ACT Sends Food Aid for Rohingya Refugees in Aceh

North Aceh, MINA – The humanitarian organization Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) has sent food packages for Rohingya residents who are now in North Aceh.

At present, the 99 Rohingya residents are housed in the former Lhoksemauwe Immigration Office, Aceh.

Hidayatullah from the Lhokseumawe ACT Program team said the assistance is in the form of fast food, mineral water, rice and children’s equipment.

“Delivery of aid was carried out by the ACT team and the Indonesian Volunteer Community, we also cleaned the place that was made a shelter,” Hidayatullah said as quoted by ACTNews on Sunday (June 28)

He added on Friday, the location of the Rohingya refugee shelter had been completely isolated by the local government.

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The aim is to break the chain of distribution of Covid-19. Because the Rohingya refugee journey is quite long and it is feared to have been infected with the coronavirus.

Hidayah said the motorboat carrying Rohingya Muslims was seen in the waters of North Aceh on Wednesday afternoon.

When found, the condition of the ship in a state of running out of fuel and almost sinking.

The passengers were in a state of fear. When fishermen from North Aceh saw, they reportedly gave a signal to be rescued. Fishermen finally pulled the ship to the mainland.

Arriving on land, Rohingya residents were immediately taken to a temporary shelter location and underwent a rapid Covid-19 test. Touring was conducted to break the chain of virus distribution.

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The stranded ship carrying Rohingya Muslims in Aceh was not the first time this had happened. Previously, on April 20 2018 as many as 79 Rohingya residents were rescued by fishermen in Bireuen District.

The ship carrying 71 adults and 8 children arrived in Aceh after being rejected by the authorities of Thailand and Malaysia.They were then temporarily housed in the Cot Gapu Learning Activity Center building, Bireuen.

Long before that, in 2015 ago, ships loaded with Rohingya refugees who fled their own land due to humanitarian conflict also reached Aceh.

ACT itself responded by assisting Integrated Comfort Shelter (ICS) for them. And now, the ICS is still used for the Covid-19 quarantine location by the task force. (T/RE1)

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Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)