Migration Crisis in South East Asia
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 01 2015 -
The report that over 2,500 migrants belonging to Rohingya and Bangladeshi Muslim communities could still be stranded on boats in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea as estimated by the United Nations indicates that all is not well in the South East Asian (SEA) region.
The Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and migrants from Bangladesh have tried to land in Malaysia and Indonesia since a Thai crackdown on human trafficking in early May.
Though SEA States have struggled to respond to what has now been termed as a crisis, the episode tells many tales untold in the times of dreams and expected growth nurtured through the region’s new found strategic importance.
The Indonesian and Malaysian governments were initially reluctant to allow the migrants or immigrants in their respective territories.
The reluctance of these States is not so much based on the idea of refusing to play host to the visitors but the fear of accommodating them amidst the reinforced political seclusion.
The reluctance has been more or less triggered by the fear of unforeseen future when there are attempts to reap maximum benefits out of the spoils of hidden war over the land and sea in the SEA region.
Though it is the duty of UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to oversee the immediate welfare of the migrants, such episode also serves as an opportunity for world leaders including those from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and elsewhere in Asia to ponder over the primary causes of migration from SEA’s poverty stricken countries.
In the case of the Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, often called Stateless minority of 1.1 million people, the causes of their plight also allude to social, economic and political persecution.
Simply put, why would human traffickers be interested in smuggling these migrants to some countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.
It may be mentioned that Thailand has already sheltered 100,000 migrants from Myanmar.
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