Desperate Rohingya kids flee Myanmar alone by boat

SITTWE, Myanmar — The two children stood on the beach, torn between land and sea.

Their tiny Muslim village in Myanmar's northwest Rakhine had been burned down by a Buddhist mob. In the chaos, they became separated from their family and gave up hope of finding them alive after seven months of searching.

So Mohamad Husein, 15, and his sister Senwara Begum, 9, climbed on board a rickety boat crammed with others fleeing home.

They had no way of knowing they were among hundreds, if not thousands, of ethnic Rohingya children who have left Myanmar by sea since the country was first gripped by sectarian violence two years ago, or that they were joining one of the world's biggest boat exoduses since the Vietnam War.

Despite pleas from the United Nations, which considers members of the religious minority among the most persecuted groups on earth, nearby countries shove them back to sea.

"The sense of desperation and hopelessness is growing," said Vivian Tan of the U.N. Refugee Agency.

The Associated Press reported the children's story based on interviews and data from Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Their small boat was packed with 63 people, including 14 children and 10 women. Nearly two weeks passed, and then a boat with at least a dozen Myanmar soldiers approached.

They kicked and bludgeoned the Rohingya men, several passengers said. Mohamad suspected money changed hands, and the soldiers told the boat to leave.

The ship plodded on. When they floated ashore in Thailand, Senwara had no idea where she was.

Up until a few years ago, Thailand towed migrants out to sea and left them with little or no food, water or fuel. After an uproar, Thai authorities began giving basic supplies to migrants before sending them on.

On shore, Mohamad and Senwara were given rice and dry fish and then put on another small boat without an engine. Thai troops pulled them far out to sea, cut the rope and left them, survivors said. Senwara got sick after drinking sea water and eating wood.

The next day, they spotted a fishing boat. It was from Indonesia.

The world's most populous Muslim nation has been sympathetic to the Rohingya but has not opened its doors to them. It only allows them to stay until they can be resettled elsewhere, which can take years.

"At stake is national interest," said Yan Welly, an Indonesian immigration official. "A flood of immigrants could affect efforts in coping with problems of our own people."

Mohamad and Senwara were transferred to a filthy detention center with about 300 people, double its capacity. A riot broke out between the Rohingya and illegal Buddhist fishermen from Myanmar, and eight Buddhists were beaten to death.

Senwara slept through the brawl in another area. When she awoke, her brother was gone. After
months in jail with other Rohingya arrested from the fight, Mohamad was released due to his age and left for neighboring Malaysia.

Mohamad now lives in a tiny hovel with about 17 other Rohingya men. He remains tortured with guilt for leaving his sister behind.

Soon after the riot, Senwara was registered as an asylum seeker. She was moved to U.N. housing in Medan, Indonesia, and taken in by a Rohingya woman. She remains hurt and angry for being left alone.

Senwara's parents didn't learn the children were safe until more than eight months after their village burned. Today, 22 months after their separation, they speak by Skype, and when it's time to say goodbye, Senwara stares at the screen long after the faces are gone.

"I don't think I will ever be able to see my parents," she says, softly. "For the rest of my life."

Ethnic rohingya in myanmar

About 1.3 million Rohingya live in Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country of 60 million that only recently emerged from decades of military rule. The government considers them illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh. Since the transition to democracy began three years ago, Buddhist mobs have killed up to 280 Rohingya and forced more than 140,000 others from their homes. The violence, which first flared in mid-2012, has forced about 75,000 people to flee, according to Chris Lewa of the non-profit Arakan Project. Nearly 2,000 people have died or gone missing at sea during that time, she added.

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