Bangladesh (MNN) — 81 Rohingya refugees have been rescued after their boat’s engine failed. Eight died of dehydration. The Indian Coast Guard found the boat adrift in the Andaman Sea.
Meanwhile, the government of Bangladesh continues shipping thousands of Rohingya refugees to a new settlement on the small island of Bhasan Char. It’s a new island, recently formed from Himalayan sediment.
Vincent Michael of FMI says many people worry about the island’s safety. “From everything that we’re hearing, the island really hasn’t been tested yet. So it’s going to have to go through a serious cyclone season for them to really know. And that’s really hard whenever you have 6,700 residents. You don’t want to take 6,700 people through an unknown outcome. They’ve claimed that they’ve made the island cyclone safe. But a lot of experts have doubts.”
Myanmar coup
Many Rohingya still live in Myanmar, even after the genocide against them that drove many from the country in 2016 and 2017.
Now, many of their oppressors have retaken power in a military coup. Michael says, “A lot of people are afraid that it’s going to become much worse for the Rohingya still in Myanmar. So pray for that. And the other point related to the coup is many Rohingya were still hopeful that there would be a chance they could be repatriated back to Myanmar in a peaceful and safe way. With a military takeover, that’s looking just a lot less likely to happen.”
Pray Rohingya churches would grow and flourish despite all these circumstances.
The header image shows Rohingya refugees. (English: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, OGL v1.0 <http://NationalArchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/1/>, via Wikimedia Commons)
