- Web Master
- May 09, 2023
Narinjara News, 20 January 2023
More than 3,500 desperate Rohingya people tried to cross the deadly Andaman sea
and Bay of Bengal in 2022, said the Dhaka-based United News Bangladesh.
Quoting latest data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) the news agency reported that it represented a higher percentage of attempts as some 700 people took similar journeys in the previous year.
UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo at a press briefing held in Geneva on Tuesday
informed that in absence of a comprehensive regional response to address these
perilous maritime movements, the international refugee agency warned that more
people would die in the coming days.
UNHCR recorded an alarming rise in the death toll as 348 individuals died or went missing at sea in 2022, making it one of the deadliest years since 2014. Some 3,040 individuals undertook sea journeys last year primarily from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Nearly 45 per cent of those who disembarked
were women and children, said the refugee agency.
In the last two months of 2022, four boats
carrying over 450 Rohingya disembarked in Aceh,
Indonesia. One boat carrying over 100 Rohingya disembarked in Sri Lanka.
Another boat is feared to have sunk in early December with
approximately 180 individuals on board. Several boats that departed in
December remained at sea till the end of 2022.
UNB also reported that the fevant call by the UNHCR to
maritime authorities in the region to rescue and disembark
people in distress went unheeded with many boats adrift for weeks. Most
boats departed from Myanmar and Bangladesh, highlighting the
growing sense of desperation amongst Rohingya in these two countries.
Those tried to flee by the sea routes took the hard decision
with an aim to find protection, security, family reunification, and also livelihoods in other countries. Among them are victims of trafficking,
unaccompanied and separated children, and survivors of sexual-
and gender-based violence.
The current crisis in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea is a
crisis of solidarity, quoting the UNHCR, Dhaka Tribune reported.
The Bali Process, a forum for policy
dialogue, information sharing and cooperation to address
people smuggling, human trafficking and related transnational crime, is
meeting in February and the UNHCR repeats its call for prompt
search and rescue and timely disembarkation in a place
of safety, and for support to countries where Rohingya refugees
are disembarked.
"We call on countries to redouble
efforts to prevent human smuggling and trafficking," said Mantoo,
adding that there is also a need for humanitarian responsibility
to be more evenly distributed among countries in the
region to ensure protection responses are predictable, equitable, and sustainable.
The international community needs to support efforts to address the root causes of displacement in Myanmar, stated the Dhaka-based media outlet adding, until these are resolved, refugees will continue to undertake dangerous journeys in search of safety and a better future.
(Photo by Dhaka Tribune)