The recently reported deaths at sea of nearly 100 Rohingya asylum seekers from Myanmar is the starkest reminder that Australia needs to step up its efforts to improve regional protection for asylum seekers and refugees. Without cohesive regional strategies to address the needs of fleeing asylum seekers, the body count will continue to grow, and we must all take some of the blame.
When more than 30 survivors were rescued from the sinking vessel off the coast of Sri Lanka, reportedly en route to Malaysia and Australia, stories emerged of bodies thrown overboard as people died from dehydration and starvation during weeks at sea.
When the Sri Lankan navy rescued another 138 people earlier this month, one person was found dead on board. In recent days, 121 Rohingya asylum seekers were rescued from a boat found drifting off the coast of Indonesia.
In their homeland, Myanmar, the 800,000 Rohingya residents are treated as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, denied basic rights and citizenship and subjected to daily discrimination. Many have fled to Bangladesh over the years but only 30,000 are offered basic assistance in official camps. The other more than 200,000 are treated as illegal Myanmar immigrants, refused aid, and often forced to survive in squalid makeshift sites.
The inter-communal violence that erupted in Myanmar's Rakhine state in June last year has led to greater numbers fleeing in recent months. But attempts to find a safe haven over the nearest border often end in tragedy, with Bangladeshi guards ordered to arrest and return asylum seekers and forcefully turn boats back.
Children are included among those who have died at sea, with one ten-year-old girl recalling, 'we floated in the sea for four days and my younger brother starved to death'.
Other countries are just as unwelcoming. Rohingyas who try to land in Thailand are pushed back out to sea and many have died of starvation. Others are forcibly returned to Myanmar. The Thai Government recently granted six months' temporary stay to more than 1700 recent arrivals, temporarily reducing the need for further boat journeys. But the government claims it will push away future arrivals.
Around 25,000 Rohingyas are registered in Malaysia (more are unregistered) but are refused legal status and live in constant fear of arrest and deportation.
The UN