CNN
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Rohingya families and the UN refugee agency say many Rohingya are at risk of dying at sea more than three weeks after their boat ran aground off the coast of India, leaving at least 160 at risk of starvation. ing.
Mohammed Rezwan Khan, whose sister and five-year-old niece are on board, told CNN Wednesday that two children and a woman had died.
“We are very worried and hope to rescue them. It is getting harder and harder for them to survive,” said Khan, who last spoke to the captain on Sunday. added.
The boat is now near the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and has reportedly been adrift since late November when its engine stopped.
It is believed to have traveled from Bangladesh to Malaysia. In Bangladesh, about one million Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, live in refugee camps fleeing violence in their native Myanmar.
CNN cannot independently confirm whether any deaths have occurred on the boat. There are unconfirmed reports,” he said.
Babar Barochi, spokesperson for Asia at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), called on both India and Sri Lanka to help rescue the passengers.
“Swift action is needed to save lives and avoid more deaths,” Baloch said. “We reiterate our warning that the inaction of nations to save lives is causing more human misery and tragedy with each passing day.”
A group of Southeast Asian parliamentarians are urging neighboring countries to “urgently rescue” the boat as well. statement From ASEAN MPs for Human Rights.
Appeal comes days after Sri Lanka Navy rescued a boat Carrying 104 Rohingya refugees.
CNN has reached out to the Indian and Sri Lankan navies for comment.
Baloch said the UN believed about 2,000 Rohingya had made dangerous sea journeys this year alone.
Thousands move out of overcrowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Conditions there are dire and women are at risk of sexual assault and violence.
The camps have expanded over the past five years as hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled a brutal killing and arson campaign by the Myanmar military in western Rakhine State.
Camp life has its own hazards. Fires are frequent, destroying hundreds of homes, and floods during the monsoon season often destroy poor homes.
Desperate to leave, many pay illegal traffickers to smuggle them out of the camp.
Khan said her sister wanted a better life for her daughter and decided to embark on a perilous sea journey from Bangladesh on November 25.
“The Rohingya people are becoming desperate and willing to risk their lives,” Khan said.
The perilous voyage from Cox’s Bazar to Malaysia can take weeks, and sea conditions are difficult.
Khan said many of the stranded boats were drinking rainwater whenever possible, and some were desperately growing, adding that they were drinking water from the sea.
Rahan Uddin said his 17-year-old brother was also on the ship, and he came on board in hopes of finding a job and earning enough money to pay for his ailing parents’ medical bills. .
“We are very concerned for him and his safety,” Uddin said. “I don’t know if he’s alive.”
International law obligates all countries to rescue people stranded at sea, but this is not always the case, especially when it comes to Rohingya refugees.
Last December, Indonesia agreed to help repair a wrecked ship carrying more than 100 Rohingya refugees offshore, but did not allow passengers to evacuate inside the country.
In March 2020, a large vessel carrying about 300 Rohingyas drifted at sea for more than six months. The passenger was rejected by several countries before being finally accepted into Indonesia. By then, at least 30 people, including women and children, had died. Many of the women who survived said they were assaulted on board.
Last year, India’s Supreme Court ruled that Rohingya refugees in India could be deported to Myanmar.
According to UNHCR, India is not a party to the UN Refugee Convention and lacks a domestic refugee protection structure. Rohingya refugees are often considered illegal immigrants subject to deportation from India.
India’s government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has long been accused of trying to send the Rohingya back.
Mr Khan said he wanted the international community to “see us as human beings”.
“Get our people off the boat,” he said. “Save the Rohingya, or we may die.”
