More Asylum Seekers Die Trying to Reach Australia

Boats carrying asylum seekers trying to reach Australia continue to sink due to damaged boats and bad weather.

The most recent sinking was off the coast of Malaysia on the 2^nd of February. At least eight people were killed. 18 people have been rescued and there may still be more people missing. The boat was carrying asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Four Pakistanis and one Afghan man were among the eight killed. It is understood that the asylum seekers had got to Malaysia by land from Thailand. A Malaysian Police spokesperson said none of the men had travel documents.

A 22-year old Afghan man, known only as Sayed was quoted as saying that the 11-metre boat was too small for all the people in the group but that they had been told it was safe. “The journey was initially smooth, but about two hours later, the sea became choppy and I could see water getting into the boat,” he said. “It was at this time that the boatman turned off the engine and everyone panicked. Suddenly, the boat started to sink. We all jumped into the water.”

Around the same time, another group of asylum seekers had to be rescued off the coast of Indonesia. This boat was carrying 54 ethnic Rohingya asylum seekers from Burma. They were believed to be heading to Australia but had to be rescued by fisherman after their boat broke down and was being battered by large waves. One of the fishermen involved in the rescue says the boat was damaged and its engine had broken down.

These recent boat sinkings come just two months after more than 200 asylum seekers drowned off the Indonesian coast. Of the estimated 250 asylum seekers on board that boat only 47 survived.

The Australian Immigration Minister, Mr Chris Bowen said these boat tragedies showed why the Australian Government needed to work with the Malaysian Government to break the business model of people smugglers. He said: “We believe the Malaysian arrangement is the best policy approach, both for Australia and for asylum seekers, providing, as it does, a clear deterrence to people getting on precarious boats and risking their lives.”

In 2011 the Australian Government agreed with Malaysia to send 800 asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australia back to Malaysia. In return, Malaysia would send 4000 asylum seekers who had already been found to be refugees to Australia. The agreement was stopped by the Australian Courts in August.

Speaking at a conference on refugee issues in Melbourne, the Immigration Minister confirmed that the government would keep working to get the people-swap deal with Malaysia implemented. The Minister said the Australian Government was “convinced of its importance and virtue.”