On Thursday, an Indonesian search and rescue vessel discovered a capsized wooden boat transporting numerous Rohingya Muslim refugees. The rescue operation commenced, with survivors, who had been standing on the boat’s hull, being brought to safety.
Aboard the rescue ship, an AP photographer reported that 10 individuals had been transferred to local fishing boats, while an additional 59 were being rescued by the Indonesian vessel.
Men, women, and children, weakened and drenched from the night’s rainfall, cried as the rescue mission commenced, with individuals being transferred from a rubber dinghy to the rescue vessel.
There were conflicting reports regarding casualties from the incident, as survivors claimed that numerous individuals who had been on board when the boat left Bangladesh remained missing. However, authorities maintained that all individuals had been successfully rescued.
“We have thoroughly examined all 69 Rohingya individuals whom we rescued, and based on our assessment, none of them reported any fatalities,” stated Fathur, a rescue officer who provided only one name, to reporters. “We successfully evacuated all 69 individuals, and none of them mentioned any deaths.”
In addition to the 69 Rohingya rescued by official authorities, six more were saved by private fishing boats that arrived at the scene prior to the launch of the formal rescue operation, bringing the total number of survivors from the boat to 75.
However, according to Samira, a 17-year-old refugee from the Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh who was traveling to Malaysia, there were originally 146 people onboard. This raises concerns that 71 individuals might still be missing at sea.
Samira recounted that the boat began encountering trouble three days ago and eventually capsized on Wednesday. She expressed worry for her nephew, who is among those still unaccounted for.
“We are all extremely saddened,” she expressed. “We are experiencing severe hunger and weakness.”
When fishing vessels arrived at the scene on Wednesday, desperate refugees rushed onto one of the boats, overwhelming it and leading to its capsizing. The fate of the crew onboard remained unclear.
After receiving information about the refugees requiring assistance from local fishermen on Wednesday morning, an official search and rescue team departed from Banda Aceh city on Wednesday evening. However, they only reached the accident site early the next morning and initially struggled to locate the capsized boat.
When they discovered the boat around midday on Thursday, they encountered refugees clinging to its hull, pleading for assistance.
Rescuers managed to save 42 men, 18 women, and nine children, transporting some to a temporary shelter in the Aceh Besar district and others to a local hospital for medical care.
Amiruddin, a tribal leader from the fishing community in Aceh Barat district, reported that those rescued revealed the boat was originally sailing east when it began to leak, and powerful currents subsequently diverted it westward towards Aceh.
Around 740,000 Rohingya had previously fled to Bangladesh to escape a severe counterinsurgency operation by security forces in Myanmar.
In recent times, thousands have attempted to leave overcrowded camps in Bangladesh for neighboring countries, resulting in a surge in refugee numbers in Indonesia since November. This increase prompted Indonesia to appeal to the international community for assistance. Despite being fellow Muslims, some Rohingya face hostility upon arrival in Aceh.
Indonesia, along with Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention, which outlines legal protections for refugees. Consequently, they are not obligated to accept refugees. However, they have thus far offered temporary shelter to refugees in dire situations.
In the past year, almost 4,500 Rohingya, with two-thirds of them being women and children, escaped from their native Myanmar and the refugee camps in Bangladesh by boat, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Tragically, of these individuals, 569 either died or went missing while attempting to cross the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, marking the highest death toll since 2014.
The prospect of returning safely to Myanmar is virtually nonexistent due to the military’s overthrow of the country’s democratically elected government in 2021. Additionally, no nation has extended substantial resettlement opportunities to the Rohingya population.
