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Juni Kriswanto / AFP - Getty Images
A police officer carries a young survivor to an immigration office in Watulimo, Indonesia, on Dec. 18, 2011. More than 200 people were feared dead after a heavily overloaded boat packed mostly with Afghan and Iranian asylum-seekers sank off Indonesia en route to Australia.
Reuters reports:
The crew and captain of an Indonesian boat packed with illegal immigrants grabbed life vests and swam away as it sank during a heavy storm, leaving more than 200 passengers missing, Australian media reported on Monday.
Surviving asylum seekers said terrified passengers on the boat that was heading for Australia were left to drown as it broke apart in stormy seas about 55 miles off the coast of Java, Indonesia.
"The captain and six crew took the life vests and started swimming away," Pakistani Saed Mohammad Zia, 18, told the Daily Telegraph.
Juni Kriswanto / AFP - Getty Images
Members of a search and rescue team continue to look for victims of the sinking in Watulimo on Dec. 19, 2011.
"They were all from Indonesia. We lost sight of them in the big waves and we never saw them again. We don't know if they were rescued."
The number of survivors, missing and those feared dead is still not clear, authorities said of the latest of such disasters in recent years for immigrants travelling via Indonesia in search of a better life in Australia.
Many of the passengers on the wooden vessel, which sank on Saturday, are believed to be economic migrants from countries including Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Those that survived suffered severe dehydration and exhaustion after struggling to stay afloat in the rough seas, some clinging to wreckage for five hours.
"We were just praying to God that someone would help us. We thought it was the last of our life story," said Esmat Adine, 24, from Afghanistan.
"People were dying in front of us. The bodies were lying in front of us in the water, women and children mostly," he told the Daily Telegraph. Read the full story.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
An asylum seeker who survived crys during an interviewe in Blitar, East Java, on Dec. 19, 2011.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
A survivor receiving treatment on Dec. 19, 2011 in Blitar, East Java. The tragedy is expected to further inflame the debate in Australia as how best to handle the influx of asylum seekers.
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I am terribly sorry for the loss of life. I understand why folks want a better one. However, what's wrong with staying in your home country and working to make it better? It's a hard job, no doubt about that, but it's your home country. Why would you someplace where you are not wanted, and chances are you will be deported, risking life and limb to get there, when you can make difference in your home country? Running away is not the "Easy Button."
Because in the wealthier 'host' countries you'll get housing, health care, education, and other taxpayer subsidized benefits which even the very citizens of that host country either are losing, don't receive, or can't afford!
A hope for a better life? Sure, but it must be so much easier to flee than stay and fix things.
Right? Or am I missing something?
Comment # 1 deleted, racist derail.
Comment # 2 deleted, derail addressing comment # 1.
so sad. People trying to survive as they escape the war, at any risk.
To SO CAL MAD MAN: I do not hate-just stating the obvious.
SO CAL MAD MAN: I agree with sarg, without sovereignty our country is nothing. Illegal immigrants dilute our sovereignty and allow foreigners to start a life in the USA with a black mark at the beginning of their residence. Not a good way to start a life here in the US. Your thought process is what is wrong with our country, you should read the constitution to understand that illegal immigrants are infringing upon all our rights and taking our jobs. As far as the loss of life, I am sorry to hear that. I wish there wasn't that much desparation in the world.
OHO! Here's a gem:
"Many of the passengers on the wooden vessel, which sank on Saturday, are believed to be economic migrants from countries including Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan."
Earlier in the story - in the first sentence, in fact - they are referred to as illegal immigrants.
Which is it?
Are they mutually exclusive or do we need a venn diagram here?
I wonder if this is a not-so-underhanded attempt to continue to remove the concept of 'illegal' from the equation. Very curious.
Are we supposed to grant people a pass because they are 'economic migrants?'
We have plenty here in the US out of work and they seem content to sit on their butts and stick their hands out rather than become 'economic migrants'... perhaps replacing our own 'economic migrants' from Mexico, who again just want better lives for their families!
It seems others from other countries are highly motivated to migrate in search of work. How is it that we lost this trait?
This is a tragedy, regardless. It should make all of us think.
This has got to stop! Access to illegal aliens will be denied in Australia, in the United States, wherever! If a country can not support its people, stop having people! You can not continue to have children in one country and expect another country to support them with food, clothing, education, opportunity - no! You are just stealing from the country that you believe should support you. We are fed up with this crap, and the illegals are going to have to start dealing with their circumstances in their own country. We'll do all possible to help, but only if you are in your country, not mine. My country is not available for you!