Vol. 79/No. 21      June 8, 2015

In the first three months of this year some 25,000 people left Myanmar and refugee camps in Bangladesh by boat trying to reach Indonesia and Malaysia. By May 17 an estimated 6,000 to 20,000 were floating around in rickety boats in the Andaman Sea. At least 300 have died from “starvation, dehydration and beatings,” according to the United Nations.

Most of the refugees are Rohingya, an ancient Muslim people in the Rakhine state in northwestern Myanmar, a country dominated by Buddhists. Rohingya are classified as “non-national” or “foreign residents” in Myanmar and stripped of citizenship. Anti-Muslim violence led by Buddhist militants has left hundreds dead and forced thousands of Rohingya into camps.

The propertied rulers in Malaysia and Indonesia have refused entry to as many as possible. “What we have clearly stated is that we will take in only those people in the high sea,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said. “Under no circumstances would we be expected to take each one of them if there is an influx of others.”

No imperialist power has offered to help.

Globally, the U.N. refugee agency estimates that the number of refugees has topped 50 million for the first time since World War II. A record of 30,000 people fled their homes every day in 2014, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
 
 
Related articles:
EU rulers plan naval patrols to bar entry to refugees at sea
 
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home