IOM Appeals for More Funds to Help Migrant Crisis in SE Asia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The International Organization for Migrants is appealing for US$ 26 million to assist thousands of people affected by the migrant crisis in the Andaman Sea. The money will be used to provide shelter, food, water, and humanitarian aid. Provision will also be made for psychosocial support, and to support repatriation efforts for migrants who wish to go back to their country of origin.

Over the past three weeks, thousands of people smuggling victims have landed in the shores of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, after being faced with desperate situation for up to four months. Meanwhile, thousands of other migrants are believed to be still stranded at sea.

"There is no doubt that these people have suffered unimaginably and for a protracted period," said Jeff Labovitz, IOM's Chief of Mission for Thailand, who heads an operation to bring aid to the migrants in accommodation centres and camps across the region. "The number one priority is still to find and rescue those still at sea, whilst caring for those who have landed, many of whom are malnourished and traumatized."

Indonesia and Malaysia have specifically reached out to the international community to provide temporary shelter and non-food items for the migrants who have managed to reach dry lands.

IOM estimated that at least 5,000 of the migrants will require support to return to their country of origin and further reintegration after they had arrived.

In addition, the recent discovery of numerous mass graves in smuggling camps in Thailand and Malaysia had prompted a crackdown on criminal networks, confirming the brutal conditions suffered by the migrants that were widely suspected.

MAHINDA ARKYASA