Recently a ship full of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh headed to Malaysia was stranded near India, prompting them to make a phone call that reached an Indian journalist, whom they asked for help. The members of this ship had paid human traffickers to smuggle them into Malaysia to seek refuge in the majority-Muslim country. Unfortunately, the boat faced technical difficulties, making their voyage much harder and much longer than anticipated. This extension of their trip was devastating, causing eight to die from starvation or dehydration, and leaving the rest in a very critical state. The Indian journalist called the Indian coast guard, who acted with little to no urgency towards the emergency. After the coast guard became involved, it became a matter of who would take the refugees. Bangladesh refused to take them back, and Malaysia had stopped allowing Rohingya refugees into their country last year. The status of the refugees is still undecided, however they are receiving food and medical care.
The Rohingya people have been seeking refuge from Myanmar since 2017, and it’s upsetting to see these people constantly searching for a place where they can live peacefully, without patronization or fear of violence. The fact that this group was found in the sea makes it the responsibility of the surrounding states to deal with the matter at hand, however none of the countries want to take in the refugees. While certain countries have policies on who they take in, it seems like a situation in which a government would want to extend aid, as these people are simply seeking a place to live peacefully.
When discussing issues of refuge, it’s easy to view both courses of action (accepting and not accepting refugees) from a liberal and realist perspective. From a liberal perspective, accepting refugees, especially those seeking refuge from a humanitarian crisis, is a moral obligation, therefore it’s the responsibility of those countries to take in these people. From a realist perspective, there is typically no national interest when it comes to accepting refugees, in fact it can create conflict and cost countries money. Both of these perspectives are applied in refugee situations, however in the case of the Rohingya, most countries unfortunately take the realist approach.