Number of people boarding smugglers' boats to cross Bay of Bengal doubled since 2014: UN agency
Xinhua, May 9, 2015 Adjust font size:
Some 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis boarded smugglers' boats on the Bay of Bengal between January and March of 2015, nearly doubling the number during the same time last year, according to a report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
UNHCR staff spoke to hundreds of survivors of such journeys, and they estimated that 300 people died at sea in the first quarter of 2015 as a result of starvation, dehydration and abuse by boat crews, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric at Friday's daily briefing here.
Conditions in the smugglers' camp are horrific, with people being held and abused until their relatives pay for their release.
"More than half the survivors interviewed by UNHCR since October reported that someone died in the smuggler's camp where they were held. Beatings are common and there are reports of rapes. Those who try to escape risk being shot," said Dujarric.
This report came on the heels of the office's Thailand office learning of more than 30 bodies being found in graves in camps near the border with Malaysia.
The bodies were said to be of people originating from Myanmar and Bangladesh, who had likely died from illness or abuse, said Dujarric.
UNHCR called on countries in the region to work more closely together to counter the smuggling and trafficking of vulnerable people. Law enforcement measures must also be accompanied by efforts to reduce the need for migrants and refugees to turn to smugglers in the first place, said Dujarric.
Traveling in smugglers' boats is highly dangerous due to the mistreatment of the smugglers and the adverse maritime conditions.
In April, the Mediterranean Sea, one of the popular crossings for refugees, saw a migrant ship capsized, leaving around 800 people dead and only 28 people were rescued.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that total migrant deaths from Mediterranean crossings stand at 1, 829 so far this year, compared to 207 through May 7, 2014. The year 2015 could be an even deadlier year than 2014. Endite