This archive report was first published on 28 June 2020.
On June 28, 2020, a group of Rohingya survivors was rescued by fishermen in Indonesia after a perilous four-month journey at sea.
According to the survivors, they were beaten by traffickers and forced to drink their own urine to stay alive.
Among the survivors were 48 women and 35 children, who set off from the Balukhali refugee camp in southern Bangladesh.
They were originally from Myanmar's conflict-torn Rakhine State, according to survivors and an account given to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
"We suffered so much on that boat," said 50-year-old Rashid Ahmad, a survivor. "They tortured us and cut us. One of us even died."
Another survivor, Habibullah, said: "They beat everyone badly. My ear was cut and I was beaten on the head."
The group got by on small rations of rice and nuts while relying heavily on rainwater to survive.
"Sometimes we squashed wet clothes and drank the water from them," said survivor Ziabur Rahman Bin Safirullah, 35.
At least two people died during the voyage, and some on board resorted to drinking urine to stay alive, as others got sick from the rough seas.
"We didn't get enough food or water," said 20-year-old Korima Bibi. "(But) we survived."
The smugglers were charging each person about USD2,300 to get them to Malaysia, the IOM said.
Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim majority nation, and neighbouring Malaysia are favoured destinations for Rohingya fleeing persecution and violence in mostly Buddhist Myanmar.
Thousands try a perilous escape via smugglers across the sea each year.
Authorities eventually relented and allowed the group to land after they had spent the night several hundred metres offshore, waiting for a decision on whether they could land.
"As a fellow Muslim I felt compassion for them, especially because there were so many children and women -- it broke my heart," said Lhokseumawe resident Saiful Hardi.
