INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
About 400 Rohingya refugees have been adrift in two boats on the Andaman Sea for about two weeks, according to the United Nations, which
Babar Baloch, the regional spokesperson for the UN refugee agency.The boats apparently embarked from Bangladesh and are reported to have
of the boats, contacted by the AP news agency, said he had 180 to 190 people onboard
They were out of food and water and the engine was damaged
The captain, who gave his name as Maan Nokim, said he feared all onboard would die if they did not receive help.On Sunday, Nokim said the
The whereabouts of the other boat was unclear.A Thai navy spokesperson, contacted on Monday, said he had no information about the boats.The
on Saturday on Sabang Island, off the tip of Sumatra, Baloch said
Hundreds more arrived in Aceh last month.About 740,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar to the camps in Bangladesh since
August 2017, after a brutal counterinsurgency campaign tore through their communities
Myanmar security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands of Rohingya homes, and international courts
are considering whether their actions constituted genocide.Most of the refugees leaving the camps by sea attempt to reach Muslim-dominated
Malaysia, hoping to find work
Thailand turns them away or detains them
Indonesia, another Muslim-dominated country where many end up, also puts refugees in detention.The aid group Save the Children said in a
report on 22 November that 465 Rohingya children had arrived in Indonesia by boat in the previous week and the number of refugees taking to
the seas had increased by more than 80%.It said more than 3,570 Rohingya Muslims had left Bangladesh and Myanmar this year, up from nearly
2,000 in the same period of 2022
Rohingya families is forcing them to take unacceptable risks in search of a better life
advocacy, said in a statement.
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
