Staff Reporter :About 200 victims of human trafficking from Bangladesh and Myanmar died on the journey, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) report on Tuesday. Migrants and refugees who spent months at sea and found help in Indonesia’s Aceh province claim up to 200 people died on the journey with 14 people, including seven children, dying before the boat was turned around by both the Indonesian and Malaysian naviesThe 677 survivors were rescued by Indonesian fishermen and brought ashore last Thursday.It was Acehnese fishermen who rescued the 677 Rohingya asylum seekers and Bangladeshis and brought them to Langsa.The ethnic Rohingyas and migrants from Bangladesh were involved in onboard violence that left seven people dead, as food and water supplies ran out.The migrants claimed many passengers died by drowning either when they fell overboard or when the boat began to take on water. It is impossible to verify the accuracy of some of the claims due to the language barriers.There are differing accounts of the onboard violence with accusations being made by either groups who admit to the clashes but blame each other for starting them.A 21-year-old Rohingya man, Muhammad Rafique, who already has UN Refugee Status, said the Bengalis were the aggressors.”Bengali … they said, you are Rohingya, they kill us, they kill us by the knife, by the hammer,” he said.But Bengali Mohammad Abdur Rahim, 23, said it was the Rohingyas who started it.”Myanmar people do not give us any food, any water, they are torturing [us] every day,” he said.”We [want to] go back to Bangladesh immediately. Please help,” Abdur Rahim said.Muhammad Rafique, a Rohingya, still wanted to get to Australia via Malaysia, with the help of smugglers. “First I will go Malaysia, I will [collect] some money, pay the broker. After that I will go to Australia to study,” he said.When the ABC asked him if he knew Australia did not accept people who came by boat he did not understand.The clashes seem to have occurred after the asylum seekers left the waters off Thailand and were then abandoned by the smugglers and the ship’s captain.From what those on board who can speak English say, three to four boats left from Bangladesh and Myanmar weeks ago.Off the Thai coast, the smugglers then transferred them all to one bigger boat, and later abandoned them. Last week they reached Indonesian waters but were rejected by the Indonesian navy.Indonesia’s foreign ministry spokesman, Arrmanatha Nasir, conceded the navy had contact with a boat on Tuesday but said the people wanted to get to Malaysia so Indonesia gave them fuel, food and water.Indonesia’s military spokesman Fuad Basya told the ABC the navy escorted them out of Indonesian waters.Major General Basya told the ABC: “It’s the military’s responsibility to protect the country’s territory”.Dr Iqbal Foriza, who is co-ordinating medical provision at the makeshift refugee camp, said 25 people were admitted to hospital with their bodies having gone into shock from the ordeal.”The worst is heavy shock. They were on the sea for four months, no food, no water, no bedding, that made the people dehydrated, and caused trauma,” Dr Fariza said.On a military camp bed last night, a Bangladeshi woman fanned her three-year-old daughter to keep away mosquitoes, which can be deadly in Indonesia.The tiny girl was still hooked up to a drip, but Dr Foriza said she was being monitored every three hours.
