'Best of humanity': Indonesian fishermen rescue stranded Rohingya

Aljazeera
26th June 2020
Aceh residents bring stranded Rohingya ashore themselves in defiance of authorities as rights groups urge ASEAN action.

Nearly 100 Rohingya people who were stranded off the coast of Indonesia were pulled to shore on Thursday by local people furious at local authorities' refusal to give them shelter because of fears about the coronavirus.

Some 94 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority - including 30 children - were plucked from their boat by fishermen this week before being intercepted by maritime officials from Sumatra island who pulled them closer to shore.

Indonesian fishermen rescue dozens of Rohingya refugees in Aceh waters

TheJakartaPost
News Desk
The Jakarta Post
Wed, June 24, 2020

An International Organization for Migration (IOM) official (front right) listens to complaints from Rohingya refugees in a temporary shelter in Cot Gapu in Bireuen regency, Aceh, on April 21, 2018. (Antara/Rahmad)

Three Indonesian fishermen rescued 94 foreign nationals who are believed to be Rohingya refugees in the waters of North Aceh regency on Wednesday morning.

The fishermen – Faisal, 40, Abdul Azis, 40, and Raja, 30 – rescued the foreign nationals from a sinking cargo ship using their fishing boat, the KM 2017.811.

They attempted to transport the group to Kuala Tanah Jambo Aye in Seunuddon district, North Aceh, but their engine was broken, leaving them stranded 4 miles from the coast of Seunuddon.