What happens to the Rohingya who arrived in Malaysia?

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If in recent years, the Malaysian authorities have tolerated the arrival of the Rohingya, since the coronavirus pandemic, the coast guards no longer practice any laxity. Many boats have been sent back to sea in recent months. This Monday, June 8, one of them managed to dock.

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From our correspondent in Kuala Lumpur ,   Gabrielle Maréchaux

They arrived this Monday, June 8 on the shore of the island of Langkawi. When the coast guard approached their vessel, 53 Rohingyas jumped into the water before being arrested. On board, authorities discovered 210 others and the body of a dead woman. They are not the first to arrive on the Malaysian coast: in recent years the Rohingya have massively emigrated to this country which shares their Muslim faith.

But since the coronavirus crisis, Malaysia no longer tolerates their arrival and has referred more than 22 boats to an unknown maritime drift. In order to escape this order to turn back, this Monday's boat intentionally damaged her vessel.

Since then, these 269 men and women have been imprisoned and Malaysia has not yet resolved their fate. The authorities first wanted to send them back to Bangladesh where they came from. But if in mid-April this country which has the largest number of Rohingya refugees had rescued boats returning to the Bay of Bengal after two months at sea, it refuses today to offer its help, considering that it should now other countries rescue the Rohingya stateless .

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• Malaysia
• International Migration