Quite often countries “ignore” today’s aid from loaded boats, resulting in hundreds of people – including mothers with babies – leaving their lives in the middle of the ocean
In recent years, Rohingya Muslims have been fleeing Buddhist Myanmar in droves to escape a harsh 2017-2018 crackdown by the Myanmar military.
UN officials have described their latest persecution by Myanmar as “ethnic cleansing” – the Rohingya people have previously suffered military persecution in 1978, 1991–1992, 2012 and 2015.
These people seek refuge in neighboring states – such as Thailand and Bangladesh – but also in predominantly Muslim Malaysia and Indonesia, from November to April when the seas are calmer.
However, quite often countries “ignore” today’s aid from loaded boats, resulting in hundreds of people – including mothers with babies – leaving their lives in the middle of the ocean
According to the UN, nearly 500 Rohingya have arrived in Indonesia in the past six weeks while “many other (countries) have failed to act despite numerous appeals for help”.
A boat carrying 180 people reportedly sank in early December, with all but one on board believed to be dead, according to aid groups.
Yesterday, a boat carrying 174 Rohingya washed up off the coast of Aceh province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Most of them were dehydrated and emaciated and needed immediate medical attention after spending weeks at sea, according to local disaster management officials.
Some survivors described their suffering, citing hunger and dehydration and saying that more than 20 people on board had died.
Thai authorities said that after rescuing six people who were found hooked on a water tank floating in the Andaman Sea, the survivors said their boat was not allowed access to Malaysia and so they turned back to Bangladesh.
The boat washed ashore yesterday was the latest in a string of such incidents and rescues in the wider region in recent weeks, prompting Bangladeshi authorities to try to prevent people from risking their lives on boats to Southeast Asia. “We are doing everything possible to prevent them from making these dangerous journeys,” a senior official at Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation agency said yesterday.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said yesterday that 2022 could be one of the years with the most deaths at sea among Rohingya in a decade, as more and more of them flee refugee camps in Bangladesh, where desperate conditions prevail – almost 1 million live in overcrowded conditions
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
