Arakan News Agency
A spokesman for the International Organization for Migration says more than 400 Rohingya and Bangladeshis who were brought to shore in the Indonesian province of Aceh are in “very, very bad shape.”
Joe Lowry says the migrants who spent months at sea are in worse state than we would have expected. He says no one is being rushed to the hospital and no one has died, but the people are very sick, dehydrated, malnourished and traumatized.
He says they landed Wednesday in a remote area of Aceh province and spent the night in tents.
They are getting treatment, including IV drips to get rehydrated, plus vitamins and food.
Lowry welcomed a decision by the United States to take in some of the migrants.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said earlier that the U.S. has resettled more 1,000 Rohingya since last October and is prepared to take a leading role in any multinational efforts to resettle the most vulnerable refugees.
