Risks of Abuse, Death for Rohingya Children on Dangerous Boat Journeys

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 11, 2025)—Twenty-one people, including two teenage girls,^[1] have been confirmed dead after a boat carrying dozens of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar's impoverished Rakhine state sank in the Andaman Sea near the Thai-Malaysian border.

As the rainy season in the region comes to an end, more Rohingya families are contemplating whether to leave Myanmar and Bangladesh and brave dangerous boat journeys in search of a better life. These risky journeys put them at the mercy of smugglers and traffickers using often unseaworthy boats.

Arshad Malik, Asia Regional Director, Save the Children, said:

"The decision to board these boats is not one that Rohingya families take lightly. There are many push factors including unsafe conditions, lack of work and the prospect of a bleak future. The decision to board these death boats in search of a better life comes with the knowledge that these journeys are fraught with danger and that they may never reach their intended destination.

"Rohingya children who board these boats risk abuse at sea and often travel unaccompanied without their parents or guardians. Some, as we are unfortunately seeing again now, end up dead.

"Regional cooperation and responsibility-sharing are essential to prevent further loss of life and protect vulnerable Rohingya children and families."

Save the Children commends local communities in Malaysia and authorities for their life-saving efforts and calls on all regional governments to allow boats to safely disembark and to provide assistance and protection to refugees.

The latest boat incident took place as conditions for children in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar—the world's largest refugee camp and home to more than 1 million Rohingya refugees—continue to deteriorate and funding cuts reduce essential services, forcing some Rohingya families to choose to make often perilous journeys by sea in search of better lives.

Since fleeing violence in Myanmar more than eight years ago, Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar are stateless and live in often overcrowded conditions. Refugees are almost entirely dependent on humanitarian aid to survive.

About 1,088 Rohingya refugees embarked on sea journeys from Bangladesh during the first six months of this year, with around 87 of them children, compared to 364 people during the same period last year.^[2]

###

Notes:

[1] https://www.unhcr.org/asia/news/press-releases/unhcr-and-iom-express-concern-over-tragic-loss-life-boat-carrying-rohingya

[2] https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/media-and-news/2025-press-releases/number-of-rohingya-refugees-leaving-bangladesh-triples