PEUREULAK: At least 184 Rohingya refugees, including many women and children, landed in Indonesia’s westernmost province on Monday, officials said, after they were dropped at sea by boat and made to swim ashore.

Thousands of the mostly Muslim Rohingya, heavily persecuted in Myanmar, risk their lives each year on long and expensive sea journeys, often in poor-quality boats, in an attempt to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.

Locals in the East Aceh town of Peureulak alerted police on Monday morning after discovering the group that officials said included 94 men, 70 women and 20 children.

“There was no boat on the beach when they arrived,” Nasri, the head of Peureulak subdistrict who, like many Indonesians, has one name, said.

“There are some refugees who look weak, they probably have not been eating for days.” At least five were taken to hospital, while others were taken to a mosque compound for shelter, food and medical treatment, he said. An official from East Aceh social affairs agency, Saharani, confirmed the same arrival total.

A United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesperson said it was still gathering information on the new arrivals.

According to one of the passengers, they were dropped offshore and told to swim to land by the boat’s captain.

“After that, the ship we were on immediately left,” Rohingya refugee Ali told state news agency Antara. The refugees were trying to reach Malaysia from Myanmar, Ali said.

Local officials are in talks with the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration about shelter for the refugees.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2023