Mothers, Children Flee Myanmar On Desperate Voyage

[webfact]

Mothers, children flee Myanmar on desperate voyage
by Daniel Rook

Khao Lak, Thailand, Feb 25, 2013 (AFP) - Homeless, hungry and nine months pregnant, Nuru boarded a rickety boat filled with Rohingya asylum seekers fleeing a wave of deadly sectarian violence in western Myanmar.

Six days later she gave birth at sea, far from any hospitals or doctors.

Since Buddhist-Muslim tensions exploded last June in Myanmar's Rakhine State, thousands of Rohingya boat people -- including a growing number of women and children -- have joined an exodus from the former junta-ruled country.

Those who arrived in neighbouring Thailand have been "helped on" by the Thai navy towards Malaysia further south or detained as illegal immigrants.

Hundreds are feared to have drowned along the way while others were rescued as far away as Sri Lanka.

Denied citizenship by Myanmar, where they have suffered decades of discrimination and persecution, they left behind a country where they were never wanted -- only to find they are unwelcome elsewhere.

"After my house was burned down I had nowhere to live and no job," Nuru, 24, told AFP at a government-run shelter in southern Thailand, cradling her month-old baby boy in her arms.

Even though she was on the verge of giving birth, Nuru decided to make the long and dangerous journey in the hope of reaching Malaysia.

After just a few days at sea, the food and water ran out.

"We had to drink sea water and we got diarrhea," said Nuru.

Some fishermen took pity on them and gave them water, fish and fuel.

Finally, two weeks after leaving Rakhine, their flimsy vessel reached an island off Thailand's Andaman Coast after a near 1,500 kilometre (900 miles) journey.

But their ordeal was not yet over.

The men were separated from their families and sent to detention centres, while the women and children were confined to the shelter in Khao Lak, a popular beach resort just north of the tourist magnet of Phuket.

"They looked terrible. Some of the children drank sea water and had diarrhea. They vomited and it was full of worms. They looked very scared and upset," said a worker at the shelter, which houses about 70 women and children.

"The journey was very difficult for the pregnant women. They must have been really suffering to come here," said the shelter worker, who did not want to be named.

Some children even made the dangerous journey alone without any relatives, leaving behind a country where they were born and raised -- but viewed by the Burmese majority as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

"My father is disabled so I need to go to Malaysia. I have relatives -- an uncle -- in Malaysia," said Abdul Azim, 12, whose home was burned and mother killed in the Rakhine unrest.

The boy, whose name AFP has changed to protect his identity, is one of about 1,700 Rohingya -- including more than 300 women and children -- detained by Thailand in recent months.

"These people are desperate and that's why we see not just men and boys but now also women and small children fleeing as well," said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director at New York-based Human Rights Watch.

"It's something that indicates that there is a very, very serious problem in Arakan (Rakhine) state that the government of Burma needs to attend to urgently."

Officials say those already in Thailand will be kept for six months in detention while the government works with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to try to find other countries willing to accept them.

"Thailand itself cannot carry the burden," said Thai foreign ministry official Manasvi Srisodapol.

"We don't want them to risk danger every year travelling at the sea like this, so we'd like to see a better environment for them in their country of origin."

At one detention centre in Phang Nga near Phuket, 275 Rohingya men are held in crowded conditions, denied access to their families. Some have been treated for illnesses including malaria, chickenpox and tuberculosis.

One detainee whispered through the bars to a visiting AFP journalist that the men hoped to go to America or Malaysia.

Hundreds of others have been blocked by the Thai navy from entering the kingdom as part of a new crackdown that began after allegations emerged that Thai army officials were involved in the trafficking of Rohingya.

In Myanmar, more than 100,000 people have been displaced by the Rakhine clashes, which have overshadowed a series of widely praised political reforms by a nominally civilian government which took office in early 2011.

The government says about 180 people have been killed, but activists fear the real death toll is much higher.

Myanmar's population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya -- described by the UN as one of the most persecuted minorities on the planet -- face travel restrictions, forced labour and limited access to healthcare and education.

Bangladesh used to be the destination of choice for those fleeing the country, but it has since closed its border to the Rohingya.

Now many want to go to Muslim Malaysia, where the UNHCR has already registered almost 25,000 Rohingya, although community leaders estimate actual number could be double that.

Malaysia largely turns a blind eye, allowing them into the country but denying them any sort of legal status that would allow access to healthcare, education, jobs, and other services, activists say.

The UN estimates that last year about 13,000 boat people fled Myanmar and Bangladesh. Few who reach Thailand want to stay permanently, preferring to join relatives elsewhere.

"I'm not happy here. I will be happy if I can go Malaysia," said Abdul Azim.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-02-25

[dighambara]

Thailand assisting the Rohingya, with a resettlement plan in Thailand, might help to balance the Muslim South. A friendlier government produces friendlier citizens.

[khunken]

Thailand assisting the Rohingya, with a resettlement plan in Thailand, might help to balance the Muslim South. A friendlier government produces friendlier citizens.

Very unlikely to happen when the country cannot even offer full citizenship rights to many hill-tribe people. At least Thailand should offer temporary sanctuary instead of pushing their boats back to sea without any food & water supplies.

[I Like Thai]

Thailand assisting the Rohingya, with a resettlement plan in Thailand, might help to balance the Muslim South. A friendlier government produces friendlier citizens.

Why don't you contact a member of your own Government and suggest that your own country should set up a homeland for them within your own country

[I Like Thai]

Thailand assisting the Rohingya, with a resettlement plan in Thailand, might help to balance the Muslim South. A friendlier government produces friendlier citizens.

Very unlikely to happen when the country cannot even offer full citizenship rights to many hill-tribe people. At least Thailand should offer temporary sanctuary instead of pushing their boats back to sea without any food & water supplies.

How long does Temporary last ? Where do they go when the "Temporary Status" runs out

[khunken]

Thailand assisting the Rohingya, with a resettlement plan in Thailand, might help to balance the Muslim South. A friendlier government produces friendlier citizens.

Very unlikely to happen when the country cannot even offer full citizenship rights to many hill-tribe people. At least Thailand should offer temporary sanctuary instead of pushing their boats back to sea without any food & water supplies.

How long does Temporary last ? Where do they go when the "Temporary Status" runs out

That's up to the government & the UN refugee agency in conjunction with the refugees themselves and any country willing to take them. Failing that, they will be sent back to Myanmar.

Edited February 25, 2013 by khunken

[oldsailor35]

Thailand assisting the Rohingya, with a resettlement plan in Thailand, might help to balance the Muslim South. A friendlier government produces friendlier citizens.

Why don't you contact a member of your own Government and suggest that your own country should set up a homeland for them within your own country

Now that is really nasty, you smug slob ! If they are here in Thailand, then give them food and water until something can be done, not just put them back to sea. Is this Buddhism ? Edited February 25, 2013 by oldsailor35

[oldsailor35]

Thailand assisting the Rohingya, with a resettlement plan in Thailand, might help to balance the Muslim South. A friendlier government produces friendlier citizens.

Very unlikely to happen when the country cannot even offer full citizenship rights to many hill-tribe people. At least Thailand should offer temporary sanctuary instead of pushing their boats back to sea without any food & water supplies.

How long does Temporary last ? Where do they go when the "Temporary Status" runs out

Meanwhile you will let them die i suppose. What a nice person you are .

[rbrooks]

Those who arrived in neighbouring Thailand have been "helped on" by the Thai navy towards Malaysia further south or detained as illegal immigrants.

Thai way of helping their suffering neighbors, "helped on" by the Thai Navy or in simpler terms, pushed their craft further south and released heading towards Malaysia or any other land mass away from Thailand. Amazing Thailand.

[Maph]

Ugh... Seeing this latest response of the Thai government is very disheartening; however, reading the HNHCR's website, one could draw to the conclusion that Thailand is all ready unable to tread water with the migration of refugees and non refugees.

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e489646

As an American, I am no stranger to my government shunning those most in need. Indeed the statue of liberty states, "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." yet we seem to ignore our most basic credos when it suits us (out of site, out of mind right?). Despite this being said, I'd really like to see Thailand doing the right thing all while putting more international pressure on Myanmar to fix their problems (which in turn resolves Thailand's).

I really hope things do not continue to deteriorate in Myanmar. I can't help but have one hell of a bleeding heart for those going through and those that have gone through (and survived) all of this hell over the past couple decades. I feel enraged all while accompanied with this sense of helplessness.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Maph

[I Like Thai]

Thailand assisting the Rohingya, with a resettlement plan in Thailand, might help to balance the Muslim South. A friendlier government produces friendlier citizens.

Very unlikely to happen when the country cannot even offer full citizenship rights to many hill-tribe people. At least Thailand should offer temporary sanctuary instead of pushing their boats back to sea without any food & water supplies.

How long does Temporary last ? Where do they go when the "Temporary Status" runs out

Meanwhile you will let them die i suppose. What a nice person you are .

You suppose too much.

I don't know what the answer to the problem is, maybe there is no answer. But I don't feel I have the right to try and tell other countries what they should do. If you feel so strongly about the issue, then maybe you also should petition your own Government to take them into your own home country.

But I suspect, that like me you will do absolutely nothing. You will forget about the Rohingya situation soon after you leave this thread and not give them any further consideration until you open the thread again.

[SeaVisionBurma]

This thread is rapidly turning into petty bickering - either be constructive and contribute something worthwhile to the discussion - or move along.