UN: Hundreds of Rohingya Refugees Lost at Sea in 2022

UN: Hundreds of Rohingya Refugees Lost at Sea in 2022

The United Nations refugee agency has reported a big rise in the number of Rohingya refugees who died at sea in 2022.

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said at least 348 people died or disappeared while trying to flee Myanmar or Bangladesh by boat.

The agency said more than 3,500 Rohingya tried sea crossings in the Bay of Bengal or the Andaman Sea last year. That is five times more than the year before.

UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said the big increase suggests there is despair among the population of refugees.

Mantoo said: "We are hearing reports...from Rohingya about this growing sense of desperation and anxiety about the future." She added that many are being exploited by human traffickers who give false promises and false hope. She said most of the 39 boats making the sea crossings last year left Myanmar and Bangladesh.

In the last two months of 2022, the UNHCR said 450 Rohingya arrived in Aceh, Indonesia. Another boat carrying 100 people disembarked in Sri Lanka. A boat carrying 180 Rohingya Muslims is feared to have sunk in December.

The UNHCR said it had called on maritime¹ officials in the area to rescue people at sea. But those requests had been ignored and boats have been at sea for weeks.

In August 2017, more than 750,000 Rohingya Muslims who faced violence and persecution² in Myanmar fled to Cox's Bazaar³ in Bangladesh. They have been living in overcrowded camps with other refugees since then.

The UNHCR says conditions in Myanmar have not improved and it remains⁴ unsafe for the Rohingya to return. The group is barred from receiving citizenship⁵.

Words in This Story

despair –n. a feeling of extreme sadness

exploit –v. to use someone in an unfair or cruel way—n.

desperation –n. a strong feeling of sadness and loss of hope

anxiety –n. a feeling of tension and nervousness

 

disembark –v. to leave a boat or to get off of a boat, plane or other means of transportation

1 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

2 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

3 bazaar   

n.集市，商店集中区

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。