The UN warns of an “exponential” growth of Rohingya refugees in Southeast Asia

31 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The number of Rohingya refugees in Southeast Asia has increased “exponentially” in recent months, both by sea and by land, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which has appealed for the solidarity of all countries in the region. before a trend that continues in 2023.

Last year closed with 3,300 arrivals in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, 290 percent more than in 2021, and in the first 23 days of 2023 almost 300 more had already been registered. Most correspond to Indonesia, where IOM has multiplied its presence to provide first-need aid.

The agency also offers education or information services so that these refugees fall into the hands of mafias that traffic people or suffer some type of exploitation or abuse. In the case of Malaysia, the IOM is expanding the delivery of money, as the Rohingya live under the “constant threat” of eviction, according to a statement.

The IOM director for the region, Sarah Lou Ysmael Arriola, has reiterated the commitment to continue helping all countries to meet the “immediate” needs of this vulnerable population and, at the same time, “strengthening the response capacity to irregular movements.

The United Nations wants to avoid a crisis like the one in 2015 at all costs, when a wave of migration in Southeast Asia resulted in dozens of deaths at sea. The Rohingyas, according to the IOM, deserve all the protection before, during and after undertaking these dangerous journeys that sometimes cost them their lives.

Not surprisingly, almost a million people remain in refugee camps in Bangladesh, overcrowded as a result of the repressive wave launched in neighboring Burma more than five years ago. This population does not have the slightest guarantees of return.