I. At Sea: Abuses on Human-Trafficking Ships in the Bay of Bengal 30 A 27-year-old Rohingya widow and mother of five children, who was confined to an internment camp in Myanmar, told Fortify Rights: For about two months, I faced many difficulties [in Myanmar], so I had no choice but to try to go to Malaysia or die in the sea. I heard that Malaysia is a very difficult place, that the dallals are cruel to people, and that they sometimes kill people. I heard many rumors about the traffickers. I trusted Allah and thought that it would be better to die in the sea than be alive here [in Myanmar]. Death is better than life because of the difficulties I face here.28 In some cases, traffickers abducted Rohingya and forcibly transported them onto ships bound for Thailand and Malaysia. One Rohingya survivor told the Commission that traffickers abducted him in Myanmar and then beaten him because he was unable to pay for his freedom.29 The traffickers sold him to a third party in Malaysia.30 Rohingya witnesses in a human-trafficking trial in a Bangkok court in 2016 similarly testified that traffickers abducted them and forced them onto a small boat, which transported them to larger ships waiting at sea and operated by human traffickers.31 KILLINGS, DEATHS FROM DEPRIVATIONS, AND SUICIDES “Every day, someone died.” —“Rahim Ullah,” 16, Rohingya trafficking survivor, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2014 The Commission and Fortify Rights documented testimony from Rohingya survivors and eyewitness about killings and deaths at sea. Fortify Rights interviewed dozens of survivors from 11 separate journeys by sea from Myanmar to Thailand between 2014 and 2015, who told Fortify Rights of more than 112 deaths—including killings, deaths from deprivations of food and water, and preventable suicides—on board ships operated by a transnational criminal syndicate. In all cases, traffickers threw dead bodies overboard. Similarly, survivors testified to the Commission that traffickers beat and starved people to death at sea, throwing the dead bodies into the sea.32 One survivor told the Commission that he witnessed traffickers beat to death eight people at sea.33 Killings and Deaths from Deprivations “Abdul Yasin,” 17, fled Myanmar in February 2014 and boarded a ship he was told would take him to Malaysia. He witnessed shipboard traffickers commit multiple killings at sea, telling Fortify Rights: Some people didn’t have proper food or water and got very mad. When that happened, the dallals stabbed them and threw them in the sea. Six people were killed and thrown in the sea . . . There were men, women, and children on board. All the people who were killed were men. All six managers were from Alay Than Kyaw [a village in Myanmar’s Rakhine State]. The knives were maybe eight inches long.34 “Begum B.,” 50, spent 13 days at sea and witnessed armed traffickers throw overboard four Rohingya men who had boarded the ship in Bangladesh: 28 Fortify Rights interview with #122, Sittwe Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar, May 20, 2015. 29 The Commission interview with W9. 30 The Commission interview with W9. 31 See, Fortify Rights, internal report on human trafficking case, testimony of 14-years-old witness, Rachada Criminal 32 The Commission interviews with W3 and W8. 33 The Commission interview with W8. 34 Fortify Rights interview with #44, Songkhla Province, Thailand, September 17, 2014. Court, Human Trafficking Division, Bangkok, Thailand, May 12, 2016.