COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's navy rescued more than 100 people believed to be Rohingya refugees who were found adrift aboard a fishing trawler off the island nation, a navy spokesman said Friday.
Navy spokesman Gayan Wickramasuriya said fishermen had spotted the refugees, including 25 children and 30 women, off Sri Lanka’s northern coast on Thursday. Navy vessels then escorted the trawler to naval base on Sri Lanka's east coast where they were given medical care, food and water.
Wickramasuriya said the navy hasn’t yet confirmed whether the refugees are Rohingya because of communication difficulties. But the navy believes the group to be from Myanmar.
The rescue mirrored a similar incident in 2022 when the Sri Lankan navy picked up 100 Rohingya refugees who were also found adrift aboard a fishing boat inside Sri Lankan waters.
Hundreds of thousands of the predominantly Muslim Rohingya have fled Myanmar amid widespread discrimination. Most are denied citizenship.
About 1 million Rohingya live in Bangladesh as refugees. Most of them had fled a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in 2017 by Myanmar’s security forces, who were accused of committing mass rapes and killings.
Thousands have been trying to flee Bangladesh's overcrowded camps to neighboring countries with Indonesia seeing a spike in refugee numbers since November which prompted it to call on the international community for help. Rohingya arriving in Aceh face some hostility from some fellow Muslims.
Returning safely to Myanmar is virtually impossible because the military that attacked them overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government in 2021. No country has offered them any large-scale resettlement opportunities.
Two women and a man, center, believed to be Rohingya refugees, arrive at a port in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mangalanath Liyanaarahhi)
A group of people believed to be Rohingya refugees, rest in a boat at a port in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mangalanath Liyanaarahhi)
Ethnic Rohingya refugees stand on their capsized boat as rescuers throw a rope to them off West Aceh, Indonesia, on March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A group of Gisele Pelicot’s Australian admirers said Friday they're moved that the victim in France’s notorious drugging-and-rape case has acknowledged her distant supporters Down Under by wearing a scarf adorned with Aboriginal art.
The 72-year-old who refused to remain an anonymous victim wore the silk scarf several times during the court process in Avignon, including when 51 men were convicted and sentenced to prison for molesting her after she had been drugged by her former husband, Dominique Pelicot.
The scarf was a 220 Australian dollar ($137) gift from a Sydney-based rights advocacy group, Older Women’s Network, its chief executive Yumi Lee said.
“We were astounded, absolutely gobsmacked, honored that she accepted our gesture of solidarity,” Lee said.
Lee, 59, said her group with 1,000 members across New South Wales state, who campaign on issues including sexual violence, raised donations to buy the scarf in September when the court case was already underway.
They decided on the gesture because Avignon, 17,000 kilometers (11,000 miles) from Sydney, was too distant for most to travel to demonstrate their support in person, Lee said.
Gisele Pelicot "has said that shame has to change sides and she wants all the victims of sexual assault to think that if she can do it, they can too,” Lee said.
“She has also proven that sexual assault knows no barriers. Everyone from young to old are victims of sexual assault. So she’s busted that myth,” Lee added.
Lee said she was surprised that Gisele Pelicot’s lawyer wrote to her group to acknowledge the receipt of the scarf.
“Her lawyer wrote to us to say she has received it and was interested in the fact that it’s a First Nation’s design and that she will be wearing it in court. So she has worn it a few times,” Lee said.
The scarf is a reproduction of the art of Indigenous painter Mulyatingki Marney. It depicts a cluster of saltwater pools known for their healing properties on Marney’s traditional land, the retailer One of Twelve said on its website.
The Canberra-based business showcases art from the Asia-Pacific region and pays the artists royalties from the sales of scarves, ties and woven bags from Papua New Guinea called bilums.
“We picked this design because, number one, it’s beautiful, it’s got lovely colors, it’s drawn by a First Nations, older woman and it’s story about healing,” Lee said.
One of Twelve owner Anna Saboisky said the attention Gisele Pelicot had brought to their scarf had overwhelmed the tiny business.
A second print run of scarves had almost sold out and a third run was on the way.
“Since I woke up this morning, I’ve had about 20 orders placed online,” Saboisky said.
“We’re just a small business. It’s completely unprecedented to have so much interest in one scarf,” she added.
Lee said if Avignon had not been so far away, “we would be there shouting.”
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This story has been corrected to give Pelicot's age as 72.
Gisele Pelicot exits the Avignon courthouse, in southern France, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
FILE - Gisele Pelicot, who was allegedly drugged by her now former husband so that he and others could assault her, arrives at the court house wearing a scarf printed with artwork of Martu woman, Mulyatingki Marney, in Avignon, southern France, on Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)
