13 May 2015
A group of 350 migrants from Myanmar have told an activist by phone
that they have been stranded at sea without food or water for four days.
The migrants, including 50 women and 84 children, say that many
people are now falling ill after the boat crew abandoned them at the weekend.
Their exact position is still unclear, said Chris Lewa of the
Arakan Project which works with the Rohingya minority.
Indonesia and Malaysia have been turning away migrant boats.
Thailand has launched a crackdown to disrupt people smuggler
networks since the discovery of dozens of bodies in abandoned camps along
regular trafficking routes.
No help
A ship passed by the drifting ship on Tuesday but did not stop.
"I heard the boat's engine and then all the people screaming,
shouting for help, trying to get attention - then the noises faded away and it
became very quiet. All I could hear was the children crying," Ms. Lewa
told the BBC on Wednesday.
The migrants have been at sea for two months but their situation
only became critical once their crew abandoned the boat and left them without a
working engine.
Ms. Lewa said that the migrants could see land but could not reach
it. "They have a compass but no-one knows how to use it," she added.
On Tuesday, the migrants thought they might be close to the
Malaysian island of Langkawi.
There is growing concern over the health of some of the passengers.
"One man said some people had died but others later
contradicted him so the situation is very unclear," said Ms. Lewa.
As many as 8,000 migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar are believed
by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to be stranded at sea.
People smugglers are reportedly refusing to land their boats
because they do not want to follow their usual route through Thailand after the
government launched a campaign there against them.
Jeff Labovitz, an IOM spokesman, told the BBC on Monday that the discovery
last week of the remains of dozens of people in abandoned camps in the south of
Thailand had prompted a police crackdown.
Another IOM spokesman, Joe Lowry, said that many on board the
migrant boats needed urgent help because they were suffering from beriberi - a
disease caused by vitamin deficiency which "leaves you like a walking
skeleton".
Ms Lewa said that some people in Myanmar were no longer attempting
the perilous journey.
Boat people
Two boats which originally intended to leave last week have been
disembarked, she said. More than 200 passengers were forced to pay a fee to be
allowed to leave the vessels.
Five other boats however were reported to have set out regardless
of the dangers.
On Tuesday, Indonesia said it had turned away a boat carrying
hundreds of migrants believed to be from Myanmar and Bangladesh. What has
happened to them is not yet known.
A senior Thai official told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that
Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia would all continue to turn the boats away.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32718238
Structure of the Lead.
Who- migrants from
Myanmar、Indonesia、Malaysia、Thailand
When- 13 May 2015
What- migrants from
Myanmar didn't receive any help
Why- migrants fling
from Myanmar were refused to land on by
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand
Where- Myanmar
How- many on board
the migrant boats needed urgent help because they were suffering from beriberi
Keywords：
1. activist (n.)活動家
2. exact (n.)準確;精確
3. crackdown (n.)嚴厲打擊
4. disrupt (v.)破壞
5. smuggler (n.)走私者
6. compass (n.)指南針;羅盤
7. contradict (v.)頂撞;牴觸
8. deficiency (n.)不足;欠缺
9. skeleton (n.)骨架
10. disembark (v.)登陸
