A large boat was found washed ashore the resort island of Langkawi in Malaysia late on Sunday night where 866 men, 102 women and 49 children where rescued. Distressed, hungry and confused, the Rohingya victims fleeing oppression in Burma are being treated by the Malysian authorities for dehydration and exhasution.
A boat carrying 600 migrants was rescued off the coast of Aceh in Indoneisa early Monday morning. Many on board had not eaten in days and were visibly in desperate need of care and medical attention. This morning, (Tuesday 12th May) another boat which had strayed in Indonesian waters was towed further out to sea by Indonesian authorities.
Senior navy officials justified their actions by claiming that as the vessel had not intended Indonesia to be its final destination, it was given supplies and encouraged to sail on to other territories. The boat had 400 passengers and was allowed to shore for a few hours overnight on Monday where it was fuelled before being towed out to the sea once again.
The Rohingya have faced decades of abuse and oppression by the Burmese Government who do not accept the Rohingya as nationals and citizens and have been victims of violence leading them to escape the countries or face being moved to IDP (internally displaced persons) camps. The thousands stranded in wooden boats along the Malacca Strait are just another example of regional coalition ASEAN and international organisations failure to hold the Burmese Government to account over the abuse the Rohingya face on a daily basis.