T

he Aceh provincial administration has relocated 584 refugees from Bangladesh and Myanmar to a new location in Kuala Cangkoi village in North Aceh regency to facilitate data-collection and prevent decampment.

The relocation is also aimed at preventing the spread of diseases that may have been contracted during the long voyage at sea.

'€œWe will be responsible for handling matters such as providing food and temporary accommodation,'€ said North Aceh Regent Muhammad Thaib.

He said the presence of the Myanmarese and Bangladeshi refugees had drawn the sympathy of local residents, many of whom volunteered to help administer various forms of assistance.

'€œMany of them helped provide refugees with food, water and clothing,'€ Thaib said.

Due to the close contact, some officials grew concerned that diseases might spread and refugees flee.

The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migrations (IOM) are furthering efforts to deal with the emergency and attend to the health of refugees.

'€œWe are able to deal with the emergency situation, thanks to effective cooperation with the local administration,'€ UNHCR spokesperson Mutiara Salima Suryono said.

Mutiara added that the UNHCR was beginning to register refugees and record their reasons for having left their home countries.

'€œWe will try to register and identify those who are seeking asylum and those who are just seeking jobs,'€ said Mutiara.

Data collection is important because the refugees come from two different countries. For those proven to be from the Rohingya ethnic group, they will automatically be put under the care of the UNHCR.

'€œWe hope the Indonesia government will accommodate them temporarily as we determine their status. We currently are not yet aware if their motivations are to seek asylum or to find work,'€ said Mutiara.

'€œIf the UNHCR discovers persons who are refugees because [their citizenship] is not recognized by the Myanmarese government, the UNHCR hopes Indonesia will provide such persons with protection and a temporary place to stay while they apply for refugee-status, which is currently being processed by the UNHCR,'€ Mutiara added.

'€œHowever, if they are proven only to be job-seekers, the UNHCR will hand the matter over to the government to decide where they will be placed,'€ Mutiara said.

Currently, Rohingya refugees are not regarded as citizens by the Myanmarese government.

'€œIf they [are found to be Rohingya Muslims seeking asylum because they are] not recognized by the state, then they don'€™t have rights as citizens, such as [the right] to education and employment. We cannot return them to their country of origin [if this is the case],'€ said Mutiara.

The stranded immigrants were believed to have been on the way to Malaysia when their boat encountered engine trouble and ran out of fuel, leaving them adrift in the middle of the ocean, eventually stranding them in Aceh on Sunday.

This is the eighth time Myanmarese citizens from the Rohingya Muslim ethnic group have been stranded in Aceh since 2009.

The Rohingyas, who are not recognized as a minority group by the Myanmar government, have become the target of attacks launched by the Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group in recent years.