100 Rohingya refugees adrift in a boat off India’s coast, nearly 20 dead, say activists, kin

New Delhi: A hundred ethnic Rohingya refugees are stranded adrift in a boat off the coast of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and they are not alone—they have the bodies of as many as 16 to 20 fellow travellers who have died of thirst and hunger, claim two Myanmar-based Rohingya rights groups.  This is not a new phenomenon and Rohingyas, who are members of an ethnic Muslim minority community, often take huge risks to escape persecution and violence in their home country of Myanmar. Every year, boats laden with Rohingyas arrive on Indian soil, albeit illegally, some reach refugee camps in neighbouring   Bangladesh and yet others make desperate attempts to reach Malaysia. Most of them die en route. In the current scenario, the stranded boat with the 100 Rohingyas on board was observed by five Indian ships late on Tuesday, a couple of news agencies reported. The Indian Navy, when contacted, informed that it had no information on the whereabouts of the boat nor any details to divulge. The Coast Guard, too did not have any details to share. “We estimate that probably as many as 20 have died… some from hunger and thirst, and others may have jumped overboard in desperation. This is absolutely awful and outrageous,” said Chris Lewa, Director of the Arakan Project, a group which works to support Myanmar’s Rohingyas. Another human rights watchdog—the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group said the 100 people had been adrift mid-ocean for more than two weeks. They are hoping that the remaining Rohingyas are picked up by Indian ships soon. Lilianne Fan, chairperson of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group expressed faith on the Indian Coast Guard manning the country’s coasts and on the lookout for suspicious boats often carrying illegal migrants. “We heard late last night that some Indian vessels had seen the boat. We are hoping that they approach the boat and rescue the Rohingyas so we are awaiting updates now,” Fan said. The boat reportedly was trying to reach Malaysia and had possibly set sail from Bangladesh, where the Rohingyas are believed to be present in large numbers, after having escaped from Myanmar. “We are hoping that the Indian Navy or Coastguard will manage to rescue and disembark the boat as soon as possible. These people have been adrift on a damaged boat for more than 2 weeks without food and water. We have heard that up to 20 people may have already died,” she said. In a similar incident over the weekend, another boat, carrying more than a hundred Rohingya refugees was rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy. Babar Baloch, who is the Asia spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on Wednesday urged both India and Sri Lanka to help rescue those on-board the boat. “Quick action is needed to save lives and avoid further deaths,” Baloch said. “We repeat our warning that inaction from states to save lives is resulting in more human misery and tragedies with each passing day.” Another group of Southeast Asian lawmakers has also urgently asked neighbouring countries like India, Sri Lanka to lend a helping hand to the distressed refugees and “urgently rescue” those stranded in the boat, according to a statement from ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights. In 2018, more than 7,30,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to neighbouring Bangladesh following a massive military crackdown in Myanmar that allegedly included mass killings and rape. Human rights activists claimed that killings of Rohingya Muslims and burning down their settlements touched new lows in military-ruled Myanmar at that time. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.