Provincial Government: Acehnese Voluntary People Help The Basic Needs Of Rohingya Refugees

Archives - A number of Rohingya refugee children stranded in Aceh Besar/ANTARA

ACEH - The Aceh Provincial Government stated that the local community voluntarily provided assistance to Rohingya refugees at the UPTD Rumoh Seujahtera Beujroh Meukarya Ladong Tuna Social Service Aceh, Aceh Besar. "Many residents provide personal assistance to Rohingya refugees there," said Head of the Aceh Social Service Yusrizal in Banda Aceh, Antara, Wednesday, January 18. Yusrizal conveyed that the basic needs for refugees were indeed handled by UNHCR and IOM. However, the community also supports the Muslim immigrants. "Their needs are still being handled by UNHCR and IOM, and we still receive support from the community with arrangements for equitable distribution," he said. Yusrizal said that so far the people around the shelter locations have helped with the needs of refugees such as instant noodles, biscuits, clothes, headscarves and other forms. The community assistance, said Yusrizal, was then handed over through field officers, then arranged or collected first until it was estimated that it was sufficient to distribute evenly. "For example, if there are residents who bring an instant noodle box, the committee waits again until the number is sufficient, and then it will be distributed," he said. Yusrizal emphasized that the community assistance was given as a form of humanity or sympathy for the refugees, so they wanted to help voluntarily and according to their respective abilities. Currently, there are 241 Rohingya refugees who are temporarily placed in social facilities (Social-Agency UPTD) owned by the Aceh Government in the Ladong area of Aceh Besar District. A total of 241 Rohingya refugees were those who were stranded on December 25, 2022, as many as 57 people and January 8, 2023, reaching 184 people. They were then accommodated in a location managed by the Aceh Social Service.