Sunday, May 17, 2015

Acehnese are No Stranger to Refugees


Between May 2003 - 2004 Indonesian government declared martial law inAceh province. Thousands of Acehnese had to evacuate their homes. IDP (internally displaced people) camps formed all over Aceh. On Boxing Day 2004, nine Richter scale earthquake hit Aceh, followed by 30 metre high wave - tsunami - that claimed about 200,000 souls. There were toddlers who were born in IDP camps during the martial law (2003) and stayed in tents long after the tsunami. Acehnese people are no stranger to displacement, to queueing for food, to unclean water, they survived diseases predicted by WHO and other international emergency aid organisations.



Today Acehnese people witness others in their shoes. Immigrants from Burma/Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya ethnic and from Bangladesh are arriving after months living on over-crowded boats. Thai governments refused them, Malaysian people looked away. Australian government quickly said "No!" American government pleaded mercy from South East Asian governments. Indonesia has not ratified UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugee (the 1951 Refugee Convention).



But would Acehnese people turn their back on their fellow human in need? Did history mean anything to those who had lived in IDP camps? Thanks be to God that they don't! Alhamdulillah... Acehnese people open their heart and most took these asylum seekers in. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32747616

It seems that Acehnese people show their heart of gold to these Rohingya asylum seekers from Burma/Myanmar ( http://m.irinnews.org/report/83120/indonesia-aceh-embraces-rohingya-refugees#.VVfXpFKkrCQ ). God bless the poor and the marginalised.God bless asylum seekers and those who help them.


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