Day: December 27, 2022

The United Nations refugee agency said Sunday in a statement that about 180 Rohingya were feared to have drowned at sea after their boat left Bangladesh for Malaysia earlier this month.

When a boat carrying 174 Rohingya washed ashore Monday in Indonesia, many people speculated that they were the ones the refugee agency had assumed to have drowned.

However, some Rohingya in Bangladesh and Malaysia, who managed to speak to the refugees rescued Monday, confirmed that those 174 were not related to the 180 refugees still missing and feared dead.

Several people in Malaysia and Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh — where more than 1 million Rohingya have been living in squalid, congested camps since fleeing violence in Myanmar — told VOA on Friday that their relatives who had left Bangladesh by boat on December 2 bound for Malaysia, were missing at sea, and that about 180 people were onboard.

Mohammed Rezuwan Khan, a Rohingya activist in Cox’s Bazar, told VOA that on Tuesday he spoke to his sister — who was one of the 174 refugees rescued Monday in Indonesia — by phone and verified that the boat that sailed out of Bangladesh on December 2 with about 180 people was still missing.

“The boat that my sister boarded departed Bangladesh on November 25, with around 200 people on board, bound for Malaysia. Its engine broke down after a few days. It drifted for weeks, and food and water stock on the boat ran out before it washed ashore in Indonesia Monday. However, we stayed in touch with the boat via its satellite phone until it came close to Indonesia,” Khan said.

“Certainly, the boat that was rescued in Indonesia Monday is not the one that left Bangladesh on December 2.”

Khan added that his sister, a widow, boarded the boat for Malaysia with her 5-year-old daughter.

“My sister said that at least 25 people in her boat died after the boat’s engine broke down on December 4, and it drifted for weeks.”

Khan described his sister’s ordeal at sea, saying that when their boat was drifting and they had run out of food and water, a Thai navy boat appeared at some distance. Around 20 men from the boat jumped into the sea and tried to swim closer to the navy boat, hoping to get some food and water, but did not receive any relief. The swimmers then were swept away by a strong current and could not return to their boat.

“She also said that for 13 days they were without food and water before landing in Indonesia, and some had died because of starving and drinking seawater.”

Relatives of those onboard the missing boat said that they had lost contact December 8 and could not hope that the passengers were still alive.

Mohammad Rofik, a Rohingya refugee who landed in Malaysia from Bangladesh in March, said that his wife, Ayesha Khatoon, and their two daughters, ages 5 and 3, were on the missing boat.

“After the boat left Bangladesh on December 2, almost every day my brother-in-law or I called up the satellite phone of the boatman to check if everything was all right with the boat and my family. But from December 8, neither my brother-in-law nor I have succeeded to reach the phone. Many other people who have their relatives on that boat also told us that since December 8, they have failed to get access to the phone of the boatman,” Rofik told VOA.

“My daughters were missing me very much. With my wife and daughters, I dreamed of setting up a nice home in Malaysia. So, I told them to come to Malaysia and join me here.”

Rashidullah, a Rohingya refugee in Cox’s Bazar who uses only one name, said that his 16-year-old daughter, Umme Salima, was on the missing boat.

“I am very poor, and I have seven daughters who are unmarried. Salima was the eldest among them. I put her on the boat with the hope that any Rohingya man in Malaysia would marry her. Now my daughter is missing, and many said that along with all others on the boat, she drowned in the sea,” Rashidullah told VOA.

Some Rohingya, however, insist that it is too early to be certain that all the passengers on the missing boat are dead.

“The boat that washed ashore in Indonesia took 31 days to reach Indonesia from Bangladesh. The boat that is missing left Bangladesh 25 days ago. We should wait for some more days or weeks to be sure that the people are no more,” Mohammad Hussain, a Rohingya community leader in Cox’s Bazar, told VOA Tuesday.

“I, too, do not believe as yet that my daughters and wife are dead,” Rofik, in Malaysia, said. If Allah wants, he can still safely return my children and wife to me, presenting a miracle.”

 

Source: Voice of America

NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced his support for peace efforts in Ukraine during a phone conversation with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which the Ukrainian leader sought India’s help in implementing “a peace formula.”

“I had a phone call with @PMOIndia Narendra Modi and wished a successful #G20 presidency,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter Monday. It was on this platform that I announced the peace formula and now I count on India’s participation in its implementation.”

India assumed the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 major economies for the year beginning December 1.

In a virtual address to the G-20 summit in Indonesia last month, Zelenskyy asked the grouping to adopt Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula calling for withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and restoration of its territorial integrity. He said then that “now” is the time to end the war.

A statement from the Indian government on the phone conversation with Zelenskyy late Monday said that Modi “strongly reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities” and added that both sides should revert to dialogue and diplomacy to find a lasting solution to their differences. The statement said the Indian prime minister conveyed India’s support for any peace efforts, and assured Zelenskyy of India’s commitment to continue providing humanitarian assistance for the affected civilian population.

The statement also said that “The Prime Minister explained the main priorities of India’s G20 Presidency, including giving a voice to the concerns of developing nations on issues like food and energy security.”

The phone call between the Indian and Ukrainian leaders came ten days after Modi’s phone conversation with Russia leader Vladimir Putin, in which New Delhi said Modi spoke of the need for dialogue and diplomacy to end the conflict.

At a regular press briefing following the Modi-Putin call, U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said in response to a question that “Any country that’s interested in engaging in peace and interested in ending this war must do so in close partnership with Ukrainian partners.”

India has not outright condemned Russia for its war on Ukraine and continues to have a close partnership with Moscow. During a visit to Moscow in November, India’s foreign minister said that India, which has emerged as a huge buyer of Russian crude oil, will boost economic ties with Moscow.

However, Modi had also told Russian president Vladimir Putin in September at a regional meeting that today “is not an era of war.”

Analysts in New Delhi say hopes to play a constructive role in any peace efforts to end the Ukrainian conflict during its presidency of G-20.

 

Source: Voice of America

The Kyrgyz Republic United Youth Organization has issued a statement in support of the initiative of the Eurasian Regional Center of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF-ERC) for the environmental action that has been holding for two weeks by Azerbaijani activists on the Lachin-Khankendi road.

The statement refers to the damage to the environment in Central Asia caused by the drying of rivers, in particular, the deprivation of Kyrgyzstan of natural resources. The mentioned organization expresses its deep regret over illegal actions that harm nature in Karabakh. The document highly appreciated the activities of the Eurasian Regional Center of the Youth Forum of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF-ERC) in this direction, the reconstruction works in Karabakh, and expressed the readiness of Kyrgyz experts to take part in monitoring activities voluntarily to protect the environment in Karabakh.

It should be noted that Pakistan’s Global Strategic Institute for Sustainable Development, the National Youth Council Indonesia and the OIC Youth Indonesia as well as Georgian Muslim Youth Center, made similar statements of support for the said initiative of the ICYF-ERC.

 

Source: TREND News Agency