A boat washed up on the shores of Sumatra, Indonesia on Monday. 174 Rohingya refugees were on board, nearly all of them in need for medical care and fatigued.
Many attempts to reach Muslim-majority Indonesia, where the UN refugee agency reports that almost 500 Rohingya have arrived in the last six weeks, or Malaysia. Indonesian officials have been providing them with medical care, food, and temporary housing while collaborating with international refugee organizations to determine their legal status.
The Rohingya are a minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, and Myanmar authorities regard them as illegal South Asian immigrants.
Around 180 Rohingya Muslims escaping harsh circumstances in Bangladesh camps are believed to have perished at sea in recent weeks, possibly when their frail boat broke apart, in what might be one of the community’s worst years.
The number of Rohingya fleeing Bangladeshi camps has increased dramatically from around 500 in 2021 to almost 2,400 this year. Nearly one million Myanmar Rohingya reside in overcrowded facilities in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
According to Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, an NGO that assists Rohingya migrants, at least five boats transporting Rohingya have departed from Bangladesh since the end of last month. Early in November, two boats transporting Rohingya arrived in Indonesia.
By – Veena
Bangalore Correspondent
WOM
