May 27, 2015

Mass migrant graves found in Malaysia

located:	Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand
editor:	Vanessa Ellingham

Mass graves possibly holding hundreds of migrants have been found along in Malaysia, as nearby villagers describe an increasing number of migrants stumbling into their village, totally lost.

Residents of Wang Kelian, a Malaysian village close to the Thai border, have reported meeting migrants in shops or in the street who appear not to know which country they have been dropped off in, after emerging from the nearby jungle.

And this week mass graves were discovered there, including 140 grave sites with the possibility of multiple corpses lying inside each one.

Malaysian officials have finally been forced to admit they knew of the camps, although they say they had not previously taken action as they had still been collecting intelligence.

But at what price?

Anti-trafficking groups say the discovery is of no surprise to them, as evidence of their existence has been discussed for at least a decade.

Last year the US State Department's annual anti human-trafficking report listed Malaysia among the worst-ranked countries for stopping the illegal trade.

The last month has seen a huge uptick in the number of Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar and Thailand. The indigenous people, who number more than 1 million, are unrecognised and unwelcome in both states.