Children Under 5 die due to Infections Next to Snorkeling Tourists

The Sama girl Nurlyn lives in a traditional houseboat (lepa) in Semporna. Her family is originally from the Philippines, from where they fled pirates and conflicts. It was 50 years ago – but now they are afraid of being sent back. They have no papers, no identification documents.

“I’m good at rowing a boat”, Nurlyn says in an article written by the Danish journalist Pia Kainø Jensen which was published in the Danish newspaper Weekendavisen on July 18. “I am also a great swimmer and I can dive underwater just like the boys, and I can catch fish with spears. But I can not dive as deep as my father. My mother can also dive.”

You can see the front page of  the magazine here (Mød havfolket) and read the article here: De har hjemme på havet (Danish). Many of the images in the article have been taken by me during my travels to Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Recently, another Sama girl from Mabul Island, Semporna, Malaysia, has become famous thanks to this YouTube clip where she rescues a boat from sinking and helps Asian tourists (the video has been viewed more than 2.4 million times):

Nurlyn and the girl on the boat are two of many Bajau Laut in Semporna lacking legal papers. They are in fact stateless: they can’t attend school, they have no right to medical care and they get no support from the government. On many islands, like on Mabul Island, they live next to luxurious tourist resorts. Here, children under 5 die due to infections next to snorkeling tourists from all over the world.