Authorities have released the details of a gruesome discovery made in Malaysia in over the weekend. At least 30 mass graves have been located in the Northern State of Perlis which borders Thailand. Graves which contain hundreds of bodies of victims of trafficking in the region. The Victims were a part of seventeen abandoned prisoner camps found nearby. It is believed that the camps were abandoned due to the recent crackdown of illegal trafficking in the region by Thai authorities, leaving the perpetrators to flee for fear of apprehension. This discovery comes at a time when thousands of Rohingya Muslims are traveling from areas near Myanmar to avoid Religious prosecution.
The Migrants hire the smugglers to bring them out of the country, but many times the smugglers take advantage of the Migrants who end up being sold into trafficking by the smugglers.
Nearly 3,000 immigrants have landed in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia since the ships began to travel with Migrants on board creating a crisis for those countries who refuse to let these boats land in their countries. Prior to the discovery of the graves Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia were towing migrant boats back to sea, leaving them the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea for weeks without food or water. Hundreds have died in previous weeks due to exposure and lack of necessities during the arduous escapade. Since the horrific discovery of the graves Thailand has said that it will no longer reject the boats containing immigrants. Malaysia and Indonesia have begun to search for additional boats thought to be traveling to their countries, and have agreed not only to discontinue the practice of towing boats further out to see, but to help provide temporary shelters to the immigrants on board the vessels.
The recent misfortunes of the traveling immigrants are due in large part to the crackdown of trafficking. Typically those fleeing areas near Myanmar would board a vessel, and then once out to sea they board a larger vessel or cargo ship. Migrants follow a path that takes them through Andaman Sea to Ranong, where they continue on foot to Malaysia. The Thai intervention has forced boats to instead favor a path that remains at sea, and leads further south to Indonesia, or more southern parts of Malaysia. This change of course increases their total time at Sea, and the danger of overall journey. This mass grave is particularly horrifying in scale, but hopefully with authority intervention this will be the last of its kind in the region.
