Hundreds of university students in Indonesia’s westernmost state attacked a makeshift shelter on Wednesday, in a yet another rejection of the persecuted minority in Myanmar, forcing over a hundred Rohingya refugees to flee.

Since mid-November, over 1,500 Rohingya refugees have arrived on the coasts of Aceh province, marking the largest migration in eight years, according to the UN. Locals have rejected a few of their boats, and in some cases, they have been sent back out to sea.

Students in Indonesia resent Rohingya Refugees

In the capital city of Banda Aceh, the students—many of whom were sporting jackets bearing the insignias of various universities—entered a government function hall housing 137 Rohingya refugees.
According to video shared by AFP, the students asked to be transferred to a nearby immigration office in order to be deported.

Students yelling “kick them out” and “reject Rohingyas in Aceh” could be seen. Additionally, the pupils were observed kicking the Rohingyas’ possessions.

Men who had been praying turned their heads to face the ground, while a few women and children were in tears.
According to an AFP correspondent on the scene, the protestors got into a fight with the police who were escorting the terrified immigrants, but in the end, the officers allowed the students to take them out.

In preparation for the Rohingyas’ relocation, the students burnt tires and prepped lorries. Before being transferred to a different government facility in the vicinity, police assisted them in boarding, as the AFP reporter noted. When AFP asked Banda Aceh police for comment, they did not reply.

In Indonesia, the Rohingya Refugees face a wave of hostility and rejection; the local populace says they are sick of witnessing more boats carrying the persecuted ethnic group from Myanmar arrive.

According to the Ministry of Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, some 1487 refugees have entered Indonesia in recent weeks, the majority of them have arrived in Aceh, on the western tip of Samatra.

What does the UNHCR in Indonesia have to say?

Aceh Province residents have complained the Rohingya refugees of misbehaving, and further being a burden of hundreds’ and thousands’ of mouths to feed, for the local government. Resentment had been shown lately since the number of boats increased and the locals shooed them back.

300 Rohingya came in Aceh over the weekend on two boats; angry residents forced officials to remove them, transporting some of them in trucks to the provincial governor’s offices.

According to the UN refugee agency, these events traumatized and startled the migrants. “UNHCR remains deeply worried about the safety of refugees and calls on local law enforcement authorities for urgent action to ensure protection of all desperate individuals and humanitarian staff,” it stated in a statement.

“The attack on refugees is not an isolated act but the result of a coordinated online campaign of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech against refugees.”

Many Acehnese feel sympathetic to the plight of their fellow Muslims, having themselves experienced decades of brutal conflict. Others, however, believe their patience has run out because of the Rohingyas‘ resource use and sporadic clashes with locals. Kholilullah, a 23-year-old university student going by one name, told AFP, “We protested because we don’t agree with the Rohingyas who keep coming here.”

Kholilullah, a 23-year-old university student, told AFP, “We protested because we don’t agree with the Rohingyas who keep coming here.”

As Indonesia is not a party to the UN refugee convention 1951, it maintains that it cannot be forced to accept refugees from Myanmar. Instead, it calls on its neighbors like Thailand and Malaysia to shoulder some of the responsibility and relocate Rohingyas who land on their soil.

As Indonesia is not a party to the UN refugee convention, it maintains that it cannot be forced to accept refugees from Myanmar. Instead, it calls on its neighbors to shoulder some of the responsibility and relocate Rohingyas who land on their soil.

There is fear that more Rohingya may attempt the dangerous sea crossing in the upcoming months as conditions in refugee camps worsen owing to reduced food rations and a rise in gang violence.