REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MAGELANG -- At least 12 Islamic boarding schools in East Java and West Java are willing to accommodate Rohingya refugees, especially orphans or children separated from their parents, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said.
"According to data in the field, several Rohingya child refugees are orphans or got separated from their extended families," she stated after speaking at Raudhatut Thullab boarding school in the village of Wonosari, Tempuran, here on Wednesday.
She added that they need psycho-social recovery and custody because they live alone, which is why they need appropriate accommodation.
According to the minister, 12 boarding schools have expressed their readiness to accommodate the children, including schools in Malang, Pasuruan and Bojonegoro in East Java and Sukabumi in West Java.
"Boarding schools are considered helpful and will be effective enough for the children," Parawansa affirmed.
With regard to the repatriation of the refugees, she noted that it will take a year. After a year, she added, her side will appeal to international communities, including the United Nations and other countries, to take responsibility for the fate of the refugees.
"This is not solely Indonesia's responsibility but is the world's responsibility as well," she remarked.
Parawansa also pointed out that of the 1,250 Rohingya refugees, several got separated from their families, citing an example of a woman in Aceh who got separated from her husband who is in Malaysia.
The Social Affairs Ministry, in coordination with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, will discuss their reunification with their families, she said.
"The Indonesian foreign affairs minister will communicate with her Malaysian counterpart over the issue," she added.
Furthermore, the chief of the Raudhatut Thullab boarding school, Said Asrori, expressed his readiness to accommodate the Rohingya children, adding that his school is capable of taking in 500 students.
"We are ready to accept some 50 children," he stated.
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