BANGKOK: An exhausted refugee on a stranded boat told Phuketwan today that life is slowly ebbing from the men, women and children on the ship, one of seven boats unwanted by the nations of South East Asia.
The person answered the telephone call today with a weakened voice: ''As-Salam alaykum,'' (hello) he breathed. His voice was barely audible and he spoke in the Rohingya language.
Through a translator, he said: ''There are 400 of us on board. Some are already dead, but I cannot tell you how many because I do not have the strength to move around the ship.
''We have been at sea for a month.
''This is a Thai trawler, modified to carry people. We are not sure where we are. We have used up most food and water.
''We beg for your help.''
Phuketwan rigged a connection between mobile telephones that was enabling the 15-year-old passenger, in a faint voice, to relay what information he knew about the fleet of seven vessels to an activist who speaks Rohingya.
The boy gave his name as Abdul Rahamad. Sea and wind could be heard as he spoke.
''The boat has about 400 people on board,'' he said. ''Thai and Myanmar brokers [the regional term for traffickers] were on the boat when we left Myanmar one month ago.
''We have been out of food and water for 10 days. When I last heard a figure, there had been 22 deaths on board. It's very crowded.
''The Myanmar Navy came and damaged the motor of the boat so that it could not work. The two brokers left on a small boat that picked them up and took them away.
''I can see the mountains on an island. It looks about an hour away. We must still be in reach of land.
''Many people are exhausted and unable to move. There is no energy on this ship.''
Q: Are there many other boats nearby?
''Yes, we see plenty of other boats. But none of them come to help.''
Q: What are conditions like on the boat? Can you tell me?
''We expect there will be more deaths and that they will come more quickly now.''
Q: Where did you get the telephone from?
''There were three mobile phones on the boat. The Thai broker bought simcards to make sure we could contact relatives to demand ransom.''
Q: How come you still have battery power?
''We have been using them one at a time. So we still have a little power left. Before the engine was wrecked, we could use that to recharge the telephones.''
Q: What do you think will happen next?
''We are adrift and we do not know what will happen next. Now all we can is wait for help. We do not know whether we will die in the middle of nowhere,
''Other boats do not stop. Nobody cares.''
Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, which assesses the numbers of departing boats and interviews survivors, said she had been in touch with a different boat yesterday.
''It was distressing,'' she said today. ''I could hear people yelling in the background, asking for food and water.''
That boat had 350 on board. There were 84 children and 50 women, Ms Lewa said she was told.
''I was told there had been many deaths but sometimes people exaggerate if they really need help,'' she said. ''We would like to see them rescued as soon as possible.
''The question is, who will rescue them?''
Ms Lewa said the Arakan Project was being contacted by people in Bangladesh, concerned about family members missing on boats.
As many as 8000 people are believed to be stranded because of the more strict attitude being taken by Indonesia and Malaysia following a crackdown on trafficking camps in Thailand.
This report will be updated if more information comes from the ship.
WATCH How Trafficking Works
Phuketwan Investigative reporter Chutima Sidasathian, still being sued for criminal defamation over a Reuters paragraph: ''It's worse and worse, day by day. Nobody cares''.
http://journeyman.tv/67116/short-films/rohingya-hd.html
LISTEN The Rohingya Solution
A tragedy almost beyond words has been unfolding in Thailand, where a human smuggling network is thriving with the full knowledge of some corrupt law enforcement officers. Alan Morison of Phuketwan talks to Australia's AM program.
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4231108.htm
The person answered the telephone call today with a weakened voice: ''As-Salam alaykum,'' (hello) he breathed. His voice was barely audible and he spoke in the Rohingya language.
Through a translator, he said: ''There are 400 of us on board. Some are already dead, but I cannot tell you how many because I do not have the strength to move around the ship.
''We have been at sea for a month.
''This is a Thai trawler, modified to carry people. We are not sure where we are. We have used up most food and water.
''We beg for your help.''
Phuketwan rigged a connection between mobile telephones that was enabling the 15-year-old passenger, in a faint voice, to relay what information he knew about the fleet of seven vessels to an activist who speaks Rohingya.
The boy gave his name as Abdul Rahamad. Sea and wind could be heard as he spoke.
''The boat has about 400 people on board,'' he said. ''Thai and Myanmar brokers [the regional term for traffickers] were on the boat when we left Myanmar one month ago.
''We have been out of food and water for 10 days. When I last heard a figure, there had been 22 deaths on board. It's very crowded.
''The Myanmar Navy came and damaged the motor of the boat so that it could not work. The two brokers left on a small boat that picked them up and took them away.
''I can see the mountains on an island. It looks about an hour away. We must still be in reach of land.
''Many people are exhausted and unable to move. There is no energy on this ship.''
Q: Are there many other boats nearby?
''Yes, we see plenty of other boats. But none of them come to help.''
Q: What are conditions like on the boat? Can you tell me?
''We expect there will be more deaths and that they will come more quickly now.''
Q: Where did you get the telephone from?
''There were three mobile phones on the boat. The Thai broker bought simcards to make sure we could contact relatives to demand ransom.''
Q: How come you still have battery power?
''We have been using them one at a time. So we still have a little power left. Before the engine was wrecked, we could use that to recharge the telephones.''
Q: What do you think will happen next?
''We are adrift and we do not know what will happen next. Now all we can is wait for help. We do not know whether we will die in the middle of nowhere,
''Other boats do not stop. Nobody cares.''
Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, which assesses the numbers of departing boats and interviews survivors, said she had been in touch with a different boat yesterday.
''It was distressing,'' she said today. ''I could hear people yelling in the background, asking for food and water.''
That boat had 350 on board. There were 84 children and 50 women, Ms Lewa said she was told.
''I was told there had been many deaths but sometimes people exaggerate if they really need help,'' she said. ''We would like to see them rescued as soon as possible.
''The question is, who will rescue them?''
Ms Lewa said the Arakan Project was being contacted by people in Bangladesh, concerned about family members missing on boats.
As many as 8000 people are believed to be stranded because of the more strict attitude being taken by Indonesia and Malaysia following a crackdown on trafficking camps in Thailand.
This report will be updated if more information comes from the ship.
WATCH How Trafficking Works
Phuketwan Investigative reporter Chutima Sidasathian, still being sued for criminal defamation over a Reuters paragraph: ''It's worse and worse, day by day. Nobody cares''.
http://journeyman.tv/67116/short-films/rohingya-hd.html
LISTEN The Rohingya Solution
A tragedy almost beyond words has been unfolding in Thailand, where a human smuggling network is thriving with the full knowledge of some corrupt law enforcement officers. Alan Morison of Phuketwan talks to Australia's AM program.
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4231108.htm
Dear Phuketwan,
Please do whatever you can to directly contact those who might help with this situation. See if there are any boats in the area that might bring some provisions to the people there. Reporting the story alone is not enough in this case.
You have managed to reach these people and they haven't shared their story for our entertainment but in hope the person they spoke to would be able to help. They don't have much time and by the sound of it, the boy you spoke to might already be dead.
You don't need to publish this comment, just knock on some relevant doors - it might mean a world of difference. Thank you.
Posted by Mitch on May 13, 2015 11:19