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Showing posts from October 8, 2011

Phuket Likely to See More Rohingya Boatpeople This Sailing Season

A Rohingya boy writes down his name after arriving on Phuket Photo by phuketwan.com/file By Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian Saturday, October 8, 2011 News Analysis PHUKET: Phuket can expect more surprise visitors anytime now. The ''sailing season'' for would-be refugee boatpeople from northern Burma and Bangladesh has begun with the arrival off the Malaysian island of Penang of the first vessel. Between October and April, more vessels are expected to land along the Thai and Malaysian coasts, and the likelihood is that some will come ashore, more by chance than design, on Phuket. More boats are expected to put to sea this sailing season than in the past couple of years, with people smugglers already reported to be selling berths in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, sources say. The first arrivals this week landed on Penang after 10 days at sea, according to one newspaper report, with the desperate passengers spending the previous three to five days without fo