UN Calls For Action as Thousands of Migrants Continue to Flee Myanmar

The international community continues to call for more action to help migrants fleeing Myanmar. Thousands of Rohingya Muslim migrants are escaping persecution in the Buddhist majority country.

Listen to Junno Arocho’s report:

Over 3,000 people comprised of Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi migrants have landed on the shores of  Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that over 2,000 people are stranded in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Bangladesh.

Another 1500 migrants are believed to be further down the Southeast, trapped at sea.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has reportedly discussed the growing need for emergency assistance with regional leaders in Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand. He also called on them to provide search and rescue operations, as well discussing resettlement options.

Despite reports of persecution, the Myanmar government refuses to acknowledge those concerns, saying that the majority of migrants are Bangladeshi. However, the country has contributed to rescue operations, saying that they seized a boat carrying some 200 migrants.

Although countries, both neighboring and abroad continue with relief efforts, many are calling for action from the international community to help protect religious minorities who are being persecuted.

In a meeting with journalists in Geneva, UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards stressed that more must be done to stop the cause of migrants fleeing their country.

“We are globally in a huge forced displacement crisis. More than 50 million people on the move: fleeing war, fleeing persecution. A symptom of that is what’s happening at sea in the Mediterranean Gulf of Aedan and also visibly in Southeast Asia too,” he said.

The UNHCR spokesman stressed that countries need to work together in finding a long term solution that will stem the cause of those who choose to flee or pay smugglers, often risking death in search of a better life.