Global Migrant Crisis Grows

The migrant crisis spills into Southeast Asia. Desperate people on the move. Blocked. Abandoned at sea. Europe’s still reeling from its own influx. What’s to be done?

The boats out of Burma and Bangladesh are bobbing off of Malaysia and Thailand right now.  Jammed and desperate. You already know about the boats out of North Africa – Libya - coming in waves across the Mediterranean. Europe, debating whether to save them or sink them before they can leave their ports. The world is looking at another migrant crisis moment. Last summer it was kids on the Rio Grande.  In the future, with political upheaval and climate change, it could be all over. With tough choices attached. This hour On Point: desperate migrants on the move.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Robin McDowell, reporter for the Associated Press in Yangon, Myanmar. (@robinmcdowell)

Duncan Robinson, Brussels correspondent for the Financial Times. (@duncanrobinson)

Leonard Doyle, spokesperson for the director general of the International Organization for Migration. (@leonarddoyle)

Solomon Hsiang, assistant professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley.

Associated Press: Another boat found at sea as Rohingya refugee crisis deepens — "Another boat, this one crammed with 500 Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis, was found off Malaysia's coast Wednesday, an activist and an official said, as the international community called on Southeast Asian governments to open their borders and step up search-and-rescue efforts. Thousands of migrants are believed to be stranded at sea."

Financial Times: EU seeks emergency powers to make its states share asylum seekers — "EU states that have until now accepted few asylum seekers will have to shoulder a heavier burden under a new mandatory system Brussels is proposing to address the surge of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from north Africa. But the proposal, unveiled on Wednesday by the European Commission, faces stiff opposition from the UK, which has threatened to reject it. That has put Britain it on a collision course with several member states, led by Germany, that have accepted large numbers of refugees and are clamouring for relief."

New York Times: Indonesia Turns Away a Migrant Ship as the Region Grapples With an Influx — "More than 1,500 migrants have come ashore in Indonesia and Malaysiaover the past three days, leaving governments struggling to respond to the wave of refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar and others leaving Bangladesh for better job prospects in wealthier countries."