Rohingya Refugees Switch to Entry via Langkat, Residents Strongly Refuse

Residents were shocked to see dozens of foreigners suddenly enter their settlement. Residents also rejected Rohingya refugees.

KANTOR DESA KWALA LANGKAT

Foreign Rohingya refugees are staying in temporary tents in Kwala Langkat Village, Tanjung Pura District, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra on Friday (24/5/2024). A total of 51 Rohingya refugees entered Langkat and were rejected by local residents.

STABAT, KOMPAS — After being refused entry to Aceh, now foreign refugees ethnic Rohingya are trying to enter through Langkat, North Sumatra. They were dropped off by wooden boat on the mangrove forest beach in Kwala Langkat Village. However, residents reacted strongly by rejecting them.

Refugees have already entered settlements in the Kwala Langkat village area. Residents who were aware of this rejected it and asked the refugees to return to the beach. Currently, emergency tents have been set up on the beach to temporarily accommodate the 51 foreign refugees.

"The residents strongly reject the arrival of Rohingya refugees. They demand that they be quickly repatriated. For the time being, tents have been set up on the beach," said the Head of Kwala Langkat Village, Mahyu Danil, on Friday (May 24, 2024).

Mahyu stated that the refugees are estimated to arrive at Tanjung Lampu Ujuk Damak Beach on Wednesday (May 22, 2024) at around 9:00 AM Western Indonesia Time. The beach is a mangrove forest located far from settlements and is part of Tanjung Pura District. Some fishermen saw the refugees disembarking from the boat by jumping into the shallow waters. After the refugees got off, the transport boat sailed back.

The refugees then walked barefoot towards the residential area of ​​the locals. Residents were surprised to see dozens of strangers suddenly entering and walking through their settlement on foot. Village officials then brought the refugees to the village hall.

Also read: Three Weeks The Fate of Rohingya Refugees in Deli Serdang is Uncertain

KANTOR DESA KWALA LANGKAT

Foreign Rohingya refugees were in emergency tents in Kwala Langkat Village, Tanjung Pura Subdistrict, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra on Friday (5/24/2024).

However, some residents went to the village hall and expressed their rejection of the arrival of refugees. They are worried about the presence of foreign refugees in their village.

The Rohingya refugees were then brought back to Tanjung Lampu Beach. At the beach, the village set up emergency tents to accommodate the refugees temporarily.

Rohingya refugees said that they initially sailed from Myanmar to Bangladesh. There, they changed boats to continue sailing by wooden boat to Indonesia. The refugees paid some money to the crew. They arrived in the waters of Kwala Langkat after a journey of around 30 days from Bangladesh.

Head of the Tanjung Pura Police Sector, Adjunct Commissioner Andri GT Siregar, said that villagers continue to reject refugees. Residents even come to the beach to request for foreign refugees to be immediately relocated. "We closely monitor the protests of residents who reject Rohingya refugees to prevent any clashes," said Andri.

Based on data from the Tanjung Pura Police Station, the refugees consist of 42 adult males, 3 adult females, and 6 children aged 4-10 years old.

Andri said that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Indonesia had come to the location to register refugees. Residents asked UNHCR to immediately move Rohingya refugees from their villages. Residents also asked UNHCR representatives not to leave the village before the Rohingya refugees were moved.

Since the beginning of this year, waves of Rohingya refugees have continued to arrive in Langkat.

The head of Medan Immigration Detention Center of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Sarsaralos Sivakkar, said that emergency handling was carried out with humanitarian principles to fulfill the basic needs of refugees. "Future handling plans are still being discussed with all relevant parties. Currently, the handling is focused on providing basic needs, namely food and drink," he said.

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

Ethnic Rohingya refugees show their child affected by a skin disease after nearly three weeks in an emergency displacement camp in Karang Gading Village, Labuhan Deli District, Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra, on Wednesday (17/1/2024).

Since the beginning of this year, a wave of Rohingya refugees has been arriving in Langkat. The foreign refugee entry point has shifted to Langkat after being rejected by residents in Aceh.

Previously, on January 1st, 2024, a total of 157 Rohingya refugees entered Indonesian territory in Karang Gading Village, on the border of Langkat and Deli Serdang, North Sumatra. They set up tents made of blue tarp on the beach. The refugees consist of 81 adults and 76 children, with 23 of them being infants under five years old (toddlers).

Five months have passed, and the refugees are still staying at Karang Gading Beach. They sleep in makeshift tents. Regarding the handling of Rohingya refugees at Karang Gading Beach, Sarsaralos stated that there has been no decision yet on the plan for handling them.