KUALA LUMPUR – Human rights activists have urged the government to promptly aid a damaged boat believed to be ferrying some 160 Rohingya refugees, who are stranded near Malaysian waters, The Guardian reported.
The vessel in question is also believed to be ferrying young children who have been waylaid for days without food or water.
According to the UK publication, the boat is believed to have left Bangladesh on November 25.
The director of the Arakan Project rights group, Chris Lewa, who interviewed families onboard the ship, told The Guardian that the boat was leaking and did not have enough food or water for its passengers.
She also said there has since been no action by governments in the regions, stating “No one wants to take responsibility.’’
Lewa claimed that the boat was within Malaysia’s search and rescue region as alleged by those onboard the ship last Thursday afternoon.
“We have information about where it was. It is lucky this boat has a sat phone,” she said, stressing that no aid has been given to the boat.
Lewa further claimed that at least four other boats had left Bangladesh between November 25 and November 27, however, this remains unconfirmed.
A Rohingya activist, Mohammed Rezuwan Khan, said his older sister and her five-year-old daughter were among those onboard the boat.
He also stated that the boat suffered from a failing engine.
“They need to be urgently rescued because they don’t have water or food. They have been crying, calling for aid.
“They were crying: ‘Please rescue us in any possible way’.”
Another activist, Liliance Fan, chair of the Rohingya working group at the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, who has been in contact with families of those onboard, revealed that they have lost contact with the boat.
The last transmission was at 4pm local time yesterday and the boat had not received any aid as of that time.
“They say the conditions are extremely dire; people have not had food or water. It’s really a very desperate situation,” she said.
Echoing the urgent call for aid for the refugees onboard the ship, Rachel Chhoa-Howard, a Southeast Asia researcher for Amnesty International, said regional governments must be responsible.
“Regional governments must urgently coordinate and cooperate on search and rescue operations. They must attempt to locate any boats in distress and ensure the people onboard are allowed to disembark safely and receive proper medical support, food and water,” she said in a statement on Friday.
In a statement yesterday, Médecins Sans Frontières called on the Malaysian government to allow for the safe disembarkation of refugees suffering the effects of a regional humanitarian crisis and fleeing to seek safety.
“Upon disembarkation, the protection of refugees, as well as access to healthcare and other support services must be guaranteed.
“Safe disembarkation prevents the loss of lives of the Rohingya who are already afflicted by cumulative consequences of trauma, conflict and discrimination due to the denial of citizenship in Myanmar for decades.
“In addition, Rohingya are subjected to violence targeting them in Myanmar and in other countries of asylum,” said the statement.
It was previously documented that many Rohingya attempted the dangerous journey across the Andaman Sea, hoping to reach either Malaysia or Indonesia.
The number of such attempts increase each year as conditions in Myanmar and even in the refugee camps in Bangladesh continue to deteriorate. – The Vibes, December 11, 2022
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