, west of the Thai coast, passing through the Malaysian coast, towards the Strait of Malacca in the south, until they approached the northeastern coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Since Saturday morning, the boat has approached the southeastern coast of Aceh province, but the boat has not been authorized to anchor at any of the Indonesian coasts in the province.
A boat carrying 165 Rohingya refugees has been stranded in the Andaman Sea since Oct. 1, From Bangladesh Refugee camps desperately seeking refuge in Malaysia. A female passenger tragically died yesterday. These are lack of out of food and water. pic.twitter.com/9j7Kbd02aX
— Ro Muhammad Nur (@ro_muhammad_nur) October 18, 2024
Harsh conditions
According to the same recording, the refugees entered Indonesian waters more than a week ago, seeking asylum Jakarta They escaped the difficult conditions in their camps in Bangladesh in difficult weather conditions while their food supplies ran out. It shows one of the refugees lying on the roof of the boat after she died due to hunger and disease, leaving her children orphans with other refugees, according to what the activists reported to Al Jazeera Net.
The refugees say in the recordings – which they sent after receiving a phone call signal – that they see the Indonesian coast clearly visible, sending a distress call to rescue and receive them, and that their lives are threatened if their boat continues to stagger towards the Indian Ocean.
One of the Rohingya activists explained – to Al Jazeera Net – that the smugglers who brought the refugees left the boat and boarded another, leaving them without sufficient fuel or food, which was repeated on previous refugee trips, even though they promised to take them to the coasts. Malaysia or Indonesia For sums they pay before they set off on their journey.
Rohingyas seek refuge in various countries to escape the genocide of (AA) Junta.
166 Rohingya are at risk of death due to lack of food in the Andaman Sea & On 01 Oct 2024 they started the journey from Teknaf Saint Martin to Malaysia.Among them,a woman died due to lack of food pic.twitter.com/5Zc5uPrR34
— Saiful Arakani (@Arakani_Saiful) October 18, 2024
Security difficulties
This is the first boat for Rohingya refugees to reach the Indonesian coast in about 7 months, specifically in late March, when several successive boats arrived within weeks, the last of which arrived in western Aceh province.
Dozens of them drowned when their boat capsized near the coast of the city of Milabuh, west of the region. The coast of Aceh witnessed the arrival of more than 40 boats and ships of Rohingya refugees fleeing from displacement camps in Bangladesh or from the state. Arakan western Myanmar Directly since 2009.
The difficulties of living in refugee camps are not limited to food problems or the poor quality of their housing, but they also witness from time to time security incidents that threaten their lives, the most recent of which is an exchange of fire between two armed groups, yesterday, Thursday, in the Ukhiya 14 and 15 camp, which resulted in 10 people being injured. According to Bangladeshi security sources.
It is noteworthy that recent months have witnessed the crossing of about 40,000 new Rohingya refugees from Rakhine State towards Bangladeshi territory, according to figures from the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This week, the ministry expressed its concern about the deteriorating security conditions in the border areas between the two countries, by summoning the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister, Counselor Muhammad Tawhid Hussein, and the Myanmar ambassador to his country, U Chiaw Sue Moe, the day before yesterday, Wednesday.
Intense fighting
Since November of last year, Arakan State has witnessed fighting of increasing intensity and expanding geographical area between the Arakan Army, the faction that represents the Rikaine Buddhist nationality, andMyanmar army of the central military government.
While he finds Rohingya They themselves are victims of this fighting, and some of their young men are even forced to join it, which prompts them to flee their villages to escape forced conscription “in a war to which they are not a party.”
Bangladeshi President Muhammad Shahabuddin had called on the international community to help achieve a just and comprehensive solution to the Rohingya issue.
He pointed to the economic and social challenge facing his country, and that it is going through difficult political and economic conditions, while at the same time hosting about 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, while receiving a number of foreign ambassadors last Tuesday.