Dozens of Rohingya rescued from wrecked ship after weeks adrift at sea

() — After spending more than a month adrift on a boat without food or water, dozens of starving Rohingya have been rescued in Indonesia, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Sunday, offering a glimmer of hope for the persecuted group. what fled their refugee camps last month in search of a better life.

Babar Baloch, Asia spokesman for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said 58 people believed to be on the boat were rescued in Aceh, although around 130 more are feared for the lives, including many. women and children who remain stranded on board the ship.

“Some indications suggest that local Indonesian fishermen may have made the rescue,” Baloch said. “We are still worried about the lives (of the remaining people). We hope they will be rescued soon.”

has reached out to the Indonesian Police for comment but has not heard back.

The ship was traveling from Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, where around a million members of the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority live in refugee camps after fleeing a brutal campaign of killings and arson by the Myanmar army in western Rakhine state. .

At different points in its voyage, the ship was seen near India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Family members and aid agencies have been warning for weeks that people aboard the ship are near starvation after running out of food and water. UNHCR said several countries in South and Southeast Asia “continually ignored” its earlier requests to intervene.

The rescue comes just a day after the UN agency said around 180 Rohingya refugees aboard a ship missing at sea are now feared dead.

The second ship also began its “unlucky” voyage in late November and began to break down in early December, UNHCR said in a statement, citing unconfirmed reports.

“The relatives have lost contact. Last in contact assume all are dead,” the statement added. “We hope against hope that this is not the case.”

It was “a tragic year of daunting proportions” for the Rohingya

Since 2020, more than 3,000 Rohingya have attempted the risky journey from Bangladesh by sea, according to the UN. Two-thirds of those fleeing are women and children, he added.

Many seek safety in the overcrowded refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, where conditions are dire and women are at risk of sexual assault and violence.

While all countries are bound by international law to rescue people in distress at sea, swift action is not always taken, especially when it comes to Rohingya refugees.

Passengers have been turned away from some countries, while women have reported being assaulted during the journey.

According to Baloch, in 2022 alone, some 2,000 Rohingya have made the risky sea voyage. Of that number, nearly 200 have been reported missing, he added.

If reports of the feared 180 dead are confirmed, this year would be one of the deadliest for the persecuted group seeking refuge in a third country, Baloch said.

“We hope against hope that the missing are still alive somewhere,” he added. “But if these fears are true, it will be a tragic year of daunting proportions involving desperate people.”