Those stranded and increasingly desperate Rohingya refugees in the Andaman Sea have gotten a couple of pieces of good news over the last couple of days. Incredibly, Malaysian and Indonesia citizens have been aiding refugees in spite of their governments’ having formally barred Rohingya migrants from entering:
Sympathetic Malaysians have launched donation drives to help feed migrants who have flooded ashore in the past two weeks. In Indonesia, where fishermen rescued three boats last week and saved 900 lives, villagers have donated clothing and home-cooked meals.
Social activists and religious leaders, in Malaysia especially, have started to put public pressure on Kuala Lumpur to do more to save those who are now helplessly stuck in the middle of the sea. Now today there’s word that both countries are going to allow the estimated 7000 Rohingya currently at sea to dock in those countries and make temporary living arrangements. As Foreign Policy’s Justine Drennan writes, that’s a good thing but it doesn’t fix the real problem back in Myanmar:
While Malaysia and Indonesia’s offer may save the lives of the thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants who have been starving on over-crowded boats as monsoon season ramps up, it does nothing to resolve the broader issues behind the crisis. Both Indonesia and Malaysia were quick to stress that they’re only offering temporary relief and shelter, and expect the international community to step in and help find more permanent settlement for the migrants.
The deal won’t improve the dire conditions in Myanmar and Bangladesh pushing migrants to leave. On Wednesday, the Myanmar government said it was making “serious efforts” to stop illegal migration, including sea patrols around its coast. But the problem starts long before migrants make the decision to leave, with a stifling lack of economic opportunity, Buddhist mobs’ ongoing attacks against the Rohingya minority, and Myanmar government’s denial of citizenship and other rights for the Muslim group.
The Malaysia-Indonesia announcement also doesn’t offer a long-term solution for the 7000 particular refugees in question, who can’t legally be forced to go back to Myanmar under current conditions but who clearly aren’t welcome to stay in Malaysia or Indonesia indefinitely. Yesterday, though the Philippine government signaled that it might be willing to take these refugees in, which would be great provided that any or all of them have some way to get to the Philippines.
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 