Saturday, April 3, 2010
Malaysia to conduct surprise raids to weed out illegal immigrants
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia plans to soon begin conducting surprise raids on shops and businesses to check on the welfare of foreign workers as well as weed out undocumented immigrants, a news report said Thursday. The raids are to be conducted in the coming weeks by several agencies, including the Home Affairs Ministry, Labour Department, Immigration Department and police, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told the Star newspaper. 'This is to ensure that employers comply with labour requirements and to check human-trafficking activities,' he was quoted as saying. The government had earlier announced a nationwide crackdown on undocumented foreign workers scheduled for February 15, but the operation was deferred. Hishamuddin said a new date had yet to be set. A total of 2.4 million foreign workers were recorded in Malaysia at the end of 2009 while the government estimated there are hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants. Malaysia, which relies heavily on foreign labour for its agriculture and construction industries, has long struggled to contain the problem of illegal immigration. In a bid to curb the rise in undocumented migrants, the country's laws prescribe whipping for offenders as well as locals found guilty of hiring illegal workers.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Robbers Encroach Chin Refugee Family House
by Patrick
On 16, March a Chin refugee known as Van Kung, and his family living in Kampung Cherus Baru, were robbed along with his friends spending the night with the family by the pretended-police robbers at midnight of 16th, March 2010.
According to VanKung," at around 12 midnight of 16th, March three people who said to be CID and police came to our house. At first, we think they are the real police as they sounded and acted like the way the police usually treat us. Two people came into the living room while one person was guarding the door and locked it. After several questions like the country we come from and the way we make our living also were asked and known that we are Myanmar refugee. They tended to empower their accusative tone by asking us if we use drugs and threatened us to allow them check all our wallets and luggage in the bedrooms," he said.
"After moments, they took all the money they found around RM-1500 along with our 4 mobile phones. When asked them of from which police station they are and their police number, and why they had to do with the phone and money they took from us, they ignored the questions and told us to follow them to the nearby police station". Meanwhile, the guard by the door gave a signal sound and they all fled away as soon as they door was unlocked. I chased them right away along the stairs and fortunately caught one of them just before he crossed the high way street.
In fact, we did wrestle for awhile till I got help from my friends but unfortunately all the money and hand phones had been gone with the two men. We didn't harm him as we were pleaded with a tone of repentance and all passers-by and neighbors eyed on us. Instead, we handed him over to a group of motorcyclists who we think of them are his colleagues approaching us since the incident happened on the road along. We of course lodged a report to the police but hopeless of getting back the things robbed.
Do the Chin refugees in Malaysia really has become the most target victim of robbers and police? A scene of chin refugee family was robbed by fraud police (they might be believed to be gangsters) on 16 March 2010 warning Refugees in Malaysia with many signals in which many can be suffered by the hidden struggles of gangsters. An unnamed friend of Van Kung in an informal chi-chat added; "we are not supported for a living by UNHCR except for the undertaking procedures of resettlement, we have no choice to work for a living, especially with big families. Truth, we were extremely sad on the happenings when all money paid with hard labor were robbed".
"We are truly in a very awkward position for the future how our lives would be as long as the robbery and extortion non-stop occurring, in addition to figures above, incarcerating though with UNHCR card is a high fear soaring among the community" said a community worker.
On 16, March a Chin refugee known as Van Kung, and his family living in Kampung Cherus Baru, were robbed along with his friends spending the night with the family by the pretended-police robbers at midnight of 16th, March 2010.
According to VanKung," at around 12 midnight of 16th, March three people who said to be CID and police came to our house. At first, we think they are the real police as they sounded and acted like the way the police usually treat us. Two people came into the living room while one person was guarding the door and locked it. After several questions like the country we come from and the way we make our living also were asked and known that we are Myanmar refugee. They tended to empower their accusative tone by asking us if we use drugs and threatened us to allow them check all our wallets and luggage in the bedrooms," he said.
"After moments, they took all the money they found around RM-1500 along with our 4 mobile phones. When asked them of from which police station they are and their police number, and why they had to do with the phone and money they took from us, they ignored the questions and told us to follow them to the nearby police station". Meanwhile, the guard by the door gave a signal sound and they all fled away as soon as they door was unlocked. I chased them right away along the stairs and fortunately caught one of them just before he crossed the high way street.
In fact, we did wrestle for awhile till I got help from my friends but unfortunately all the money and hand phones had been gone with the two men. We didn't harm him as we were pleaded with a tone of repentance and all passers-by and neighbors eyed on us. Instead, we handed him over to a group of motorcyclists who we think of them are his colleagues approaching us since the incident happened on the road along. We of course lodged a report to the police but hopeless of getting back the things robbed.
Do the Chin refugees in Malaysia really has become the most target victim of robbers and police? A scene of chin refugee family was robbed by fraud police (they might be believed to be gangsters) on 16 March 2010 warning Refugees in Malaysia with many signals in which many can be suffered by the hidden struggles of gangsters. An unnamed friend of Van Kung in an informal chi-chat added; "we are not supported for a living by UNHCR except for the undertaking procedures of resettlement, we have no choice to work for a living, especially with big families. Truth, we were extremely sad on the happenings when all money paid with hard labor were robbed".
"We are truly in a very awkward position for the future how our lives would be as long as the robbery and extortion non-stop occurring, in addition to figures above, incarcerating though with UNHCR card is a high fear soaring among the community" said a community worker.
Refugees make up 1/4 of Amman population - UN
By Taylor Luck
AMMAN - One in every four Amman residents is a refugee, a recently released UN report said, and the capital is at the forefront of a global trend of refugees living in urban areas.
In the UN Habitat report, “State of the World Cities 2010/2011: Bridging the Urban Divide”, released late last week, the capital was singled out among the cities most affected by the increased numbers of displaced persons moving to cities.
The influx of 500,000 Iraqi guests and the presence of Palestinian refugees makes the capital home to the “largest proportion of refugees in the world”, placing a strain on the capital’s infrastructure, health and education services, according to the report.
Quoting 2008 statistics, the study indicated that the capital is home to 501,098 “refugees”, the highest number of any city in the world, followed by Baku, Azerbaijan (186,909); Cairo, Egypt (112,605); and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (45,998).
According to the UN report, made available to The Jordan Times yesterday, many refugees stay in the Kingdom in an “increasingly crowded environment”, part of a global trend of the "urbanisation" of refugees.
While 16 per cent of all persons displaced to cities have sought refuge in developed nations, more than 70 per cent - some 5.3 million people - live in cities in developing regions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia and Southern Asia, it stated.
Referring to UNHCR statistics, the report highlighted that half of all refugees live in cities, while 36 per cent of all refugees, displaced persons, asylum seekers and returnees combined - over seven million people - lived in urban areas as of the end of 2008.
The report cautioned that other cities across the world face similar challenges as displaced people tend to seek refuge in cities rather than rural areas in order to have better chances of making a living, receiving social benefits or taking advantage of support offered by relatives.
However, refugees in urban areas face the same challenges as other urban poor, such as overcrowded living, slum conditions, poor access to basic services, high crime rates, unemployment and health risks, the report stated.
Refugees without documents are also vulnerable to exploitation by landlords, employers and others, the report warned.
Refugees from Iraq, Sudan and Somalia residing in Jordan have previously expressed such concerns to The Jordan Times, with complaints ranging from unpaid wages to inflated rent and electricity bills and theft.
Many Iraqi and Sudanese refugees in the Kingdom said they refuse to go to authorities for fear of retribution or being sent back to their home countries.
Jordan hosts around 1.9 million Palestinian refugees, 42 per cent of their total number in the region. Official numbers regarding the total number of Iraqis residing in the Kingdom vary, hovering between 400,000 and 500,000, with 38,517 Iraqis registered with UNHCR as refugees.
The Kingdom is also home to a few thousand Sudanese and Somali nationals displaced by conflict.
Suaram calls for release of Sri Lankan refugees
By Marc Jitab
KUALA LUMPUR: Human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) is urging members of the public to send protest letters to the government in relation to the detention of 45 Sri Lankan refugees.
Suaram chairman K Arumugam said the detainees are being held at the Langkap detention centre in Perak.
He said they were detained despite having valid refugee visas issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“We are appealing for their release. They should have been sent to the UNHCR because they have valid visas.
“We are appealing to the public to submit protest letters to the government... foreign non-governmental organisations have already submitted such letters to the government demanding the release of the 45 Sri Lankans,” he said.
Arumugam said that refugees come to Malaysian shores for various reasons, including fleeing the conflict in Sri Lanka.
“As far as we are concerned, we see them as asylum-seekers and should be treated as such, pending UNHCR's approval to categorise them as refugees.
“In this instance, these Sri Lankans are Tamils, and the sentiment in their home country is anti-Tamil.
“These people have serious security concerns, and we must not send them back to their home country because of these risks,” Arumugam said.
The police crackdown reinforced
by Simon
Amidst the speculation is dependably soaring at height when the state-run news slightly announced the possibility of job creation for refugee recognized and the constructive discussion was built between the Malay government and UNHCR, the new raids swept hundred of refugees and some are in position of inaccessible conditions. According to the information available we could get, as a community office, the raids carried out in several places as the following;
1. On 21st of March, five of recognized refugees from Imbi and eight from Pudu were arrested and sent to the police station. Luckily, the officer from the station allowed them to be rescued out. And most of them were able to be rescued out.
2. On 25th of March, around 40 of recognized refugees were swept from P.J, S.S.N medical products (it is said this is glove Product Company) at 5:12 p.m evening.
3. In the early morning of 26th of March in Bag Factory, situated in Rawang, around four hundred of recognized refugees are swept again and access is being searched for. Among them, it is believed that they are from multiple races; such as from other ethnics from Myanmar Myanmar Bangladesh
Thousands of refugees in Malaysia
Significantly, the chaos from the recent new raids taking place made Chin refugees stunned and unable to think what and why it was. Or else, there would be political issues behind the screen. Obviously, in an attempt to get them out of detention centre, the refugee community miraculously needs the rescue from UNHCR as is always only accepted and respected the links with UNHCR by the police.
Ironically, the raids are taking place from places to places which are thought very severe and threatening for the stomach issues of dozens of hundreds of refugee lives living miserably in Malaysia
Malaysia's migrant hell-holes
Angeline Loh looks at Malaysia’s ‘migrant hell-holes’ – the immigration detention camps, where evidence of cruel, degrading and inhuman conditions is overwhelming.
Many ordinary Malaysians had never glimpsed and could not imagine the inside of an immigration detention camp (IDC) or how it feels to be detained in conditions in which migrant detainees are imprisoned - until recently.
A majority of us became aware of the existence of such places in our country over the past couple of years, with the rising number of scattered media reports of riots, death and disease occurring within these walled and barbed-wired environs. These prisons for foreigners caught undocumented - and labelled ‘illegal immigrants’ - on our territory frequently seemed of none or little concern to the average Malaysian.
Little did we realise the conditions in which these detainees struggle to survive, being criminalised for the administrative immigration offence of being undocumented under Section 6 of the Immigration Act 1959. A few may not survive these camps; for them freedom may only be attained when the soul leaves the body.
With the out-break of the AH1N1 pandemic, the IDCs were forgotten. The mainstream media was preoccupied with the influx of foreigners and returning Malaysians seen as possible carriers of the disease into the country, particularly those arriving from Mexico and the United States where the outbreak was first deemed to originate (http://www.malaysian insurance.info/?p=821 “AH1N1 ... Did the government declare it as a disease requiring quarantine by law?”) . Later, arrivals from other countries were added to the suspect list when the AH1N1 flu became a global pandemic.
Responding to this situation, the Health Ministry concentrated efforts in screening and quarantining those exhibiting the suspect symptoms. Wide publicity was given to airport entry points where health-monitoring teams were screening in-coming passengers from overseas destinations. The media hype did not lack a somewhat xenophobic flavour with television footage frequently zooming in on newly-arrived foreigners.
There seemed to be an overzealous pre-occupation with airports at the expense of other entry points into the country. The Health Ministry appeared to have forgotten to place screening and monitoring checks at railway, sea, or road immigration checkpoints in border areas. There were no news reports of monitoring measures being taken at these places. Body temperature checks with ordinary medical thermometers were carried out by some long haul bus operators.
When the pandemic spread within the country, starting with universities and schools, and turning crowded places into danger zones, over-crowded IDCs and prisons were not classified as such. In these places extra vigilance of hygiene, disease monitoring and access to medical treatment should be given priority. This neglect may be due to the remote location of the IDCs, where migrant detainees are in effect “quarantined” from the rest of the population in the surrounding locality. Yet, movements of groups of people in and out of prisons from urban and other areas in the country would necessitate close health monitoring of contagious diseases that could easily spread within the camp and in the surrounding locality.
Breeding grounds for dangerous diseases
A majority of us became aware of the existence of such places in our country over the past couple of years, with the rising number of scattered media reports of riots, death and disease occurring within these walled and barbed-wired environs. These prisons for foreigners caught undocumented - and labelled ‘illegal immigrants’ - on our territory frequently seemed of none or little concern to the average Malaysian.
Little did we realise the conditions in which these detainees struggle to survive, being criminalised for the administrative immigration offence of being undocumented under Section 6 of the Immigration Act 1959. A few may not survive these camps; for them freedom may only be attained when the soul leaves the body.
With the out-break of the AH1N1 pandemic, the IDCs were forgotten. The mainstream media was preoccupied with the influx of foreigners and returning Malaysians seen as possible carriers of the disease into the country, particularly those arriving from Mexico and the United States where the outbreak was first deemed to originate (http://www.malaysian insurance.info/?p=821 “AH1N1 ... Did the government declare it as a disease requiring quarantine by law?”) . Later, arrivals from other countries were added to the suspect list when the AH1N1 flu became a global pandemic.
Responding to this situation, the Health Ministry concentrated efforts in screening and quarantining those exhibiting the suspect symptoms. Wide publicity was given to airport entry points where health-monitoring teams were screening in-coming passengers from overseas destinations. The media hype did not lack a somewhat xenophobic flavour with television footage frequently zooming in on newly-arrived foreigners.
There seemed to be an overzealous pre-occupation with airports at the expense of other entry points into the country. The Health Ministry appeared to have forgotten to place screening and monitoring checks at railway, sea, or road immigration checkpoints in border areas. There were no news reports of monitoring measures being taken at these places. Body temperature checks with ordinary medical thermometers were carried out by some long haul bus operators.
When the pandemic spread within the country, starting with universities and schools, and turning crowded places into danger zones, over-crowded IDCs and prisons were not classified as such. In these places extra vigilance of hygiene, disease monitoring and access to medical treatment should be given priority. This neglect may be due to the remote location of the IDCs, where migrant detainees are in effect “quarantined” from the rest of the population in the surrounding locality. Yet, movements of groups of people in and out of prisons from urban and other areas in the country would necessitate close health monitoring of contagious diseases that could easily spread within the camp and in the surrounding locality.
Breeding grounds for dangerous diseases
These overcrowded places with the worst reputation for cleanliness and hygiene, let alone access to adequate medical treatment, did not figure in the government’s efforts to stem the spread of AH1N1 or any other possible contagion such as tuberculosis and meningitis. (Amnesty International Report 2004)
• The first reports in May 2009 of the deaths of two Burmese asylum seekers due to Leptospirosis at the Juru Immigration Detention Centre (NGO press release: ‘Immigration detention centres: How many more must die?’ 25 September 2009) came as no surprise except for the fact that these deaths were not due to AH1N1.
This life-threatening leptospirosis disease caused by the contamination of food and/or water with animal urine claimed the lives of six more Burmese detainees in an undisclosed detention centre (New Straits Times, 25 September 2009).
• In the intervening period between the two incidents of leptospirosis deaths, more deaths and hospitalisations were reported. In a 25 September 2009 joint NGO press statement, it was revealed that earlier in the month, on 3 September, a Burmese detainee at the KLIA IDC was reported to have died on 29 August “due to an unknown illness”. Six other Burmese detainees had shown similar symptoms and were hospitalised at the Putrajaya General Hospital.
• In August, a Togolese detainee died in the same detention centre from AH1N1. /(NGO Joint PR, 25 September 2009). In April the same year, a Migration Working Group Report revealed that two detainee deaths occurred at Lenggeng IDC, one being a Bangladeshi migrant worker who died after allegedly being tortured by Malaysian police and another, a Liberian detainee, found dead due to undisclosed or unknown causes (Joint NGO PR, 25 September 2009). The Minister of Home Affairs later stated the cause of death as Rectoviral infection, a contagious disease (Pemberitahuan Pertanyaan Bagi Jawab Lisan Dewan Rakyat, Rujukan 2098). Another death of a Myanmar woman migrant detainee at the KLIA Immigration Detention Centre was disclosed on 12 December 2009 . The cause of death in this case remains unknown and letters to the Health Ministry by concerned NGOs have received no response (C. Hector, 12 December 2009).
• An unreported case of the death of a Burmese woman detainee in the Belantek Sik IDC in Kedah, was disclosed to the author at the end of September. Her death was said to be due to delayed access to medical treatment, according to fellow detainees who have since been deported to Myanmar.*
What had apparently happened (according to sources*) was the deceased was experiencing stomach pains the day before and fellow detainees had reported this to camp officials requesting them to take her immediately to the hospital. The report was made in the middle of the night and camp officials allegedly neglected to make an emergency call to the hospital to send an ambulance. It is claimed that camp officials waited until lunch-time the next day to call the hospital emergency services. By the time, she was transferred to the Alor Setar Hospital and admitted, the woman was in a serious condition and died shortly after admission.*
Reports alleging inadequate medical treatment and restricted access to treatment have surfaced from Belantek Sik IDC. It has also been revealed that camp officials confiscate medication from inmates diagnosed to be suffering from ailments like diabetes and hypertension on the basis that medicines are not allowed in the IDC. This was the reason given to a detainee who, suffering from such ailments was carrying his medication with him when searched by camp wardens.*
Juru IDC detainees have also complained of incidences where paracetamol has allegedly been indiscriminately prescribed for all illnesses suffered by migrant inmates in the detention camp.*
Moreover, although men and women are imprisoned separately in the IDC, they are afforded virtually no privacy even when having a bath. Women and children are usually housed together. Pregnant women, mothers with babies newly delivered inside the IDC or arrested nearly immediately after delivery are not given any facilities for confinement or post-natal care. There are also no facilities or provisions for young children or babies detained with their mothers in the camps (Joint press statement: “Deaths and conditions of detention of migrants and refugees”, 24 April 2009 MWG-Jump).
The spread of fungal skin infections is rife in IDCs where the squalid, dirty conditions and the difficulty in obtaining soap, detergent or any kind of disinfectant to maintain personal and environmental cleanliness worsens the condition.*
• The first reports in May 2009 of the deaths of two Burmese asylum seekers due to Leptospirosis at the Juru Immigration Detention Centre (NGO press release: ‘Immigration detention centres: How many more must die?’ 25 September 2009) came as no surprise except for the fact that these deaths were not due to AH1N1.
This life-threatening leptospirosis disease caused by the contamination of food and/or water with animal urine claimed the lives of six more Burmese detainees in an undisclosed detention centre (New Straits Times, 25 September 2009).
• In the intervening period between the two incidents of leptospirosis deaths, more deaths and hospitalisations were reported. In a 25 September 2009 joint NGO press statement, it was revealed that earlier in the month, on 3 September, a Burmese detainee at the KLIA IDC was reported to have died on 29 August “due to an unknown illness”. Six other Burmese detainees had shown similar symptoms and were hospitalised at the Putrajaya General Hospital.
• In August, a Togolese detainee died in the same detention centre from AH1N1. /(NGO Joint PR, 25 September 2009). In April the same year, a Migration Working Group Report revealed that two detainee deaths occurred at Lenggeng IDC, one being a Bangladeshi migrant worker who died after allegedly being tortured by Malaysian police and another, a Liberian detainee, found dead due to undisclosed or unknown causes (Joint NGO PR, 25 September 2009). The Minister of Home Affairs later stated the cause of death as Rectoviral infection, a contagious disease (Pemberitahuan Pertanyaan Bagi Jawab Lisan Dewan Rakyat, Rujukan 2098). Another death of a Myanmar woman migrant detainee at the KLIA Immigration Detention Centre was disclosed on 12 December 2009 . The cause of death in this case remains unknown and letters to the Health Ministry by concerned NGOs have received no response (C. Hector, 12 December 2009).
• An unreported case of the death of a Burmese woman detainee in the Belantek Sik IDC in Kedah, was disclosed to the author at the end of September. Her death was said to be due to delayed access to medical treatment, according to fellow detainees who have since been deported to Myanmar.*
What had apparently happened (according to sources*) was the deceased was experiencing stomach pains the day before and fellow detainees had reported this to camp officials requesting them to take her immediately to the hospital. The report was made in the middle of the night and camp officials allegedly neglected to make an emergency call to the hospital to send an ambulance. It is claimed that camp officials waited until lunch-time the next day to call the hospital emergency services. By the time, she was transferred to the Alor Setar Hospital and admitted, the woman was in a serious condition and died shortly after admission.*
Reports alleging inadequate medical treatment and restricted access to treatment have surfaced from Belantek Sik IDC. It has also been revealed that camp officials confiscate medication from inmates diagnosed to be suffering from ailments like diabetes and hypertension on the basis that medicines are not allowed in the IDC. This was the reason given to a detainee who, suffering from such ailments was carrying his medication with him when searched by camp wardens.*
Juru IDC detainees have also complained of incidences where paracetamol has allegedly been indiscriminately prescribed for all illnesses suffered by migrant inmates in the detention camp.*
Moreover, although men and women are imprisoned separately in the IDC, they are afforded virtually no privacy even when having a bath. Women and children are usually housed together. Pregnant women, mothers with babies newly delivered inside the IDC or arrested nearly immediately after delivery are not given any facilities for confinement or post-natal care. There are also no facilities or provisions for young children or babies detained with their mothers in the camps (Joint press statement: “Deaths and conditions of detention of migrants and refugees”, 24 April 2009 MWG-Jump).
The spread of fungal skin infections is rife in IDCs where the squalid, dirty conditions and the difficulty in obtaining soap, detergent or any kind of disinfectant to maintain personal and environmental cleanliness worsens the condition.*
(Note: * Facts gathered from interviews with ex-IDC detainees)
Food a dog wouldn't eat
Food a dog wouldn't eat
The food supplied to inmates consists of a small portion of rice, a thumb-sized piece of meat or fish, and a minuscule portion of vegetables with a kind of watery gravy. At some IDCs, detainees are given ‘tea breaks’ consisting of a few biscuits and watery tea. There are complaints that the food is often stale or “going-off”. It was revealed that detainees in Belantek Sik IDC were given beef curry that was already “fermenting”. As a result of eating this bad food, there was an outbreak of diarrhoea amongst the 800 or so detainees who could only use four toilets that were in working order out of eight in their section of the camp.*
In a recent video report by Al Jazeera (YouTube, 28 November 2009), detainees expressed their revulsion for their diet, which a detainee described as food that “even a dog would not eat”. The report also said that the food “stank: with a strong odour. Food trays were filthy, encrusted with a ‘black substance’ possibly due to them being poorly washed and re-used with the dried remains of previous meals still sticking to them.
Ex-detainees and some of their friends interviewed by the author revealed that those visiting inmates in the IDCs were not allowed to bring food, medicines, bath soap and other basic necessities from outside for the detainees. They were allegedly charged a flat rate of RM50 for any item/s they had to order from the detention centre provision store, for the detainee they intended to give these supplies to. Whether or not the detainees received the supplies ordered by their visitors would most likely be left to chance. It would depend on which IDC officer one was dealing with. There was speculation that the provisions ordered and paid for may not reach their intended recipients.*
Corruption tends to flourish especially in places where its victims are prevented from voicing their grievances or having any notice taken of their complaints and difficulties. Perpetrators bank on the fact that these people are considered criminals and outcasts, apart from being foreigners for whom there will be no public sympathy.
Will the public allow themselves to be so insulted, by having their capacity for compassion and humanity under-estimated? Apart from this, how will they react to the knowledge that health care and hygiene should be given priority in such facilities and that all detainees in correctional facilities have a basic and fundamental right to health? Denial of the right to health is a human rights violation and is not part of the sentence served.
Human being treated like animals
In a recent video report by Al Jazeera (YouTube, 28 November 2009), detainees expressed their revulsion for their diet, which a detainee described as food that “even a dog would not eat”. The report also said that the food “stank: with a strong odour. Food trays were filthy, encrusted with a ‘black substance’ possibly due to them being poorly washed and re-used with the dried remains of previous meals still sticking to them.
Ex-detainees and some of their friends interviewed by the author revealed that those visiting inmates in the IDCs were not allowed to bring food, medicines, bath soap and other basic necessities from outside for the detainees. They were allegedly charged a flat rate of RM50 for any item/s they had to order from the detention centre provision store, for the detainee they intended to give these supplies to. Whether or not the detainees received the supplies ordered by their visitors would most likely be left to chance. It would depend on which IDC officer one was dealing with. There was speculation that the provisions ordered and paid for may not reach their intended recipients.*
Corruption tends to flourish especially in places where its victims are prevented from voicing their grievances or having any notice taken of their complaints and difficulties. Perpetrators bank on the fact that these people are considered criminals and outcasts, apart from being foreigners for whom there will be no public sympathy.
Will the public allow themselves to be so insulted, by having their capacity for compassion and humanity under-estimated? Apart from this, how will they react to the knowledge that health care and hygiene should be given priority in such facilities and that all detainees in correctional facilities have a basic and fundamental right to health? Denial of the right to health is a human rights violation and is not part of the sentence served.
Human being treated like animals
As a consequence of overcrowding, bad sanitation, insufficient and bad food, inadequate treatment and restricted access to medical facilities, the spread of diseases in these IDCs and prisons may be more rampant than the public is led to believe. This is due to the secrecy in which these isolated places of incarceration are still shrouded. The glimpses we have had so far have revealed squalor, filth and sordidness in ‘corrals’ that appear more suited to holding animals rather than human beings. In one such IDC, these ‘corrals’ and ‘cages’ said to have a holding capacity of 1,200 were instead crammed with about 1,400 human beings (Al-Jazeera video, 28 November 2009).
That over-crowding, squalor and degradation rule in IDCs is nothing new. The Government has been aware of this for a considerable length of time; yet change is slow and progress appears negligible. In a press statement on 24 April 2008 , Suhakam Commissioner N Siva Subramaniam described the situation in IDCs such as Lenggeng camp as “like a time-bomb and we must take a serious view of this”(Bernama).
He acknowledged that conditions in other IDCs e.g. Pekan Nanas, Semenyih, and Macap Umboo, were “critical and there was urgent need to improve the infrastructure and facilities”. The main reason for the commissioner’s visit to Lenggeng at that time was the outbreak of a riot in the camp, where the administration building and fencing had been reportedly destroyed by 60 male detainees. He confirmed over-crowding as one of the causes of detainee frustration that could lead to incidences like these. (http://www.asiapacificforum.net/news/malaysia-detention-camps-must-be-improved.html)
In the same public statement, the Suhakam Commissioner said discussions “on ways to improve the infrastructure and efficiency of the country’s 17 detention camps for illegals” would be held with the Home Ministry (Ibid). Up to now, nothing much had been said or heard regarding improvements to infrastructure in IDCs with no hint of improvement in detention centres to eliminate these shocking and dehumanising conditions.
However, in reply to a Parliamentary question raised by Batu MP Tian Chua on 9 November 2009, the Home Affairs Minister listed eight measures that were being taken to improve hygiene and safety conditions in IDCs. Amongst these measures were that detainees health complaints would be quickly referred to government health clinics, clean and better quality food would be served to detainees in all IDCs in the country and that detainees and IDC staff would be given immunisation against diseases like Hepatitis and H1N1. Rat poison would also be put around IDCs to control occurrences of Leptospirosis (Pemberitahuan Pertanyaan Bagi Jawab Lisan Dewan Rakyat, Rujukan 2098.) The effectiveness of these efforts remains to be seen.
Conclusion
The scattered reports (put together in this article) of deaths and the inhuman conditions in which immigration detainees are imprisoned reveal a horrific picture of IDCs in this country. Yet, the glimpses are only the tip of a very black and foul iceberg floating in the sea of humanity within our country. Evidence of the cruelty, degradation and inhumanity perpetrated in these migrant holding places is unspeakable and overwhelming. Criminal acts of sadism, rape, sexual abuse (Amnesty International Report 2004) and other acts of violence against man, woman or child committed within the walls of these hell-holes may go unpunished or unaccounted for as migrant detainees may be deported or unscrupulously trafficked before any report or investigation can be made.(Ibid)*
Instead, this debasement and inhuman treatment are justified by criminalising people whose only offence may be to enter our territory without identification documents or legally recognised travel documents. To turn a blind-eye to the deplorable conditions they are subjected to is to condone a crime against humanity. Can we live with this?
That over-crowding, squalor and degradation rule in IDCs is nothing new. The Government has been aware of this for a considerable length of time; yet change is slow and progress appears negligible. In a press statement on 24 April 2008 , Suhakam Commissioner N Siva Subramaniam described the situation in IDCs such as Lenggeng camp as “like a time-bomb and we must take a serious view of this”(Bernama).
He acknowledged that conditions in other IDCs e.g. Pekan Nanas, Semenyih, and Macap Umboo, were “critical and there was urgent need to improve the infrastructure and facilities”. The main reason for the commissioner’s visit to Lenggeng at that time was the outbreak of a riot in the camp, where the administration building and fencing had been reportedly destroyed by 60 male detainees. He confirmed over-crowding as one of the causes of detainee frustration that could lead to incidences like these. (http://www.asiapacificforum.net/news/malaysia-detention-camps-must-be-improved.html)
In the same public statement, the Suhakam Commissioner said discussions “on ways to improve the infrastructure and efficiency of the country’s 17 detention camps for illegals” would be held with the Home Ministry (Ibid). Up to now, nothing much had been said or heard regarding improvements to infrastructure in IDCs with no hint of improvement in detention centres to eliminate these shocking and dehumanising conditions.
However, in reply to a Parliamentary question raised by Batu MP Tian Chua on 9 November 2009, the Home Affairs Minister listed eight measures that were being taken to improve hygiene and safety conditions in IDCs. Amongst these measures were that detainees health complaints would be quickly referred to government health clinics, clean and better quality food would be served to detainees in all IDCs in the country and that detainees and IDC staff would be given immunisation against diseases like Hepatitis and H1N1. Rat poison would also be put around IDCs to control occurrences of Leptospirosis (Pemberitahuan Pertanyaan Bagi Jawab Lisan Dewan Rakyat, Rujukan 2098.) The effectiveness of these efforts remains to be seen.
Conclusion
The scattered reports (put together in this article) of deaths and the inhuman conditions in which immigration detainees are imprisoned reveal a horrific picture of IDCs in this country. Yet, the glimpses are only the tip of a very black and foul iceberg floating in the sea of humanity within our country. Evidence of the cruelty, degradation and inhumanity perpetrated in these migrant holding places is unspeakable and overwhelming. Criminal acts of sadism, rape, sexual abuse (Amnesty International Report 2004) and other acts of violence against man, woman or child committed within the walls of these hell-holes may go unpunished or unaccounted for as migrant detainees may be deported or unscrupulously trafficked before any report or investigation can be made.(Ibid)*
Instead, this debasement and inhuman treatment are justified by criminalising people whose only offence may be to enter our territory without identification documents or legally recognised travel documents. To turn a blind-eye to the deplorable conditions they are subjected to is to condone a crime against humanity. Can we live with this?
Angeline Loh is an Aliran exco member with a special interest in the rights of migrants and refugees. This article includes information gleaned from interviews with ex-IDC detainees who prefer to remain anonymous for safety reasons.
Photographic evidence shows the cruelty of caning In Malaysia
The Malaysian government should extend the reprieve from caning granted to Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno indefinitely after Ramadan and use this as an opportunity to abolish the punishment, Amnesty International said on Tuesday. More than 35,000 people have been caned in Malaysia since 2002.
Recent photographic evidence of the physical scars left after detainees have been caned obtained by Amnesty International, demonstrate the level of injury inflicted by this form of punishment. The photos show the damage and scarring that just two caning strokes continue to cause months after the actual punishment has been executed.
"These images show the harsh reality of this punishment. Tens of thousands of people in Malaysia have been subjected to this cruel form of punishment without any attention from inside or outside the country. Now that the issue of caning has come on the public agenda, it's time for the Malaysian government to act immediately to get rid of caning altogether," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director.
In July, an Amnesty International delegation travelled to Malaysia and were granted access to three detention facilities south of Kuala Lumpur, where they were able to photograph detainees who said that they had been caned whilst serving their sentences in prison.
Caning is mostly used as punishment for migrant labourers for immigration offences. Immigrants who are convicted of illegal entry are normally caned up to three times, although the country’s Immigration Act allows for them to be caned up to six times.
In June 2009 the Malaysian government announced that they had sentenced 47,914 migrants to be caned for immigration offences since amendments to its Immigration Act came into force in 2002.
Amnesty International has called on the government of Malaysia to repeal all laws that allow caning and other forms of corporal punishment.
"The outcry surrounding Kartika's case highlights the need for the Malaysian government to stop the practice of caning altogether," Sam Zarifi said.
Recent photographic evidence of the physical scars left after detainees have been caned obtained by Amnesty International, demonstrate the level of injury inflicted by this form of punishment. The photos show the damage and scarring that just two caning strokes continue to cause months after the actual punishment has been executed.
"These images show the harsh reality of this punishment. Tens of thousands of people in Malaysia have been subjected to this cruel form of punishment without any attention from inside or outside the country. Now that the issue of caning has come on the public agenda, it's time for the Malaysian government to act immediately to get rid of caning altogether," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director.
In July, an Amnesty International delegation travelled to Malaysia and were granted access to three detention facilities south of Kuala Lumpur, where they were able to photograph detainees who said that they had been caned whilst serving their sentences in prison.
Caning is mostly used as punishment for migrant labourers for immigration offences. Immigrants who are convicted of illegal entry are normally caned up to three times, although the country’s Immigration Act allows for them to be caned up to six times.
In June 2009 the Malaysian government announced that they had sentenced 47,914 migrants to be caned for immigration offences since amendments to its Immigration Act came into force in 2002.
Amnesty International has called on the government of Malaysia to repeal all laws that allow caning and other forms of corporal punishment.
"The outcry surrounding Kartika's case highlights the need for the Malaysian government to stop the practice of caning altogether," Sam Zarifi said.
Amnesty : Malaysia must end abuse of migrant workers
24 March 2010
The Malaysian authorities should take action to end widespread workplace and police abuses of the migrant workers who make up more than 20 per cent of the country's workforce, Amnesty International said in a report released on Wednesday.
Trapped: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia documents widespread abuses against migrant workers from eight South Asian and Southeast Asian countries who are lured to Malaysia by the promise of jobs but are instead used in forced labour or exploited in other ways.
"Migrant workers are critical to Malaysia's economy, but they systematically receive less legal protection than other workers," said Michael Bochenek, the report author and director of policy at Amnesty International. "They are easy prey for unscrupulous recruitment agents, employers and corrupt police."
Migrants, many from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal, are forced to work in hazardous situations, often against their will, and toil for 12 hours a day or more. Many are subject to verbal, physical and sexual abuse.
Most pay recruitment agents substantial sums of money to secure jobs, work permits and training. Once they arrive, they often find that much of what their agents told them about their new jobs is untrue — the pay, type of work, even the existence of those jobs or their legal status in the country.
Most workers have taken out loans at exorbitant interest rates and simply cannot afford to return to their home countries. Some are in situations close to bonded labour.
Nearly all employers hold their workers' passports, placing workers at risk of arrest and in practice preventing them from leaving abusive workplaces. Coercive practices such as these are indicators of forced labour.
Labour laws are not effectively enforced, and labour courts may take months or years to resolve cases. For domestic workers, who are not covered by most of the labour laws, recourse to the courts is usually not an option.
"Malaysia can and must do better for its workforce. Everyone, regardless of immigration status, is entitled to safe and fair working conditions and to equal treatment under the law," said Michael Bochenek.
Amnesty International's report concludes that many workers are victims of human trafficking. The Malaysian government has the responsibility to prevent such abuses but instead facilitates trafficking through its loose regulation of recruitment agents and through laws and policies that fail to protect workers.
In addition, Amnesty International heard over a dozen cases in which Malaysian authorities delivered immigration detainees to traffickers operating on the Thai border between 2006 and 2009.
Malaysia imposes severe and excessive criminal penalties — in some cases caning — on migrants who work without proper permits, even when errors by the employer are the reason for immigration violations.
Large-scale, public roundups in markets and on city streets and indiscriminate, warrantless raids on private dwellings in poorer neighbourhoods are common. Police frequently ask migrants for bribes. Those who cannot pay are arrested and held in deplorable conditions in immigration detention centres.
"The Malaysian government must stop criminalizing its migrant worker force and instead tackle forced and compulsory labour," said Michael Bochenek. "Until Malaysia's labour laws offer effective protection and are effectively enforced, exploitation will continue."
Amnesty International called on the Malaysian government to reform its labour laws and promptly investigate abuses in the workplace and by police. Malaysia should also make more effective use of its Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act to prosecute individuals who recruit, transport or receive workers through fraud or deception in order to exploit them.
This work is part of Amnesty International's Demand Dignity campaign, which aims to end the human rights violations that drive and deepen global poverty. The campaign will mobilize people all over the world to demand that governments, corporations and others who have power listen to the voices of those living in poverty and recognise and protect their rights. For more information visit the Demand Dignity website.
Trapped: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia documents widespread abuses against migrant workers from eight South Asian and Southeast Asian countries who are lured to Malaysia by the promise of jobs but are instead used in forced labour or exploited in other ways.
"Migrant workers are critical to Malaysia's economy, but they systematically receive less legal protection than other workers," said Michael Bochenek, the report author and director of policy at Amnesty International. "They are easy prey for unscrupulous recruitment agents, employers and corrupt police."
Migrants, many from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal, are forced to work in hazardous situations, often against their will, and toil for 12 hours a day or more. Many are subject to verbal, physical and sexual abuse.
Most pay recruitment agents substantial sums of money to secure jobs, work permits and training. Once they arrive, they often find that much of what their agents told them about their new jobs is untrue — the pay, type of work, even the existence of those jobs or their legal status in the country.
Most workers have taken out loans at exorbitant interest rates and simply cannot afford to return to their home countries. Some are in situations close to bonded labour.
Nearly all employers hold their workers' passports, placing workers at risk of arrest and in practice preventing them from leaving abusive workplaces. Coercive practices such as these are indicators of forced labour.
Labour laws are not effectively enforced, and labour courts may take months or years to resolve cases. For domestic workers, who are not covered by most of the labour laws, recourse to the courts is usually not an option.
"Malaysia can and must do better for its workforce. Everyone, regardless of immigration status, is entitled to safe and fair working conditions and to equal treatment under the law," said Michael Bochenek.
Amnesty International's report concludes that many workers are victims of human trafficking. The Malaysian government has the responsibility to prevent such abuses but instead facilitates trafficking through its loose regulation of recruitment agents and through laws and policies that fail to protect workers.
In addition, Amnesty International heard over a dozen cases in which Malaysian authorities delivered immigration detainees to traffickers operating on the Thai border between 2006 and 2009.
Malaysia imposes severe and excessive criminal penalties — in some cases caning — on migrants who work without proper permits, even when errors by the employer are the reason for immigration violations.
Large-scale, public roundups in markets and on city streets and indiscriminate, warrantless raids on private dwellings in poorer neighbourhoods are common. Police frequently ask migrants for bribes. Those who cannot pay are arrested and held in deplorable conditions in immigration detention centres.
"The Malaysian government must stop criminalizing its migrant worker force and instead tackle forced and compulsory labour," said Michael Bochenek. "Until Malaysia's labour laws offer effective protection and are effectively enforced, exploitation will continue."
Amnesty International called on the Malaysian government to reform its labour laws and promptly investigate abuses in the workplace and by police. Malaysia should also make more effective use of its Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act to prosecute individuals who recruit, transport or receive workers through fraud or deception in order to exploit them.
This work is part of Amnesty International's Demand Dignity campaign, which aims to end the human rights violations that drive and deepen global poverty. The campaign will mobilize people all over the world to demand that governments, corporations and others who have power listen to the voices of those living in poverty and recognise and protect their rights. For more information visit the Demand Dignity website.
Malaysia arrests migrants as crackdown continues
Monday 29 March 2010
The 140 arrests are part of an announced crackdown on migrants, many of whom come from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal, who live and work in Malaysia without authorization.
Malaysian authorities have arrested some 140 migrant workers in the past week, according to media reports, soon after Amnesty International released a report documenting police abuses and exploitation of migrants by employers.
The arrests are part of an announced crackdown on migrants, many of whom come from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal, who live and work in Malaysia without authorization, reports said. Malaysian authorities have arrested hundreds of migrants since the crackdown began at the end of February, according to news reports.
Those arrested face protracted detention in overcrowded immigration detention centres.
Migrants who are found to have violated the immigration laws are subject to substantial fines, imprisonment and in some cases caning.
“These immigration raids sweep up documented as well as undocumented workers,” said Michael Bochenek, the report author and director of policy at Amnesty International. “Regardless of immigration status, nobody should be subjected to arbitrary arrest or appalling detention conditions.”
Employers routinely demand that workers turn over their passports, meaning that migrants who have authorization to work in Malaysia often have only photocopies of their passport and work permit. Authorities frequently do not accept photocopied documents as proof of lawful status.
Untrained volunteers with the People’s Volunteer Corps (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat or RELA) often participate in immigration raids. These volunteers are often unfamiliar with the documents they are examining, but they enjoy broad powers to enter private homes without warrants, question suspects, and make arrests.
Refugees, including from Myanmar, who hold cards issued by the local office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are among those caught up in the immigration sweeps this month. Malaysia does not recognize refugee status, but authorities had recently committed not to arrest and detain those holding UNHCR cards.
The detention of refugees in this month’s round-ups was a step back from that positive policy development, Amnesty International said.
Police and RELA agents both subject migrants to acts of harassment, extortion and violence, but RELA agents are responsible for the most rampant abuses against migrants, the Amnesty International report found.
Senior immigration officials assured Amnesty International in July 2009 that RELA no longer had a role in immigration enforcement.
Nevertheless, Amnesty International continued to receive reports of arrests and abuses by RELA agents throughout 2009 and the beginning of 2010. On March 21, an Amnesty International representative observed about 40 RELA agents checking immigration documents in the area of Kuala Lumpur’s central market.
Judges can and often do impose caning on migrants convicted of illegal entry. Nearly 35,000 migrants were caned between 2002 and 2008, the Malaysian government has confirmed.
Known as “whipping” in Malaysia, this punishment involves up to six strokes of the rotan, a thin wooden cane.
It leaves deep welts on the buttocks that take days to heal and is profoundly humiliating.
The practice violates the international prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
Amnesty International has sought meetings with the Home Affairs and Human Resources ministries to present its findings and recommendations. To date, neither ministry has confirmed a meeting.
After the release of Amnesty International’s report, Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein announced in an interview with The Star (Kuala Lumpur) that his ministry would act against those who exploited and abused migrant workers.
Trapped: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia documents widespread abuses against migrant workers from eight South Asian and Southeast Asian countries who are lured to Malaysia by the promise of jobs but are instead used in forced labour or exploited in other ways.
The arrests are part of an announced crackdown on migrants, many of whom come from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal, who live and work in Malaysia without authorization, reports said. Malaysian authorities have arrested hundreds of migrants since the crackdown began at the end of February, according to news reports.
Those arrested face protracted detention in overcrowded immigration detention centres.
Migrants who are found to have violated the immigration laws are subject to substantial fines, imprisonment and in some cases caning.
“These immigration raids sweep up documented as well as undocumented workers,” said Michael Bochenek, the report author and director of policy at Amnesty International. “Regardless of immigration status, nobody should be subjected to arbitrary arrest or appalling detention conditions.”
Employers routinely demand that workers turn over their passports, meaning that migrants who have authorization to work in Malaysia often have only photocopies of their passport and work permit. Authorities frequently do not accept photocopied documents as proof of lawful status.
Untrained volunteers with the People’s Volunteer Corps (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat or RELA) often participate in immigration raids. These volunteers are often unfamiliar with the documents they are examining, but they enjoy broad powers to enter private homes without warrants, question suspects, and make arrests.
Refugees, including from Myanmar, who hold cards issued by the local office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are among those caught up in the immigration sweeps this month. Malaysia does not recognize refugee status, but authorities had recently committed not to arrest and detain those holding UNHCR cards.
The detention of refugees in this month’s round-ups was a step back from that positive policy development, Amnesty International said.
Police and RELA agents both subject migrants to acts of harassment, extortion and violence, but RELA agents are responsible for the most rampant abuses against migrants, the Amnesty International report found.
Senior immigration officials assured Amnesty International in July 2009 that RELA no longer had a role in immigration enforcement.
Nevertheless, Amnesty International continued to receive reports of arrests and abuses by RELA agents throughout 2009 and the beginning of 2010. On March 21, an Amnesty International representative observed about 40 RELA agents checking immigration documents in the area of Kuala Lumpur’s central market.
Judges can and often do impose caning on migrants convicted of illegal entry. Nearly 35,000 migrants were caned between 2002 and 2008, the Malaysian government has confirmed.
Known as “whipping” in Malaysia, this punishment involves up to six strokes of the rotan, a thin wooden cane.
It leaves deep welts on the buttocks that take days to heal and is profoundly humiliating.
The practice violates the international prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
Amnesty International has sought meetings with the Home Affairs and Human Resources ministries to present its findings and recommendations. To date, neither ministry has confirmed a meeting.
After the release of Amnesty International’s report, Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein announced in an interview with The Star (Kuala Lumpur) that his ministry would act against those who exploited and abused migrant workers.
Trapped: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia documents widespread abuses against migrant workers from eight South Asian and Southeast Asian countries who are lured to Malaysia by the promise of jobs but are instead used in forced labour or exploited in other ways.
AI concerned over Nepali migrant workers arrested in Malaysia
Amnesty International (AI) has expressed its concern over the status of 500 Nepalese illegal migrants caught by Malaysian authorities since the crackdown began at the end of February.
Michael Bocheneck, author of an AI report and director of policy, said immigration raids targeted both documented as well as undocumented workers.
"Regardless of immigration status, nobody should be subjected to arbitrary arrest or terrible detention conditions," he added.
A press release issued by AI Nepal states that migrant workers who have authorisation to work in Malaysia often possess only the photocopies of their passports and work permits and authorities frequently do not accept photocopied documents as proof of lawful status.
Rameshwar Nepal, director of AI Nepal, said it was time for both the Nepalese and Malaysian governments to broker a more equitable deal for migrants working in the South East Asian country to ensure the rights of the workers.
Coordination is necessary between two governments, especially with regards to the mismanagement of employment agencies in both countries, violated by employer and the state authorities, he added.
The immigration raid volunteers with the People's Volunteer Corps (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat or RELA) are untrained and they are often unfamiliar with the documents they are examining, but they enjoy broad powers to enter private homes without warrants, question suspects, and make arrests, the press release stated.
The police and RELA agents both subject migrants to acts of harassment, extortion and violence, but RELA agents are responsible for the most rampant abuses against migrants, the Amnesty International report found. nepalnews.com
Michael Bocheneck, author of an AI report and director of policy, said immigration raids targeted both documented as well as undocumented workers.
"Regardless of immigration status, nobody should be subjected to arbitrary arrest or terrible detention conditions," he added.
A press release issued by AI Nepal states that migrant workers who have authorisation to work in Malaysia often possess only the photocopies of their passports and work permits and authorities frequently do not accept photocopied documents as proof of lawful status.
Rameshwar Nepal, director of AI Nepal, said it was time for both the Nepalese and Malaysian governments to broker a more equitable deal for migrants working in the South East Asian country to ensure the rights of the workers.
Coordination is necessary between two governments, especially with regards to the mismanagement of employment agencies in both countries, violated by employer and the state authorities, he added.
The immigration raid volunteers with the People's Volunteer Corps (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat or RELA) are untrained and they are often unfamiliar with the documents they are examining, but they enjoy broad powers to enter private homes without warrants, question suspects, and make arrests, the press release stated.
The police and RELA agents both subject migrants to acts of harassment, extortion and violence, but RELA agents are responsible for the most rampant abuses against migrants, the Amnesty International report found. nepalnews.com
AI turns spotlight on Nepalese migrants miseries in Malaysia
THT Online
KATHMANDU: The Amnesty International (AI) on Tuesday expressed concern over the detention of Nepali migrant workers in Malasiya.Issuing a press release, AI, the international human rights watchdog called for the protection of the human rights of the workers in the context of the arrest by the Malaysian authorities of around 140 migrant workers including Nepalese, Bangladeshis and Indonesians.
Citing news reports, the AI said that Malaysian authorities have arrested hundreds of migrants since the crackdown began at the end of February.
According to the AI, those arrested faced protected detention in overcrowded immigration detention centres. Migrants who are found to have violated the immigration laws are subject to be substantial fines, imprisonment and in some cases caning.
"According to the rights body, these migration raids sweep up documented as well as undocumented workers," director of policy at AI said, adding, "Regardless of immigration status, nobody should be subjected to arbitrary arrest or appalling detention conditions."
According to the press release, the employers routinely demand that workers turn over their passports, meaning that migrants who have authorisation to work in Malasiya often have only photocopies of their passport and work permit. Authorities frequently do not accept photocopied documents as proof of lawful status.
"Untrained volunteers with the People's Volunteer Corps (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat or RELA) often participate in immigration raids. These volunteers are often unfamiliar with the documents they are examining, but they enjoy broad powers to enter private homes without warrants, question suspects and make arrests," the release stated.
The plight of Myanmar refugees in Malaysia
25/03/2010
Myanmar refugees in Malaysia
NARRATOR: It's Sunday morning and the 25 refugees who share this apartment are waking up and preparing for church. Lal Pe Nu, a Burmese refugee, is a deacon so he and his family hurry to arrive before the service starts. Sunday is the one day of the week they will all venture out of this cramped apartment. A local church allows the refugees to hold their own service and is one of the few times this community comes together and forgets the violence they left behind.
Lal Pe Nu: A soldier pointed a pistol in my mouth and ordered me to move my daughter away who was sitting on my legs. My daughter did not want to go away from me, even though I asked her. My two other daughters were crying loudly and then the soldier grabbed my daughter and threw her out of the house. Then she did not dare to cry out, she just wept.
NARRATOR: The family is ethnic Chin from Myanmar. With the aid of smugglers, the family got to Malaysia safely. But when Lal Pe Nu's wife and daughters followed a year later they were caught and thrown in detention for seven months. The experience traumatized the entire family and they live in fear of being imprisoned again.
Lal Pe Nu: When I saw my daughter she was so thin and very, very weak. I could not express how hurt I felt to see them. When I found them, they had already been in detention for 23 days. They didn't understand the language so they were confused. They were so depressed and so downhearted. My daughter told me she may die but I encouraged her and I prayed for her.
NARRATOR: It turns out that their fears of detention were not unjustified. Once they left the service, a police group sent many of the parishioners back to the sanctuary of the church to wait out the raid. Malaysia is an urban country. More than 60% of its population lives in cities. More than seven million people live in the capital Kuala Lumpur and the nearby Klang valley. Most of the migrants come as part of a Malaysian government guest worker programme and work legally in construction and service sectors. However, tens of thousands of refugees have also come to the city looking for refuge. Yet they are not allowed to work legally and this exacerbates their already tenuous existence.
While refugees from Myanmar represent the largest group exiled in Malaysia there are also smaller number of Somalis, Afghans, Sri Lankans and other nationalities. There are over 67,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR. However, the refugee community estimate there may be another 30,000 unregistered. Since there are no refugee camps in Malaysia, the uprooted end up in cities like Kuala Lumpur as we hear from Yante Ismael from the refugee office in Malaysia:
Yante Ismael: In light of this, facing a population that's scattered throughout the vast geographic vista, and a population that's frequently mobile, reaching them and trying to provide services to them can be quite a challenge.
NARRATOR: City life poses problems for the refugees and also for those trying to help them. In the urban context the refugees tend to blend into the crowd. And trying to locate, identify and assist these people is a challenge, especially when they're afraid.
SFX
A sewing group was formed to help refugee women to support their families and give them more confidence in their new environment. Many come here together to work once a week but mostly they work from home creating handmade traditional crafts that are sold oversees and at local markets.
Swee par is a refugee and teaches other women how to sew. They can't afford to go to private clinics and many can't communicate with the doctors so they need specialized services. This clinic is staffed by volunteers who speak the local languages and understand their circumstances.
While there are services to help the refugees, primary preoccupation remains security. They feel completely vulnerable every time they leave their apartments. UNHCR registers refugees and asylum seekers and issues them a refugee ID card. Registration allows UNHCR to have a record of each refugee and their protection needs. Once they have the card, refugees feel less vulnerable but according to Yante Ismael, it's not a guarantee of complete safety.
Yante Ismael: What we've learned from the refugees is that they do live in a constant state of fear of law enforcement agencies. Many refugees talk to us about raids that's done in order to weed out the undocumented migrants where refugees are also swept up in these operations. And of course this creates a constant state of stress and fear for the refugees.
NARRATOR: For the refugees, life can easily become a cycle of insecurity and poverty. They arrive in debt because they owe money to a smuggler. They can't work so they borrow more. When they're detained, they're obliged to pay fines and they rarely get ahead and many families fall into a spiral of despair.
Tin Thluai: My dream and what I am now praying for is that if I could change my life, our lives, I would change our current fearful life into a peaceful one without fear of arrest.
Migrant warning for Malaysia, Thailand
By Brian McCartan
BANGKOK - Thailand and Malaysia have been singled out again in recent human rights reports for their systematic and unchecked exploitation of their large migrant worker populations. While both countries depend on foreign workers for economic growth and cost competitiveness, neither has taken sufficient steps to curb widespread abuses.
Thailand announced in 2008 for reasons of national security that its 1.3 million registered migrants would have to verify their nationality with officials from their own government, which would then qualify them for a temporary passport and a Thailand-issued work permit. Monitoring groups estimate there are more than two
Thailand announced in 2008 for reasons of national security that its 1.3 million registered migrants would have to verify their nationality with officials from their own government, which would then qualify them for a temporary passport and a Thailand-issued work permit. Monitoring groups estimate there are more than two
million migrants in Thailand, with most arriving from neighboring and poorer Myanmar.
The National Verification Process was intended to provide migrants with legal status to live and work in Thailand for up to two years at a time for a period not exceeding four years. Workers would also receive certain rights, including access to accident compensation and the ability to travel within Thailand, through the process.
For Cambodian and Lao migrants, the process was facilitated by government representatives who travelled to Thai work sites to assist with registering their nationals. For migrant workers from Myanmar, which account for just over one million of the official 1.3 million total, the process required them to travel across the border to employment offices at Myawaddy, Tachilek and Kawthaung for registration.
In addition to the expense of travelling from their work places to the border, many Myanmar workers fear their own government and are reluctant to provide detailed personal background information to officials on concern they might cause problems for family members back home. Myanmar's deputy minister for foreign affairs has said that the government planned to issue 1.2 million passports for workers in Thailand by February 2012.
About 850,000 migrants registered by the Thai government's March 2 deadline, but an estimated one million more undocumented workers from Myanmar failed to register, according to migrant rights groups. Human rights advocates said the failure of workers to register was due to a lack of publicity about the process and doubt among migrants that registration would bring any improvements to their working conditions.
Deportations began shortly after the deadline, with roundups of migrants in Thailand reported in the northeastern province of Buriram, in the fish and shrimp processing center of Mahachai in central Samut Sakhon province, and in the western border town of Mae Sot. The deportations have so far been much smaller than rights groups feared, a reflection some believe of the Thai government's attention to street protests rather than a lack of will.
Whether registered or not, migrants work in difficult, dangerous and low-paying jobs that most Thais no longer want to do. Most are involved in the shrimp peeling and fishery industry, agriculture, fruit picking, garment industries, construction and domestic work.
Their presence is pervasive enough that some question how great the cost would be to the Thai economy should the migrants be deported en masse. Many businesses have become accustomed to the cheap labor that they rely on to maintain their competitive edge, both in local and international markets.
Labor advocates argue that the migrants should be treated as people rather than investments. Instead of issuing threats and allowing abuses by employers and authorities to go unpunished, the government should assure them the same legal treatment and rights enjoyed by Thai workers, including payment of minimum wages and disability benefits.
Legal and illegal migrants are the frequent targets of abuse in Thailand. Human rights groups say police, immigration authorities, local officials and politicians are all involved in abuses ranging from physical abuse, sexual harassment and rape, abductions, arbitrary detention, death threats, intimidation, extortion and sometimes murder. Migrants are often afraid to report abuses and claim that even when they do so, the police rarely investigate their complaints.
Without guarantees to prevent these abuses, rights advocates say, there is nothing to stop employers from flaunting the new rules. They predict that employers will continue to pay below minimum wages and will likely confiscate their workers' new temporary passports, as they have done with registration cards for the past decade - especially since the passports provide for greater mobility to change work places.
Malaysia has also come under fire for its poor treatment of migrants. Last week Amnesty International released a report accusing employers and police of exploiting migrant workers through forced labor, arbitrary arrests, extortion, denied wages and unfair dismissal.
An estimated 2 million foreign workers live in Malaysia, representing around one in every five workers in the country. Many come from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam, among other countries. As in Thailand, they often find jobs in areas where Malaysians are reluctant to work, especially in construction, manufacturing and agriculture, and as domestic help. Malaysia has since the 1970s relied heavily on foreign workers to achieve its policy of rapid industrialization.
Amnesty claims that while in principle Malaysia's labor laws should cover migrants, in practice they are rarely enforced. The system forces migrant workers to rely heavily on their employers and recruiting brokers, which offers them few safeguards. Employers and agents often confiscate passports, and workers who chose to leave an employer have their work permits revoked and lose all legal status, making them easy targets for arrest and detention.
The rights group also claims that police and members of the paramilitary People's Volunteer Corps regularly target migrants for extortion and ill-treatment. The effective criminalization of migration in Malaysia serves only to encourage bad behavior. According to Amnesty's report, "large-scale public round-ups in markets and on city streets, and indiscriminate, warrantless raids on private dwellings in poorer neighborhoods send the message that being poor and foreign - regardless of immigration status - is automatically suspicious."
A nationwide crackdown on illegal migrant workers began in Malaysia on February 14. Hundreds of workers were arrested and reports from media groups in Malaysia and Thailand indicate that police often ignored legal travel documents during the arrests, although people were later released if their paperwork was in order.
Detainees were sent to camps for illegal workers. Conditions in one site, at Lenggeng, were so bad due to overcrowding that 1,400 detainees began a hunger strike on February 22, demanding to see a representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The situation was defused two days later when 106 Myanmar migrants were taken out of the camp by UNHCR after being recognized as refugees.
Corrupt immigration and security officials were accused last year of working together with trafficking gangs in Thailand to sell workers rather than simply deport them across the border. From there, the migrants must pay large ransoms to be able to return to Malaysia. Malaysia was given a Tier 3 designation - the worst category - in the US State Department's 2009 human trafficking report for failure to comply with minimum standards for combating human trafficking or taking significant steps to do so.
Malaysia claims it does not systematically exploit workers. However, statements such as those made by the home minister in February carry ominous overtones. Hishammuddin Hussein told the national press that authorities hoped to create an atmosphere where illegal migrants would "feel afraid and threatened, and prepared to leave the country immediately."
Rights groups said at the time that this type of language simply gives the police freedom to carry out random raids on migrants with little fear of repercussion.
In both Thailand and Malaysia, refugees have also run afoul of migrant policies.
No refuge
Malaysia, like Thailand, has not signed the 1951 Convention on Refugees nor its 1967 protocol, and makes little distinction between refugees and migrants. There are currently 136,519 Myanmar refugees in Thailand according to figures from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, an organization that coordinates humanitarian relief to refugee camps.
Thailand's migrant population is much bigger, numbering around 1.3 million, with most hailing from Myanmar. Human rights and migrant protection groups say many of the migrants have fled ongoing insurgency in Myanmar, human rights abuses perpetuated by the government, or the chronic mismanagement of the economy that has turned the country into one of the poorest.
In Thailand, many refugees choose to seek work rather than stay in the refugee camps dotted along the border. In Malaysia, there are no camps and asylum seekers are forced to seek work in order to survive, blurring the line between refugee and migrant worker.
The issue grabbed headlines last year when the Thai navy allegedly forced Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar back to sea on rickety boats after they had landed in Thailand. The government claimed the Rohingya were economic migrants, while others say that their circumstances means they should have been considered refugees.
Rights groups alleged this was not an isolated incident and that many other Rohingya's have perished after being blocked entry to Thailand.
In December, after years of threats and despite pleas by several governments and the United Nations, 4,371 Hmong refugees were forcibly repatriated to Laos from a camp in Thailand's Petchabun province and another 158 from an immigration detention center in Nong Khai. Thailand said both groups were illegal migrants and not refugees.
While this may have been accurate in most cases, some of the Hmong had already been given "person of concern" status by the UNHCR and others, say rights groups, would have qualified if a proper screening process was carried out.
The Lao government claims the returnees have been well treated and no longer wish to resettle in third countries, but not everyone is convinced. A visit on March 26 to one of the resettlement sites by diplomats and foreign journalists was perceived as being stage-managed by the regime. Despite this several returnees were able to covey to the visitors their desire to go abroad, putting into question the Lao government's claims.
According to Amnesty International, at least 90,000 and maybe as many as 170,000 refugees are currently in Malaysia, mostly from Myanmar and the Philippines. Because no distinction is made in Malaysian law between migrants and refugees, the result is that asylum seekers can be arrested, detained and prosecuted for immigration offenses, including deportation back to their countries.
Unlike migrants who often times can return home, refugees are especially vulnerable to exploitation by employers and security officials due to their need to avoid deportation. In mid-March, 93 Rohingya men from Myanmar were arrested off the Malaysian holiday island of Langkawi and detained by immigration authorities.
The group had previously been intercepted by the Thai navy, which after learning they were headed to Malaysia rather than Thailand gave them food and other supplies to complete your voyage.
Brian McCartan is a Bangkok-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at brianpm@comcast.net.
Neither here nor there stand
The problem with Malaysia is that on the one hand we want to be part of the community of nations; on the other, we are notorious for ‘particularism’, that is, insisting that somehow we are different from everyone else.
THIS may sound unbelievable to some people but when I was in primary school, I distinctly remember my class teacher discussing the “colour bar” with us. Today that might mean a place where we get our nails painted but at the time it referred to only one thing, racial discrimination.
In the 60s when we discussed this, the two main issues that appalled any right-minded person were apartheid in South Africa and the discrimination against blacks in the US that necessitated the civil rights movement.
Today it seems incredible that anyone should be barred from entering a restaurant or school or made to sit at the back of a bus just because of their skin colour but that was the reality in South Africa and in southern US for those who had black skin.
Holding back: Malaysia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995 but maintained many reservations. – Reuters Eventually the civil rights movement in the US succeeded in winning rights for its black minority, despite some high costs such as the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
What could never have been dreamed of then, a black President, is now a reality. And in South Africa, apartheid was overthrown and the disenfranchisement of the black population ended.
It was in that atmosphere that the UN Declaration for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) was established in 1963 and the Convention passed in 1966. (It might be interesting also to note that people thought racial equality was more important than gender equality; the UN Convention for the Elimination for All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was not passed by the General Assembly until 1979.) Today 173 out of 195 countries have ratified the CERD.
The 16 countries that have not ratified the CERD are Angola, Brunei, Cook Islands, North Korea, Dominica, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Myanmar, Niue, Palau Samoa, Singapore, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Malaysia.
Most of those are very small island nations that, apart from Singapore, simply cannot afford all the necessary processes to ratify and implement the Convention. That leaves us in the company of Angola, Brunei, North Korea and Myanmar.
I know we like exclusivity but this may not be the sort of club we want to belong to.
I recently sat in a roundtable to discuss the CERD and how and when Malaysia might sign it. Most of those participating were of the opinion that we should join the rest of the world and ratify it.
The exception was one government official who asked with twisted logic why the hurry since Singapore had not, and besides we don’t have any racial discrimination in Malaysia. Everyone else then pointed out that in that case, we should have no problem signing the convention. The problem with us is that on the one hand we want to be part of the community of nations; on the other, we resent anything that actually fosters community with the rest of the world.
Thus we sign onto the UN Charter and then ignore many of our obligations except when it suits us. For instance, some of us may turn our nose up at the UN Declaration of Human Rights but it does happen to be one of the key documents of the UN. When we join a club, we should follow the rules.
We are also half-baked when it comes to conventions that we do ratify. In 1995 we ratified CEDAW but put reservations on many clauses in it, mostly on the basis of religion. This despite the fact that large Muslim countries like Indonesia ratified CEDAW without a single reservation. Malaysian Islam must be different from other people’s Islam.
Similarly, Malaysia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995 but has still maintained many reservations. These include reservations on Article 1 of the Convention that defines a child as anyone under the age of 18 and Article 2 which says that the convention applies to “everyone whatever their race, religion, abilities, whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from” and Article 7 which says that “All children have the right to a legally registered name, and nationality”.
This might explain why we are wishy-washy when it comes to child marriages and obstinate about not allowing the most basic rights to refugee children.
The point I’m trying to make is that all nations in the world are held up to certain standards and these naturally have to be universal. It makes no sense for each country to insist on living up to only their own standards since these are rarely high.
Malaysia is notorious for “particularism”, that is, insisting that somehow we are different from everyone else. In that case, we should not join the community of nations but instead take our cues from an isolationist state like North Korea. And see where that gets us.
Note: No reproduction of this article is allowed without the author's consent.
Refugees struggling in Syria
Undocumented refugees, asylum-seekers at risk of being deported from temporary host Syria.
DAMASCUS - Thousands of non-Iraqi and non-Palestinian refugees and asylum-seekers in Syria risk deportation and ill-treatment, and cannot get the help they need, according to refugee agencies.
Most are Somalis but there are also sizeable communities of Afghanis, Sudanese and Iranians, as well as nationals from Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to agencies working on the ground.
There are no accurate numbers, but registrations by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) give an idea of the proportions, if not the sizes, of the various communities.
Currently registered with UNHCR in Syria are 3,500 Somali refugees and a further 1,000 asylum-seekers; 1,000 Afghani refugees and 500 asylum-seekers; 400 Sudanese refugees and 600 asylum-seekers; and 200 Iranian refugees as well as 200 Iranian asylum-seekers.
“These refugees [and asylum-seekers], most of whom live in Damascus and Rural Damascus, suffer considerable hardship,” said Farah Dakhlallah, UNHCR spokesperson in Syria.
Syria is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, but it does allow legally residing foreigners to access services. However, a lack of documentation leaves many without essential education and health care.
“Non-Iraqi refugees have the same access to health care as Iraqis and all legal aliens have the right to enrol their children in Syrian state schools free of charge. However, since many non-Iraqi refugees often lack documentation, including passports, they face difficulties in accessing these facilities,” said Dakhlallah.
Many of the undocumented refugees and asylum-seekers from these countries are at risk of being deported and frequently have to bribe their way out of trouble.
“I live in fear of the authorities as I don’t have enough money to pay bribes and I don’t want to be deported,” said a Somali man in Masaken Barzeh, an area of Damascus with a high population of Somali refugees.
Narrow mandate
A further obstacle to providing services is the narrow mandate under which refugee agencies work.
All refugee agencies in Syria must be registered with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and, until recently, have had a mandate to deal with Iraqis only. Although many non-Iraqi refugees benefit indirectly from programmes for Iraqis, there are no services directly tailored to their needs.
Recently SARC accepted that services aimed at Iraqis may also be extended to non-Iraqis, and some organizations, such as IECD, a French development agency, have altered their programmes accordingly. At the IECD centre in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, 5-10 percent of beneficiaries are non-Iraqis.
Some of the agencies trying to help non-Iraqi refugees are not registered and thus work illegally, aid workers say.
Lack of information
Each ethnic group has specific difficulties, but not nearly enough research has been done, and there is a big information gap.
“The Somalis’ needs are higher than the Iraqis as they are poorer,” said a Damascus-based refugee worker who preferred anonymity.
Among the problems identified in the Somali community are tribal allegiances transferred from Somalia, and female genital mutilation/cutting.
Many Afghanis arrived in the 1980s, and a new wave has been arriving recently owing to the war. “They struggle with the language as they speak neither Arabic nor English,” the refugee worker said. “And they lack the networks to tap into.”
Concerns involving the Sudanese include extreme economic hardship and women who have suffered violence and rape in Sudan, aid workers said.
Many of the Ahwazis (Iranians of Arab descent) fled to Syria after speaking out against the Iranian regime. In 2006 UNHCR expressed concern at the “refoulement” (sending back) of some of these refugees or asylum-seekers by Syria.
“Often these refugees are jailed or are in danger of being extradited but Syria can’t be seen to be doing anything to help them,” said a diplomat involved in refugee work who preferred anonymity. “There is help going on with the aid of embassies, but none of it is reflected in official figures.”
Five-Year Plan Aims to Combat Human Trafficking in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia on Wednesday launched a national plan against human trafficking as the country moved to quash its image as a major transit point for traffickers.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the five-year plan would strengthen anti-trafficking legislation and training and improve border security, among measures to tackle the problem.
“We need to equip our personnel with relevant knowledge and expertise in areas concerning policy, prevention, protection and rehabilitation including prosecution,” he said.
Hishammuddin said 202 human-trafficking cases had been dealt with under legislation introduced in 2007, with 1,252 victims of various nationalities rescued so far.
He said the plan also called for a reduction in the 1.9 million foreign workers in Malaysia, which “could be a contributing factor of people trafficking.”
Hishammuddin also stressed the need for strategic partnerships with destination countries such as Australia.
Immigration activists say Malaysia is often used as a staging post for gangs of traffickers moving people from Burma, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka to Indonesia and Australia.
Migrant-rights group Tenaganita welcomed the plan but stressed a need to look at governance and remove corrupt officials who encouraged the trade.
“One of the key causes of trafficking is collusion and corruption among enforcement officials here, so we must tackle this at the root cause as a key priority if any plan is to succeed,” the group’s director, Irene Fernandez, said.
Malaysian police arrested five immigration officials last July for involvement in an international syndicate that smuggled refugees from Burma’s Rohingya Muslim minority into the country.
Agence France-Presse
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the five-year plan would strengthen anti-trafficking legislation and training and improve border security, among measures to tackle the problem.
“We need to equip our personnel with relevant knowledge and expertise in areas concerning policy, prevention, protection and rehabilitation including prosecution,” he said.
Hishammuddin said 202 human-trafficking cases had been dealt with under legislation introduced in 2007, with 1,252 victims of various nationalities rescued so far.
He said the plan also called for a reduction in the 1.9 million foreign workers in Malaysia, which “could be a contributing factor of people trafficking.”
Hishammuddin also stressed the need for strategic partnerships with destination countries such as Australia.
Immigration activists say Malaysia is often used as a staging post for gangs of traffickers moving people from Burma, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka to Indonesia and Australia.
Migrant-rights group Tenaganita welcomed the plan but stressed a need to look at governance and remove corrupt officials who encouraged the trade.
“One of the key causes of trafficking is collusion and corruption among enforcement officials here, so we must tackle this at the root cause as a key priority if any plan is to succeed,” the group’s director, Irene Fernandez, said.
Malaysian police arrested five immigration officials last July for involvement in an international syndicate that smuggled refugees from Burma’s Rohingya Muslim minority into the country.
Agence France-Presse
Call to take more refugees
AUSTRALIA is being urged to stem the flow of boat people by accepting more refugees from south-east Asia before they risk the hazardous journey to Australia by sea.
The Refugee Council of Australia has recommended the government grant an extra 1000 offshore humanitarian visas to refugees from south-east Asia each year, saying more places will reduce the incentive for people to turn to people smugglers offering dangerous, insecure passage.
''Ultimately, the best way of reducing the incidence of asylum seekers and refugees risking hazardous journeys to Australia is to focus upon understanding and tackling the causes of secondary movements and original flight,'' the council said in a submission.
Last year 60 boats, carrying 2850 people, reached Australian waters.
So far this year, 25 boats with 1200 people on board, have arrived.
UN figures show more than 150,000 refugees are currently registered in south-east Asia, with some 98 per cent of those in just two countries, Thailand and Malaysia, consistently rated among the ''worst in the world'' for refugee treatment.
Thousands more have no access to the UN's refugee agency and, hence, are uncounted.
Australia, which has granted, on average, 11,910 offshore humanitarian visas a year over the past six years, should also look to assist south-east Asian countries improve their support for refugees, council head Paul Power told The Age.
''There's no magic answer to people feeling that they've got no choice but to engage a people smuggler to head to Australia,'' he said.
''But unless Australia is prepared to provide active support for refugees in south-east Asia, we're not even going to begin to find any response to the movements of people towards Australia by boat.
''Simply saying, 'Turn back the boats,' is hardly going to improve the situation for refugees in the region.''
Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the issue of increasing number of boat arrivals could not be solved by domestic policy alone, but was driven by international factors and required improved regional co-operation.
''The whole history of boat arrivals to Australia is the history of conflict and displacement in our region,'' he said.
He said Australia needed to help address the causes forcing people from their homes, as well as supporting the transit countries to which asylum seekers initially flee.
UNHCR, Social Protection Fund for Refugees in Malaysia
News Stories, 26 March 2010
© UNHCR/T.Adnan
Timothy, the coordinator of the housing project, makes his rounds of the flats a few times a week to ensure cleanliness and harmony is maintained.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 26 (UNHCR) – It is early on a Sunday morning and Timothy, a refugee from Myanmar, is making his rounds of shophouses in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Some 150 refugees live here, all ethnic Chin from Myanma and renting 25 rooms under the Senthang Housing Project which Timothy coordinates.
The mood is serene, the individual flats small but clean – a marked contrast to the dirty, noisy, cramped places many refugees in Malaysia are forced to rent because they have so little money.
Just ask Li Li, who used to live with her husband, and two boys, aged seven and 10, in a small three-bedroom flat with about 45 other people. "I could not get a lot of rest," she recalls. "Sometimes we had to sleep like this – with a person's head at a person's feet. When someone woke up to go to the bathroom, I also woke up."
That's why Li Li is so grateful for her new accommodations. "Senthang is better for my family," she says. "I like it because it is very quiet here and very peaceful. No one is allowed to drink alcohol and make trouble. There are no bad men here, all Myanmar people and we know who they are. So I feel very safe for my children. I feel very peaceful."
Timothy, a member of the Senthang Refugee Center whose brainchild the project was, is careful to cultivate the sanctuary feeling – the entrance is locked and visitors are limited at night.
The Senthang Housing Project opened in November, 2009 with funds from the UN refugee agency's new small grants project, the Social Protection Fund, which provides up to US$3,500.00 for individual small-scale self-help projects developed and implemented by refugee groups. Since its launch in August 2009, the Fund has approved grants for 42 proposals from refugee groups.
"We wanted to provide our people a safe place to live, where they would not be exploited by the landlord," says Timothy. "In many circumstances, refugees are forced to pay several months' rent up front, which they cannot afford. With the funding we received from UNHCR, we were able to pay the deposit for 25 rooms which the refugees then rent directly from us on a monthly basis."
There are some 82,400 registered refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia, mostly from Myanmar, living in cities and towns. While they receive assistance and support from UNHCR and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), many refugees have to find their own ways of surviving in cities. This is why UNHCR set up the Social Protection Fund to support the refugee communities' own solutions.
"Within the refugee communities, there is a wealth of knowledge and skills for project implementation," says Letchimi Doraisamy, the UNHCR officer in charge of the Social Protection Fund. "They best know the needs of their communities for their day-to-day survival."
"Most importantly, they have already been running initiatives that support the needs of their communities even without UNHCR's financial support. By providing grants to refugee groups, UNHCR ensures projects can be implemented and sustained effectively."
The Segambut Myanmar Refugee Community applied for the grant to add on a much-needed service in their existing refugee hostel project – a grocery store for the 250 refugees living in the area.
"We realized that it was difficult for our refugee community to travel to the market due to security fears," says project coordinator Dun, a refugee from Myanmar. "Some have been robbed while carrying money for groceries. A grocery store at this centre would mean refugees can easily obtain daily food items and not worry about security."
So Shining Valley Grocery Store was set up in the living room of the refugee hostel. Dun buys sundry items wholesale and can sell them at lower prices than the neighbourhood shops. Dun says the benefits of the UNHCR funding are more than just a convenient grocery store.
"Half the profit is used to pay for the salary of the shopkeepers while the remaining amount goes back to our community project. We use the money to help with medical emergencies such as delivery of babies, hospitalization costs and other emergency costs," Dun says.
Back at the apartment building, Timothy agrees the pay-offs have been far-reaching and unexpected.
"The profit from the project is now being used for a school for the Chin children living in the neighbourhood, so this is good for our children," he says. "But I think there are more benefits. The tenants of each floor act like a 'village' that shares the cooking and cleaning, and they take care of each other. This becomes a home for them."
By Yante Ismail in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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