In the first three months of this year, some 25,000 people, mostly from the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, left the Bay of Bengal by boat in search of a better life. Instead, they have suffered the most appalling treatment at the hands of ruthless smugglers and unsympathetic governments. At least 300 have died from “starvation, dehydration and beatings”, according to the UN. Between 6,000 and 20,000 are now adrift at sea, turned away from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in what one human rights campaigner likened to a sickening game of “human ping pong”. The situation is desperate. If action is not taken, dozens or possibly hundreds of people could die.
今年头3个月，约有2.5万人——大多是受到迫害的穆斯林罗兴亚(Rohingya)少数民族——乘船离开孟加拉湾，以寻求改善生活状况。然而，他们却遭到了残忍的走私犯和一些无情的政府最骇人听闻的对待。联合国(UN)称，至少有300人死于“饥饿、脱水和毒打”。现在还有6000到两万人相继被泰国、马来西亚和印度尼西亚拒绝入境，不得不继续在海上漂流，一位人权活动人士将这种相互推诿比作一场令人作呕的“人类乒乓球”比赛。形势极为严峻。如果不采取行动，数十人乃至数百人可能都会面临死亡。