Myanmar boat people take up refuge in Sabang

Imam Hussein, 30, sobbed while Sabang nurse at the hospital attended to him in a neighborhood. Tears rolled down his face and soaked the shirt he received from the local community, just moments after it landed at the naval base on Sabang 7 January.

"Praise be to God, praise God," he exclaimed in tears.

Imam was one of 193 refugees from Myanmar in distress off the island of Sabang, Aceh, after 28 days of travel by sea in small boats.

The imam of the tribe is Rohingya in Arakan State, western Myanmar, which lies along the east coast of the Bay of Bengal, bordering Bangladesh. The tribesmen are generally Sunni Muslims - a minority in the predominantly Buddhist country.

Imam fled their country - now under the control of a military junta - to seek asylum abroad.

"No Muslims in Myanmar, no Muslim," he cried.

He said that the group of refugees, he had been left Myanmar on 23 December, in the direction of Thailand.

They left Myanmar because they could no longer bear to live under the military junta that do not recognize their existence, he said.

Imam to add about 580 people fled to the time in four small boats, with nearly 200 people in some of these boats.

The title has been to Muslim countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Afghanistan.

However, after landing in Thailand, the boat people from Myanmar met with abuse of Thai Marines, "said Imam.

"We have been in Thailand for two days, but they abused us and deport us to gunfire," the imam said in broken English.

He said the Marines back into their boats and gear to the sea beyond Thai waters.

"After our boats have been taken outside the border, the sailors of the destruction of our engines and dumped all our food in the sea," he said.

Left adrift in the ocean, the imam has, refugees, including women and children, have been buffeted by currents and wind. They tried to fashion sails tarpaulins.

"We do not know where the * * remaining refugees are now," said Imam.

After 10 days at sea without food or destination, one of three boats carrying about 280 people, was found in the waters of Sabang.

They were spotted by two fishermen of Aceh on the open sea.

"I was very shocked to see a small boat packed to the brim with hundreds of people in distress," said Rudiyanto, one of the fishermen.

The boat was towed ashore, where refugees receive assistance and medical care. Eighty-one had to be taken to hospital due to severe dehydration. Some were also treated for injuries they said they support of physical violence by the Thai Marines.

"They had to receive hospital treatment because they were weak, severely dehydrated and had been beaten," said Togu a doctor for the boat people.

Asylum seekers are currently housed in a warehouse in Sabang naval base, pending a decision by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in their bid for asylum.

"We are still waiting and coordination with headquarters on the immigration of citizens of Myanmar," said Bureau of Immigration head Marsudi Sabang.

He said his office had not received any information yet on whether to expel the refugees.

This is the second incident involving Myanmar boat people off the drift Sabang. In April 2006, 77 boat people who fled their country, were also found on board a boat in the waters of Sabang.

They were eventually expelled by the local immigration office without a destination, after having spent several days in Sabang.