LITTLETON, Colorado — A report recently released by the UNHCR found that 20,000 people have fled in boats across the Indian Ocean since the beginning of the year. The majority of these refugees have fled Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and Malaysia in search of a safer and better life. Before reaching these countries many refugees endured a harsh journey across the ocean.
According to the report 87,000 people have fled from the Bangladesh-Myanmar border since June 2012. In the past year, since June 2013, 53,000 people have departed irregularly by sea from the Bay of Bengal, according to the UNHCR.
A significant portion of these refugees identify with the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar. The Rohingya are a stateless people as the Myanmar government does not officially recognize them. They reside primarily in the northern Rakhine State of Myanmar which borders Bangladesh. Due to their statelessness the Rohingya people face severe persecution and restrictions on their education, healthcare and even movement. There are an estimated 800,000 Rohingya’s in Myanmar and approximately 200,000 that have fled into Bangladesh.
Conditions for the Rohingya have only worsened as inter-communal violence broke out in the Rakhine State in June 2012 causing many to flee from the Teknaf, Maungdaw and Sittwe areas, often times by boat.
Other refugees documented included people belonging to the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka. Even though the civil war ended in 2009 people of the Tamil ethnic group are still systematically persecuted despite whether they were involved with the activities of the Tamil Tiger rebel group. For this reason many take to the sea.
People of Bangladeshi origin and refugees from Afghanistan were also documented in UNHCR interviews after they arrived by boat in Indonesia.
Those who were smuggled in boats often, though not always, faced horrific conditions and sometimes faced even worse condition upon arriving at land. This was especially the case for those that were smuggled to Thailand.
Interviews of arrivals conducted by the UNHCR recorded a lack of food and water on board many vessels. Refugees were often times unable to move around the vessel as well either because it was too cramped or because smugglers prohibited movement around the vessel which was enforced both verbally and physically.
Harsher conditions on board the smuggling vessels included severe beatings by crew members which sometimes resulted in death. Some refugees were also reported to have jumped overboard either out of desperation or because they were forcibly thrown overboard by smugglers. Occasionally smugglers also forced refugees to swim to shore upon reaching the Thai border.
In Thailand refugees faced similar conditions as they were frequently brought to overcrowded smugglers camps. Typically refugees paid between $50 and $300 in order to board vessels which ranged in size from small fishing boats to cargo vessels that could hold up to 700 people.
At camps smugglers often demanded even more money, between $1500 and $2000 before refugees could leave the camps. Refugees also reported that they were sometimes beaten if their families could not come up with the money fast enough. Indentured labor was often used in order to pay debts if cash was not available prolonging many refugees’ stay at the camps for months.
Conditions for refugees in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are particularly difficult as all three countries are not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention which governs the international laws pertaining to the rights of refugees. Therefore, these refugees are subject to the immigration laws of these three countries which can result in arrest, detention and sometimes deportation if they are unable to gain official legal immigration status.
Refugees fleeing to Australia face similar concerns due to Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders program. UNHCR estimates that 7,000 refugees are detained at processing centers in Australia as well as offshore centers in Papua New Guinea and Nauru while Australia tries to figure out what to do with them. As a result of the program Australia has turned away 9 boats so far this year, which amounts to about 400 people fleeing from Sri Lanka and through Indonesia.
While the situation for the 20,000 refugees that have fled so far this year looks grim the UNHCR continues to intervene on their behalf. Efforts include cooperation with UNICEF and Thai authorities in order to enroll Rohingya children in Thai schools as part of Thailand’s “Education for All” program. Other efforts include identifying the most vulnerable refugees and assisting them in the resettlement process; so far 25 Rohingyas have been sent to the U.S. for resettlement this year.
Vitamin supplements are provided to those suffering from beriberi which is developed at sea as a result of malnutrition and vitamin B deficiency. UNHCR also helps refugees suffering from severe health problems gain access to government hospitals in the region in order to receive treatment.
UNHCR’s efforts in the region are working to ensure these people obtain the rights and services typically granted to refugees after they cross international borders. Because the countries these refugees typically flee to have not ratified the convention it can be difficult for the UNHCR to intervene on these refugees’ behalf; however, the agency has been somewhat successful in working with these receiving countries’ governments so that they help rather than detain these refugees.
– Erin Sullivan
Sources: UNHCR 1, UNHCR 2, UNHCR 3, The New York Times, Thomson Reuters Foundation, IRIN, BBC News
Photo: NYTimes