Indonesian villagers defy Covid-19 warnings to rescue Rohingya refugees | World news | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/26/indonesian-villagers-defy-covid-19-warnings-to-rescue-rohingya-refugees
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Over recent months, governments across south-east Asia have repeatedly turned away boats carrying Rohingya refugees, blaming concerns over the coronavirus.
On Friday the Malaysian prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, said the country could no longer take in Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar, warning that the country was already overwhelmed by the Covid-19 outbreak. It has registered more than 8,000 cases to date.
Not only has Malaysia turned boats away but it is reportedly considering fixing the broken boats of migrants it has detained so that they can be sent back to sea again. Sources told Reuters last week that the authorities planned to mend a damaged boat so that 300 recent arrivals could be returned to sea, where they had been stranded for months. Survivors detained in Malaysia said dozens of people had died onboard and bodies had been thrown into the water.
Every year thousands of Rohingya embark on perilous journeys to flee persecution in Myanmar or to escape squalid conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Traffickers prey upon desperate communities, promising the chance of a better life abroad.
It is not clear how many more boats remain stranded, but it is likely that hundreds are stuck at sea.
Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director, Usman Hamid, said urgent action was needed by governments in the region to prevent further deaths, and he called on Indonesian authorities to protect the 94 refugees rescued on Thursday.
“After all they have been through at sea, what they need the most now is shelter and safety,” he said. “The Indonesian government must provide these survivors with their basic needs and must under no circumstance send them back out to sea.”
In Aceh, Guechik said residents had served the refugees with food and provided clothes. They are now being housed in a building that was previously an immigration facility.