MOAS is deploying the Phoenix to the Andaman Sea to conduct a one-month observation mission, following emerging reports that Rohingya refugees are attempting to flee Myanmar by sea in unsafe vessels and dangerous weather.
The MOAS team on board the Phoenix will undertake independent monitoring of a deeply concerning development in this ongoing humanitarian crisis. The mission aims to improve situational awareness of conditions in the Andaman and will serve to increase the transparency and accountability of maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) in the region. In line with MOAS’ founding principle that no-one deserves to die at sea, our experienced SAR team will be on board ready to assist in the case of emergency, determined as always to mitigate the loss of life.
This new mission will run in parallel to MOAS’ work on the ground in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where since October 2017 we have provided emergency and primary health services to the Rohingya refugee population through our two Aid Stations at Shamlapur and Unchiprang. To date, our medical team have treated over 50,000 patients, 43% of them children and minors. As the cyclone and monsoon season draws closer, we are preparing our Aid Stations and medical teams to face the extreme weather and continue serving people in need.
“How can we sit back as people risk their lives and the lives of their loved ones to escape what the UN has described as ethnic cleansing? As always, MOAS will stand in solidarity with one of the world’s most vulnerable refugee communities. Since our first mission in 2014, we have been a lighthouse of hope for thousands of people in danger, and this is what we will continue to be.”
Co-Founder and Director, Regina Catrambone
MOAS has deployed the Phoenix twice before in support of Rohingya refugees in the region. A first research and advocacy mission ran for six months between October 2015 and April 2016, while in 2017 the Phoenix was used to deliver 40 tonnes of desperately-needed humanitarian aid to the Bangladeshi government. As we set sail once again for the region, we are determined to shine a light on the situation in the Andaman Sea and provide assistance and care to all those who need it.
In order to help sustain this new initiative, MOAS is reaching out to our international community of donors and supporters. We continue to be 100% privately funded, and every donation makes a huge difference to our mission. If you would like to support our work in the Andaman Sea, please visit www.moas.eu/donate and give whatever you can.
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