Rohingya migrant: We went on the

boat to look for a Muslim country

A sick migrant is helped by friends to board a truck that is taking them to a local hospital upon arrival in
Simpang Tiga, Aceh province, Indonesia Wednesday. Pic: AP.

By AP News May 20, 2015

Migrants from Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh who were rescued by Indonesian
fishermen after being stranded at sea for months say all they wanted was to go to a
Muslim country.
We went on the boat to look for a Muslim country, either Malaysia or Indonesia,
Asranal Ali from Burma told The Associated Press. But it doesnt matter what country
as long its a Muslim country.
Another Rohingya Muslim from Burma, Hasan Ali, says they were forced to leave by
Buddhists. We could not reject. Otherwise, we were beaten.

Once they were at high sea, the captain and his companions escaped with a lifeboat.
Hundreds of the minority Muslim Rohingya have been killed and hundreds of
thousands displaced in Burmas western Rakhine state since 2012, when thousands of
others began fleeing abroad in search of a better life.
(READ MORE: Indonesia, Malaysia agree to take in stranded Rohingya migrants)
Most want to go majority-Muslim countries in Southeast Asia, and on Wednesday,
Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to take them in after weeks of turning their boats away.
However, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration says the
rescue of refugees stranded at sea isnt happening fast enough.
Joe Lowry told The Associated Press that the migrants Rohingya Muslims fleeing
persecution in Burma and Bangladeshis escaping poverty are in grave peril of
losing their lives.
Lowry says they need to be found and brought onshore first, then we can look into the
long-term implications, including where they can go back home, a third country or
stay where they are.
But unless we get them onshore and save their lives, there will be no long term for
these people, he says.
Lowry admits its a difficult task because they are on small boats and there are
thousands of other fishing boats in the same sea, looking the same.
(READ MORE: In Southeast Asia, Facebook becomes a hotbed of anti-migrant
sentiment)
He says the migrants could be suffering from severe malnutrition, dehydration,
diseases like beri-beri, and theyll need urgent medical attention, rehydration, food
and medical care.
Sirajul Islam, a Rohingya who was among several hundred migrants brought to shore
in Indonesia, says their ship was earlier chased away by the Thai navy after being
provided with food and drinks.
The 23-year-old also says he saw for himself how 10 of us, including women and
children, died of starvation while being stranded on the boat for months.
He says that the Thai navy, after giving them provisions, pushed the boat away within
10 minutes, otherwise they would shoot our ship.

The Thai navy said earlier it has been providing help to the migrants, but that most of
them did not want to land in Thailand and insisted on going to Malaysia.
Razali Puteh, the fisherman who first spotted the migrants, said he and others were
fishing about 37 miles (60 kilometers) off the coast of Indonesias Aceh province when
they saw the overcrowded trawler about 2 miles (3 kilometers) away.

Mi
grants walk after being rescued by fishermen in Simpang Tiga, Aceh province,
Indonesia, Wednesday. Pic: AP.
When coming close, I was very surprised with what I saw on the boat, he said. It was
crammed with people I was speechless and breaking down into tears when watching
them screaming, waving hands and cloth.
He says: I could not have let them die, because they are also human beings, just like
me. I am grateful to be able to save hundreds of lives.
(READ MORE: Over 370 migrants taken to Indonesia after months at sea)
The foreign ministers of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have promised to take
necessary action against human traffickers who have been driving the exodus of
Burmas persecuted Rohingya Muslims.
According to a joint statement after talks in Malaysia on Wednesday, Malaysian
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman says the three Southeast Asian nations will take steps to
bring the perpetrators of such heinous crime to justice.

Thailand has already arrested several police and local officials after authorities
uncovered jungle camps where the trafficked Rohingya had been held until their
families agreed to pay ransom for their release.
Posted by Thavam