Many Rohingya are facing starvation since foreign aid workers were forced to leave the region by the government.
(Image, caption courtesy Partners)
Most Rohingya refugees currently adrift in the Andaman Ocean fled persecution in Myanmar months ago with the help of traffickers. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place, and had to make a decision.
Myanmar?s government doesn?t allow the Rohingya to move beyond highly-monitored zones resembling concentration camps. Since beginning their work in Rakhine state three years ago, Partners Relief and Development has helped improve daily life in the camps for many Rohingya refugees.
But as time went on, many saw the writing on the wall and took to the sea.
?Two years ago, [the situation] seemed like it was temporary, and that they were going to be able to go back to their homes eventually,? says Partners co-founder Oddny Gumaer.
?Now, it?s looking like this is where they will be for the rest of their lives.?
For most Rohingya, the desperate escape from Myanmar has turned into an unimaginable trap. Boat people keep getting pushed back to sea as nations throughout Southeast Asia continually deny them entrance.
Why are countries turning a ?cold shoulder? to the Rohingya?
As government talks drag on, it doesn?t look like the Rohingya crisis will end any time soon. In this article, Gumaer shares what YOU can do about it.