Visitors get a peek into refugees’ life at festival

IMAGINE having to flee Malaysia with only the clothes on your back, leaving behind everything you own and everyone you love.

That is the plight of many refugees around the world, something which commuters at KL Sentral Station got an insight into recently at the World Refugee Day 2010 celebration held at the station’s main foyer.

Organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the two-day festival featured an interactive exhibition to allow visitors to walk in a refugee’s shoes and experience their journey fleeing war and persecution.

Start ’em young: A cultural performance by Kunit, 7, a refugee child from the Mon tribe of Myanmar at UNHCR’s World Refugee Day celebration at KL Sentral.

Visitors also got a peek into a refugee’s daily life in Malaysia.

The centrepiece of the celebration was a vibrant bazaar selling traditional handicraft and food of the different refugee communities taking shelter in Malaysia.

The bazaar was aimed at generating some income for refugee community development and welfare initiatives.

Visitors were also feted to a showcase of the colourful heritage and culture of refugee communities including those from Myanmar and Afghanistan.

Visitors were especially charmed by the performance of seven-year-old Kunit from the Myanmar’s Mon tribe, who demonstrated the exotic movements in an elaborate glittery traditional costume.

Other performances included traditional dances by children from the Afghanistan refugee community as well as the Kachin and Karen tribal communities of Myanmar.

Various celebrities were also on hand to show their support for the refugee communities including Yasmin Hani, Daphne Iking and former Miss Malaysia Deborah Priya Henry.

The World Refugee Day is celebrated worldwide every June 20. This year’s theme is “Home.”

“It is about the a refugee’s hope for a new home — they took their home but cannot take their future,” said UNHCR Malaysia external relation’s officer Yante Ismail.

According to Yante, as of the end of May 2010, some 88,100 refugees are registered with the agency, comprising Myanmar ethnic groups (81,600), followed by Sri Lankans (3,500), Somalis (930), Iraqis (580) and Afghans (530).

Yante added UNHCR believes there are some 10,000 persons unregistered.