The situation of the Rohingya is desperate, says the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “UNHCR has seen an alarming increase in the death toll. At least 348 people died or were missing at sea in 2022, making it one of the deadliest years since 2014,” UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said during a news conference in Geneva.
Over the past year, more than 3,500 Rohingya tried to flee Burma, where the minority is being persecuted by the ruling junta, or leave Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of them have taken refuge, Shabia Mantoo said. According to her, 3,040 Rohingya who set sail disembarked last year, mostly in Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Rohingya persecuted in Burma
Almost 45% of those who did so were women and children. “Most of the boats left Burma and Bangladesh, underscoring the growing desperation of the Rohingya in these two countries,” Shabia Mantoo said.
The Rohingyas, being Muslims and although resident in Burma for generations, are still considered invaders in the country of which they are not nationals, nor have the same rights as other residents, particularly when travelling.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingyas fled the bloody crackdown by the Burmese army in 2017 to seek refuge in camps in neighboring Bangladesh. The United Nations’ highest judiciary is on trial against Burma, who is accused of genocide by The Gambia.