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Lhokseumawe to no longer shelter stranded Rohingya refugees after quarantine
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A Rohingya child looks out the window of a bus after arriving by boat at a port in Krueng Geukuh near Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, Dec. 31, 2021. (Reuters/Hidayatullah Tahjuddin)
T
he Lhokseumawe city administration in Aceh wants dozens of stranded Rohingya refugees, who were rescued at the end of last year, to find a new place to stay outside the city once their COVID-19 quarantine is over.
Indonesia initially refused to allow the refugees, who were attempting to reach Malaysia, to land in the country. But the government eventually ordered the Navy to rescue the refugees and allow them to temporarily take shelter in a makeshift facility in Lhokseumawe, where they underwent COVID-19 quarantine, following pressure from rights groups.
Ridwan Jalil, head of the Rohingya task force in Lhokseumawe, said on Monday the quarantine, which according to him was 10 days long, ended that day.
The Lhokseumawe administration, Ridwan said, had sent a letter to the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister requesting relocation from the city.
"We refuse to have them taking refuge here after they complete their quarantine," Ridwan told The Jakarta Post on Monday, citing lack of funding, permanent shelter and a manpower shortage as three reasons to no longer provide shelter.
Read also: Rohingya refugees in quarantine in Aceh after rescue
It was previously reported that the 105 refugees – mostly women and children – would be kept in quarantine for 10 to 14 days.
