Bayeun, Indonesia - Boat people who have come ashore in Southeast Asia after harrowing journeys are delighted that Indonesia and Malaysia will give them temporary shelter -- although some were baffled by an offer of sanctuary in a tiny African nation they had never heard of.
Nearly 3,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants have been rescued or swum to shore in recent days in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, after a Thai crackdown on long-established human-trafficking routes threw the illicit trade into chaos.
The three nations had sparked outrage by turning away some vessels, but on Wednesday Indonesia and Malaysia relented, saying they would no longer drive boats away and would give migrants temporary shelter.
Thailand did not sign on fully to the initiative, saying only that it would no longer push boats out of Thai waters.
In Indonesia's western Aceh province, where around 1,800 Rohingya -- a persecuted Muslim minority from predominantly Buddhist Myanmar -- and Bangladeshis have landed since the crisis began, the news was greeted with joy.
"I am happy now that Indonesia and Malaysia are accepting Rohingya," said Muhammadul Hasson, a 17-year-old who was rescued last week along with hundreds of other desperate people.
"Everything will be better now. People in Arakan are tortured continuously and they will keep on coming," he added, referring to the Rohingya's home state of Rakhine in western Myanmar.
But there was some confusion over an offer from the impoverished West African nation of Gambia to take in all Rohingya migrants as part of its "sacred duty" to alleviate the suffering of fellow Muslims.
Asked about the offer, Hasson simply responded: "What is the meaning of Gambia?"
Muhammad Jaber, a 27-year-old Rohingya, was another migrant who was puzzled when confronted with the idea of going to live in a country thousands of miles away that he knew nothing about.
However, he concluded: "If it is a Muslim country and they accept us as their citizens, why not?"
Gambia's offer stands in stark contrast with iron-fisted President Yahya Jammeh's professed disdain for the thousands of African migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea, including many from his own country.
AFP
