"The horrific pictures of migrants cramped in rickety smugglers? boats adrift on the Andaman Sea are sending shock waves around the world. Asia has seen crises involving "boat people" before; but the one currently unfolding involves an ethnic group little known in the region, let alone the world - the Rohingyas, a minority Muslim community from Myanmar who have been discriminated against and persecuted for years. There are three dimensions to this disturbing development that need to be understood and addressed. The first relates to the factors pushing vulnerable communities to undertake dangerous sea voyages; the second is the economy of human trafficking in the Bay of Bengal; and the last relates to regional policies toward migration and refugee flows. All these elements are present in the humanitarian tragedy that is under way in the Bay of Bengal..."