1Berita – Rohingya refugee Muhammad Ridwan stated that many children and women still feel frightened after being forcibly expelled from the Balee Meuseuraya Aceh (BMA) building by a group of students on Wednesday (27/12).

Ridwan mentioned that children usually play around the building during the day, but today they are afraid to venture outside the shelter.

“We don’t understand why they (protesters) are doing this to us. Children and women are afraid; they might be traumatized,” said Ridwan in Bengali when met at the BMA building in Aceh on Thursday (28/12).

Previously, a group of student protesters forcibly expelled Rohingya refugees, causing women and children to cry in fear.

This morning, the group of refugees who were evicted and forcibly relocated to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights office in Aceh were returned to the BMA building.

The Rohingya refugees who returned to the BMA building chose to rest and sleep. Some of them also tidied up the place after it was disrupted by the protesters.

Ridwan still holds hope that the Indonesian community will exhibit peaceful behavior towards their actual condition.

“We came here only seeking peace,” he said.

Mitra Salima, spokesperson for UNHCR Indonesia, expressed concern about the mass attack on the refugee shelter, where the majority are children and women, at the BMA building.

She continues to be deeply concerned about the safety of the refugees and calls on local law enforcement to take emergency measures to provide protection for all individuals and humanitarian staff who are in distress.

According to Mitra, the mass attack on the refugees is not an isolated incident but a result of a coordinated online campaign containing misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech against refugees.

“UNHCR urges the public in Indonesia to reassess all information available online, much of which is incorrect or manipulated, with images created by AI, and hate speech spread through bot accounts,” Mitra said.