TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has allocated US$1 Million to for saving migrants left in desperate situation by people smugglers in Southeast Asia.
The funds will be used to expand relief efforts for migrants currently ashore, and to assist the estimated 6,000 others stranded at sea off the coast of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
The IOM has pleaded to the international community to take urgent action to save the lives of thousands of marooned migrants and asylum seekers. The situation has becoming more serious as deaths have been reported aboard some of the vessels.
There are fears that those who currently stranded at sea will not survive much longer if they run out food and water.
"This is nothing short of a vicious crime by smugglers against extremely vulnerable people," stated Ambassador William Lacy Swing, IOM's director General. "We cannot stand by and watch as men, women and children die agonizingly of thirst, mere kilometers from safety."
MAHINDA ARKYASA