COMMENT We, the human race, ought to be ashamed of ourselves.

 

We have achieved great and impossible feats, and yet, we stand and watch helplessly at those men, women and children on their boats floating from one country to another.

 

We don't know how to react when they were kicked around like a ball by the very countries which are supposed to show some care and responsibility.

 

Yes, I am talking about the Rohingyas. They are from Myanmar and yet they are unwanted by the country where they have lived for decades.

 

According to some studies, they are the most persecuted race in the world.

 

Looking at the way they have been treated, I fully agree.

 

I am not forgetting the Bangladeshi refugees. They too can be found on the same boats but they have a country to go back to if things do not work out for them elsewhere.

 

But the Rohingyas, they are citizens of no country. They are stateless human beings.

 

They are looking for a place to land but no one is prepared to take them in.

 

Because of that, they are being pushed back into the open sea.

 

Why are they being turned away? Is it because they are not our problem?

 

You mean to say when a man is lying down, dying from hunger, right outside the front gate of your house, that it is not your problem? That it is okay to let him die? Or worse still, you ask him to go to your neighbour's house.

 

We are looking at a tragedy of unimaginable proportions and yet it is taking time to get things moving. Why?

 

Probably it is a problem we think will just go away - if we wait long enough.

 

Even news articles highlighting their tragedy do not get much traction. May be it is easier to look away every time we see the word 'Rohingya' on the headline.

 

Asean must lead

 

I admit I don't have a solution. But I do know that these migrants must be given the basic necessities - food, clothing and shelter.

 

Provide them what they need for now until the decision makers - in this case Asean - can come up with some answers, whether for short or the long term.

 

However, all is not lost. There are good souls doing all they can to make the unbearable more bearable for the boat people. Basic necessities are on the way and some have reached them.

 

Governments of Asean countries are also being pressured to take immediate action.

 

In fact, there is a group planning to stage a protest outside the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

 

Malaysia, as the chair of Asean, must take the lead. Convene a meeting of all leaders as soon as possible.

 

Many agree that political will is needed to solve this problem.

 

So, to all Asean leaders, get the ball rolling now. You can arrive at the meeting in luxury cars, wearing expensive suits. It's okay. As leaders, you are entitled to make a grand entrance.

 

But when you do so, don't forget that you have one problem to solve - the Rohingya crisis at our doorstep.

 

G JEGATHESAN is a member of the Malaysiakini team.

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