18-Year-Old Rohingya Refugee Runs Away from Camp in Indonesia’s Aceh

NORTH ACEH, KOMPAS.com – An 18-year-old Rohingya refugee from Myanmar ran away from a temporary shelter in Indonesia’s Aceh province August 8.

Staffers discovered Tasfiah Salamatullah’s escape during a daily check on Sunday morning at the refugee camp in Lhokseumawe. Tasfiah was among 99 refugees at the camp.

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“We have coordinated with UNHCR [the United Nations’ refugee agency] officers at the shelter. But until now we are unable to locate her,” Police Commissioner Adi Sofyan, head of operations division at Lhokseumawe Precinct, told reporters.

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Adi said the staffers have already checked twice all the refugees. But they only found 98 people.

“We suspect that she has escaped. We will ascertain this again with the UNHCR officers. She probably took the chance when the duty officer fell asleep,” he said.

Meanwhile, the head of the Public Relations Division at the Lhokseumawe Administration, Marzuki, said that the task force on Rohingya was investigating the reported escape of Rohingya refugee Tasfiah.

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“The task force team still investigates the reported escape of the refugee. If it is true, the task force will tighten their surveillance during day and night,” Marzuki said.

Dozens of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar were previously stranded at the coast of North Aceh. They were rescued by the Acehnese fishermen before they were brought to the temporary shelter in Lhokseumawe.

Currently, a joint team stands by at the location to guard the Rohingya refugees.

(Writer: Masriadi | Editor: Khairina)

Source: https://regional.kompas.com/read/2020/08/09/16171481/gadis-rohingya-diduga-kabur-dari-kamp-penampungan-lhokseumawe.