Desperate Rohingya risk deadly voyages as trafficking surges
This photograph taken on June 21, 2026 shows Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) boat conducting a patrol in the Naf River near Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar. (AFP)
Rahela Begum survived the horrors of war in Myanmar and life in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh, only to end up drifting at sea, clinging to a wooden plank.
The 25-year-old boarded a boat bound for Malaysia in April, part of a wave of Rohingya refugees attempting dangerous sea crossings that led to a record number of deaths in 2025.
She spent two days and a night adrift in the Andaman Sea off Bangladesh after the overcrowded vessel carrying about 280 people sank following four days of travel.
