I am in N Sumatra right now, and will check local sources. My wife has some land in Aceh. It is a spectacular landscape, although it get get badly smashed by the tsunami that hit the region and reports were that up to 100,000 people were killed.
Reportedly, after 14 days on a boat, the people were supplied with food and water and pushed back to sea. Aceh already has a few hundred it is supporting .
Indonesia has not signed up to the Refugee Convention.
There are suggestions that they should go to Malaysia , where the UNHCR has camps and can assess them for refugee status, pending negotiations to settle them elsewhere.
Just checked with a local friend. According to her, the people of Aceh have rejected the refugees. Given that Aceh has a degree of more independence than most other provinces in Indonesia l expect this will be the final word. My friend agrees, saying that Indonesia can barely look after its own people. I thought that was a bit harsh, and pointed out that Pakistan has taken on a couple of million refugees and is not in any better position.
You know what a difficult place Aceh is politically. Hardly surprising that they take such actions, in spite of the religious imperative.
That said, it is a very beautiful place and always worth a visit.
Religion does come into to some extent. There were concerns that the Rohingya practise a different form of Islam from the stricter Muslim residents of Aceh.
Didn’t know that. Islam I guess is not different to other religions.
The different sects in the RC church have no brotherly love for each other. I remember when I went to CBC and the footy game vs Xavier, it was all about hurting the Jesuits.
It isn’t so long ago that there were rebels in Aceh causing all sorts of problems. On my first trip there about 20 years ago there was a heavy army presence and we had to go through a couple of road blocks, where soldiers got on the bus and checked IDs.
Sigh.
Not surprising considering anger over 140% inflation. But will be a disaster
Bit of a stink over last night’s episode of the BBC’s showing of University Challenge. One of the two teams (both were colleges from Oxford and Cambridge) had as their mascot a blue octopus and one of their team, a woman wearing a full Muslim hair covering, was accused of wearing a coat in Palestinian colours.
BBC responded with saying the episode was filmed 6 months ago, and clearly they weren’t the Palestinian colours.
But the Twitter antagonists piled on saying that everyone knows the blue octopus is a symbol of anti-semitism and the BBC are anti-semites etc etc.
The show is on youtube under @CosmicPumpkin.
well I’m clearly not one of everyone
It was used to attack Jews in Europe, suggesting they had their tentacles in every facet of society and were trying to control the world. It became a symbol used to condemn Jews.
That wasn’t the context in the Uni Challenge, just a contestant that loves the animals. People are a little hyper at present.
Greta Thunberg had a blue octopus in the background of one of her vids. It was explained that it was a symbol of neuro diversity, or something like that connected to autism.
Seemingly it was just a car crash. Gas powered or gas bottle onboard.
Sad state of the world that everyone just expects the worst.
Deep State cover up?
yeah, Deep state loves blowing up a Bentley or two.