Mother of Rohingya refugee weeps as son believed lost at sea while enroute to Malaysia

Record ID: 1686090

  • Title: Mother of Rohingya refugee weeps as son believed lost at sea while enroute to Malaysia
  • Date: 24th August 2022
  • Summary: BALUKHALI REFUGEE CAMP, COX'S BAZAR, BANGLADESH (AUGUST 23, 2022) (REUTERS) BALIUKHALI REFUGEE CAMPS IN COX’S BAZAR PEOPLE WALKING AND COMMUTING IN THE CAMP HOUSES IN THE CAMP CHILDREN CROSSING BRIDGE HOUSE OF THE FAMILY WITH MISSING SON, 16-YEAR-OLD MOHAMMAD TAHER MOHAMMAD ZABER, 18-YEAR-OLD BROTHER OF TAHER, CARRYING SOME GOODS AND ENTERING THEIR HOME IN THE CAMP VARIOUS OF MOHAMMAD ZABER AND MOHAMMAD TAHER’S MOTHER COOKING IN HER HOME (SOUNDBITE) (Rohingya) BROTHER OF MISSING 16-YEAR-OLD MOHAMMAD TAHER, MOHAMMAD ZABER, 18, SAYING: "We were a three-member family together with my mother, who came to Bangladesh (in 2017). My father died in Myanmar (during the genocide). A few months ago, my younger brother went missing, later we came to know that he tried to go to another country (Malaysia) by boat with his friends. One of our relatives were also on the same boat but he managed to escape and he said my brother went missing as the boat drowned in the sea." ZABER (RIGHT), HIS MOTHER (CENTER) SITTING WITH A FAMILY MEMBER (SOUNDBITE) (Rohingya) MOTHER OF TAHER AND ZABER, HASINA BEGUM, 35, SAYING: "My son is missing for a few months now. I am hearing that my son died after the boat sank while trying to go to another country with his friends, he is still missing." HAND HOLDING REFUGEE CAMP IDENTITY OF THE FAMILY HASINA BEGUM WEEPING WHILE HOLDING A MOBILE PHONE, SHOWING AN IMAGE OF MOHAMMAD TAHER
  • Embargoed: 7th September 2022 04:07
  • Keywords: Bangladesh Cox's Bazar family missing refugee rohingya sea
  • Location: COX’S BAZAR, BANGLADESH
  • City: COX’S BAZAR, BANGLADESH
  • Country: Bangladesh
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Disaster/Accidents,Sea Accidents
  • Reuters ID: LVA001025024082022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: In this camp in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, a family is fearing the worse as their youngest family member of Rohingya refugees, a 16-year-old boy is missing at sea after the boat that he and his friends attempted to sail to a third country sank and he is feared to be among the dead.
    Mohammad Taher, who lived with his 35-year-old mother Hasina Begum and elder brother, did not have any job in the Balukhali refugee camp. His family said he took sail with his friends for a third country and went missing at sea from mid-June.
    "A few months ago, my younger brother went missing, later we came to know that he tried to go to another country (Malaysia) by boat with his friends," 18-year-old refugee Mohammad Zaber, spoke of his missing brother, Mohammad Taher.
    "One of our relatives were also on the same boat but he managed to escape and he said my brother went missing as the boat drowned in the sea."
    This is a too familiar plight for many of the Rohingya refugees, hoping to find a better life. The frequent route they are known to have taken were en route to Malaysia. However, many end up drowning after boats sank at sea.
    For now, Mohammad Taher's mother Hasina Begum weeps whenever she sees pictures of him.
    More than a million Rohingya are living in squalid camps in southern Bangladesh comprising the world's largest refugee settlement, with little prospect of returning to Myanmar, where they are mostly denied citizenship and other rights.
    The vast majority fled to neighbouring Bangladesh during a military crackdown in 2017 that the United Nations has said was carried out with genocidal intent.
    Myanmar denies genocide, saying it was waging a legitimate campaign against insurgents who attacked police posts. The Southeast Asian nation is facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice in the Hague over the violence.
    (Production: Rafiqur Rahman, Juarawee Kittisilpa)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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