On Jan 8, a boat with 185 Rohingya refugees washed ashore on the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province. They had spent weeks at sea in desperate conditions, fleeing cramped and overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh in search of a better life. More than half were women and children.
Sadly, they are far from alone. Just since November last year, at least another three boats have landed in Aceh after similarly perilous journeys, carrying hundreds of refugees, with at least 20 people dying at sea. According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, thousands of Rohingya women, men and children took to boats just in 2022.
