The 2015 Rohingya Maritime Refugee Crisis
Introduction
In 2015, the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea became the setting of a regional emergency involving Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi passengers. For Rohingya escaping persecution in Arakan or seeking security after displacement, crossing the sea offered the possibility of reaching safety, relatives and a more sustainable life. Yet the journey exposed many to exploitation, captivity and abandonment. Contemporary investigations documented people fleeing abusive conditions only to encounter further violence along the routes through Southeast Asia.
From a Rohingya perspective, this crisis belongs within the history of persecution and forced displacement. Its geographical reach extended beyond Myanmar: the treatment of people aboard vessels, in trafficking camps and after disembarkation involved actors and authorities across several countries. The central question was whether people seeking refuge could reach a place where their lives and protection needs would be taken seriously. On 19 May 2015, UNHCR, OHCHR, IOM and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Migration and Development jointly called for search and rescue, safe disembarkation and protection of refugees’ and migrants’ human rights.
Rohingya organisations also demanded action as the emergency unfolded. In its appeal of 14 May, the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation called on regional governments and the international community to rescue abandoned Rohingya and Bangladeshi passengers off Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Such appeals form an important part of the contemporary record: Rohingya advocates were pressing for immediate protection while people remained in danger at sea.
This part follows the journeys from departure to their aftermath. Its six chapters examine maritime routes, trafficking and ransom, the discovery of camps and graves, abandonment at sea, regional responses and conditions after landing. Survivor testimony will remain central throughout. Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi passengers sometimes travelled aboard the same vessels, but their histories and individual protection needs must be identified accurately. The account will preserve those distinctions while documenting the abuses they experienced and the decisions that shaped their chances of survival.