A considerable assembly of Indonesian students converged upon a facility in Banda Aceh that was serving as a refuge for Rohingya migrants from Myanmar, vehemently urging their deportation, as captured in footage by Reuters on Wednesday. The incident unfolded at a convention center where hundreds of Rohingya refugees were housed, and the students, clad in green jackets, were seen rushing into the expansive basement area of the building. Within this space, Rohingya individuals, including men, women, and children, were seated on the floor, visibly distressed and crying.
Notably, the students' demand for the deportation of the Rohingya refugees was met with a lack of immediate response from a city police spokesperson in Banda Aceh. The visuals from the scene depicted the Rohingya being escorted out of the building, some carrying their possessions in plastic sacks, and subsequently transported via trucks under the watchful gaze of the protesting students.
In response to this unsettling occurrence, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed profound concern, stating in a released statement that it was "deeply disturbed to see a mob attack on a site sheltering vulnerable refugee families, [the] majority being children and women." The UNHCR further emphasized the need for enhanced protection measures in such situations. According to the agency, the mob forcefully relocated 137 refugees to another location in Banda Aceh, leaving them shocked and traumatized.
The UNHCR attributed this attack to a coordinated online campaign featuring misinformation and hate speech. Hostility and rejection toward Rohingya refugees have been on the rise in Indonesia, with local frustration mounting over the influx of boats carrying members of this persecuted ethnic minority from Myanmar. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, attributing the surge in arrivals to human trafficking, pledged collaboration with international organizations to provide temporary shelter.
Highlighting the cyclical nature of arrivals, particularly between November and April when seas are calmer, the UNHCR underscored the trend of Rohingya refugees embarking on perilous boat journeys to Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Against this backdrop, voices from the protesting student body, exemplified by 23-year-old Wariza Anis Munandar, called for the deportation of the Rohingya. Another student, 20-year-old Della Masrida, articulated sentiments of the Rohingya being perceived as uninvited guests in the country.
While Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees, it has a historical precedent of accepting refugees upon their arrival. The Rohingya's plight, fleeing persecution in Myanmar where they are denied citizenship and subjected to abuse as perceived foreign interlopers, underscores the complex challenges faced by displaced communities seeking safety and understanding in host nations.
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