Crisis at Sea

NEW YORK TIMES
by Nicholas Kristof

Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh at a police station in Malaysia. Many are fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Credit European Pressphoto Agency
Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh at a police station in Malaysia. Many are fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Credit European Pressphoto Agency

One of the world’s most beautiful regions, the seas of Southeast Asia — home to sparkling white beaches and $7,000-a-night beach villas — is becoming a scene of a mass atrocity.

Thousands of refugees from the persecuted Rohingya minority in Myanmar, fleeing modern concentration camps at home, have fled to sea in boats, and many have drowned. Fearing a crackdown, smugglers have abandoned some of those boats at sea, and neighboring countries are pushing the boats back to sea when they try to land.

The Obama administration, which has regarded Myanmar as one of its diplomatic successes, is largely unhelpful as this calamity unfolds. More…