Asia: Migrants Stuck in Never-Ending Ordeal at Sea

Around 8,000 migrants are believed to be stuck at sea off the coasts of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia waiting for their fate to be resolved.

The migrants stranded on smugglers’ boats in the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca are believed to had been abandoned by their crews amid government crackdowns against traffickers.

The Asian states are determined to keep the migrants off their shores and have been pushing unseaworthy migrant vessels crammed with people in desperate need of food and medication from their territorial waters.

In one of the most recent episodes that unraveled over the weekend, a migrant boat was towed out to sea by the Thai navy and then held up by Malaysian vessels on Saturday, Reuters reports.

During these gruesome voyages witnesses report that people have been beaten to death and their bodies thrown into the sea.

A boat that was carrying around 300 people, predominantly Rohingya migrants, was found last Thursday in Thai waters. Migrants from the boat that managed to survive the ordeal said that at least ten people died during the voyage, whose bodies were cast into the sea, Asia News International (ANI) reports.

The UN refugee agency urged Indonesia and Malaysia not to push back boats carrying vulnerable people from Myanmar and Bangladesh who have been forced to embark on these dangerous journeys by conflicts and persecution, but instead, endeavor to save them.

“The first priority is to save lives. Instead of competing to avoid responsibility, it is key for States to share the responsibility to disembark these people immediately,” said Volker Türk, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.

UNHCR called on the governments to facilitate disembarkation and keep their borders and ports open to prevent a humanitarian crisis at sea by adopting a joint regional approach.

According to UNHCR estimates, around 25,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya ventured out to sea since the beginning of this year.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has released USD 1 million to launch operations to help migrants left in a desperate situation by people smugglers in Southeast Asia.

“The release of funds from IOM’s Migration Emergency Funding  Mechanism will allow expanded relief efforts for migrants currently ashore, and to assist the estimated 6,000 stranded at sea in at least six boats off Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia,” IOM said.

The Organization has issued a plea to the international community to take urgent action to save the lives of the thousands of marooned migrants and asylum seekers. Deaths have already been reported aboard some vessels and there are fears that the migrants currently at sea will not survive much longer if they run out of food and water.

“I appeal to the governments, and all who can help, to find these boats and let the migrants land and get medical treatment. We will assist you in resolving the longer-term problems of accommodation, transport home for some, and other options, but in the name of humanity, let these migrants land,” said IOM Director General William Lacy Swing.

Some 6,000 migrants – from Myanmar and Bangladesh – all the victims of people smuggling rings – have been at sea since early March on overcrowded fishing boats.

To date, over 1,500 migrants have managed to disembark in Indonesia and Malaysia and are receiving crucial humanitarian assistance. Another 400 returned to Myanmar and Bangladesh, IOM said.

World Maritime News Staff; Images: UNHCR, IOM