Killed Before They Die: Myanmar’s Persecuted Rohingyas and Perennial Forced Migration Crisis at Sea
Rohingya people are forced to choose between genocidal persecution at home or risking death at sea. Many end up doing both. A. Kasim on May 22, 2026 The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) reported on April 17: “In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. It became the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia,” The agency also said that over the past decade, an estimated 5,000 Rohingya have died at sea. I recall earlier years of this crisis when boat journeys were already becoming common for Rohingya people. After 2010, the scale changed sharply. Many Rohingya individuals from Arakan including young people, elders and women began leaving in larger numbers. The reason was not about finding an opportunity. It was about survival. Life in Arakan became harder due to lack of income, movement restrictions, and the pressure of supporting large families by a single individual. Most Rohingya head for Saudi Arabia, Th...