By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
Muslim Rohingya migrants have expressed their gratitude for the shelter and food provided them by Indonesians, whose religious leaders have issued calls to avoid communal conflict like that forcing the minority to flee Myanmar.
Ramida, a 17-year-old staying at a shelter in Kuala Langsa, Aceh province, told Kompas.com on Friday, “they [the Acehnese] treated us like parents treat their children. We are grateful."
Another Rohingya, Mohammad Hasan, expressed his relief that after months on a ship with limited supplies, they no longer had to worry about the lack of food.
"We were only given porridge once a day," he recounted.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir told Anadolu Agency that currently the government’s main aim is to rescue the around 7,000 refugees believed to be on boats on the Andaman Sea, bringing them to shore.
An estimated 1,700 migrants have landed in Indonesia since a boat people crisis – involving Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants – started in Southeast Asia on May 1.
Malaysia and Indonesia announced Wednesday they had agreed to offer temporary shelter to the migrants - but only if the international community agrees to then resettle them after one year.
Officials from both countries have since clarified that they would shelter Rohingya for one year, while the Bangladeshis would be returned to their country.
The health condition of the migrants in three shelters in Aceh has improved, Metro TV reported Friday, as assistance continued to pour in from inside and outside the province.
Meanwhile, the government is preparing to address any negative reactions to the arrival of migrants.
Coordinating Legal, Politics and Security Affairs Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdjiatno expressed concerns over a potential conflict between the migrants and local residents in the future -- especially in the case of the refugees receiving large donations.
"Maybe at first they still get along. But in the long term, while they [Rohingya] obtain funds, while the local population -- especially the poor -- do not get anything, then jealousy can spring up," he told reporters.
The minister said the government would evaluate the status of the Rohingya who arrived in Indonesia in the near future. He stressed that only refugees who had to leave their country due to discriminatory treatment would be accommodated, while those seeking economic opportunities would be returned to their countries of origin.
Different religious organizations have urged Indonesians to avoid conflict between Muslims and Buddhists.
Rohingya -- who the United Nations consider to be the world’s most persecuted ethnic minority -- have been fleeing Myanmar in droves since 2012, in fear of violence that some human rights groups consider to be state-sponsored.
Buddhist organizations in Indonesia have rejected being associated with hardliner monks in Myanmar – such as Ashin Wirathu – who have been spearheading ultranationalist campaigns.
"Do not turn this [the migrant issue] into a religious issue in Indonesia. We are peaceful here," Sugianto Sulaiman, a representative for the Indonesian Buddhist Council, told Anadolu Agency, adding that Indonesian Buddhists would help Rohingya on the basis of respect for humanity.
An official from the Indonesian Ulema Council, the country’s top Muslim clerical body, called on Muslim and Buddhist organizations to condemn violations against the Rohingya.
"Do not let what happened there [Myanmar] make religious relationships here become fragile as it might disrupt national stability," Slamet Effendi Yusuf, the Religious Harmony Department’s chairman, told Anadolu Agency.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian police – who have been alerted to watch out for possible conflict -- have guaranteed the safety of Rohingya as well as locals in Aceh, National Police Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti told Metro TV.
