Bangkok: Twenty-one people, including two teenage girls, have been confirmed dead after a boat carrying dozens of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar’s impoverished Rakhine state sank in the Andaman Sea near the Thai-Malaysian border.

According to Save the Children, as the rainy season in the region concludes, more Rohingya families are contemplating whether to leave Myanmar and Bangladesh. These families face the perilous choice of undertaking dangerous boat journeys in search of a better life, often at the mercy of smugglers and traffickers who use unseaworthy vessels. Arshad Malik, the Asia Regional Director for Save the Children, emphasized the difficult decisions these families face, driven by unsafe conditions, lack of work, and bleak futures in their home regions. The risk of abuse at sea is particularly high for children, many of whom travel unaccompanied and end up dead.

Save the Children commended local communities in Malaysia and authorities for their life-saving efforts and called on regional governments to permit safe disembarkation and provide necessary assistance and protection to refugees. This incident highlights the deteriorating conditions for children in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee camp, where over one million Rohingya refugees reside. These refugees are stateless, living in overcrowded conditions, and heavily reliant on humanitarian aid for survival.

The urgency of the situation is underscored by the increase in refugees embarking on sea journeys. During the first six months of this year, approximately 1,088 Rohingya refugees, including 87 children, attempted these perilous voyages from Bangladesh, compared to 364 during the same period last year. The need for regional cooperation and responsibility-sharing is critical to prevent further loss of life and protect the vulnerable Rohingya population.