PLENTONG, Malaysia (UCAN) -- Church workers say it is hard to attract volunteers to work with migrants because of prejudice and the fear of falling foul of the law.
Some worry about being arrested for working with undocumented migrants while others see them as criminals or carriers of diseases.
However, "the number of persons arrested for working with undocumented migrants for charitable reasons is extremely low," says Joachim Xavier, chairman of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants (ECPCMI).
In any case, "the Church exhorts us to abide by the higher law, God's law, which compels Catholics to respond charitably to all migrants regardless of their documentation status," he said.
The Immigration Act in Malaysia states it is a punishable offense to harbor undocumented persons. "Harboring" includes housing such migrants or being in the same vehicle with them.
Church work with migrants has been traditionally handled at the parish level but that ministry was given a boost in April with the establishment of ECPCMI, which covers Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, all part of the same episcopal conference.
Undocumented migrants include refugees, those without permits, stateless persons and trafficked persons. There are more than 2.2 million foreigners loosely classified as "migrants" in Malaysia.
Xavier says that the authorities usually do not bother people involved in charitable work for undocumented workers.
Church workers in the migrant ministry praying during the training program
ECPCMI organized its first national-level training for migrant ministry workers in early December at the Melaka-Johor diocesan center in Plentong, western Malaysia.
The event saw participants discussing the problems in getting people to work with migrants. Several attendees said it was not just fear of the law that was keeping many away.
Jaycee (not her real name), from Melaka-Johor diocese, said many people have often told her that the Church should help locals rather than migrants. Many view migrants as potential criminals, she said.
Local media sometimes report violent crimes committed by unemployed migrants, though statistics have shown that Malaysians commit 98 percent of crimes in the country.
Another fear is migrant workers bringing diseases into the country, though there are no statistics to prove this, training participants noted.
A total of 67 people from Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei attended the four-day training session.
ECPCMI chaplain Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing of Melaka-Johor said at the opening Mass that the ministry to migrants would remain part of the Church's mission in Malaysia.
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