Sticking together: Rohingya refugees embracing each other after taking part in Aidilfitri prayers at a temporary shelter in Meulaboh. — AFP
At a damaged temporary shelter in western Indonesia, Rohingya men slick their hair with gel while women apply make-up and colourful hijabs to look the part for prayers at the start of the Aidilfitri festivities.
But the group of refugees are spending the end of Ramadan celebrations away from their families after surviving a dangerous sea journey from squalid Bangladesh camps for an uncertain future in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.
At least 75 refugees are staying at a local official’s office in ultra-conservative Aceh province where many of the persecuted Myanmar minority land every year.
Most of them survived their rickety boat capsizing last month and being stranded on its rusty hull for more than a day.
Men, women and children unfolded mats by tent shelters for a sombre morning prayer at the start of the Muslim holiday, with some mothers drawing henna tattoos on the hands of their young daughters.
As a preacher began to sing the notes of the morning prayer in front of makeshift tents, tears rolled down the faces of Rohingya men who stared at the floor with their arms crossed.
“Here, we have no siblings. My family is not here, that’s why I cried,” said Mohammad Rizwan, 35.
“Some also cried earlier because their mother, father, or siblings died due to the boat capsizing. One friend of mine lost six or seven family members.”
The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on long and expensive sea journeys to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.
From mid-November to late January, more than 1,700 Rohingya refugees landed on Indonesian shores, according to the UN refugee agency.
Aid agencies have appealed to Jakarta to accept more, but Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and says it is not compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar.
As the prayers ended, the men stood up from their mats and wiped their faces. The preacher also began to cry.
After praying behind the men, the women returned to their tent, holding one another and weeping in unison.
One cried so hysterically that she had to be helped back to one of the shelter tents.
“We do not understand any language here. What else will we do during Aidilfitri? We don’t have a home here,” said 17-year-old Dilkayas. — AFP
