Saturday, November 27, 2010

Refugees give thanks for new life in Rochester

Mark Hare – Senior Editor
JEN RYNDA staff photographer
Ngo Hna, 19, at Aquinas Institute after a class earlier this month. She and her uncle arrived here two years ago from a refugee camp in Malaysia. She spoke not a word of English but is now fluent and learning Spanish.
I waited two years to come to the United States,” says Ngo Hna (pronounced No Nah), a refugee from Burma now living in Rochester.
When I arrive, they ask me about school,” she says in clear but halting English, “I say, I really want to go but I have no money.”
That was in November 2008. Ngo arrived from a camp in Malaysia with her uncle, speaking not a word of English. When she learned that she could go to the city’s Jefferson High School free of charge, “I was happy. I don’t know how to say ‘more happy.’ But I was very, very happy.”
Ngo, 19, told her story earlier this month at a Night of Gratitude and Understanding at Sacred Heart Cathedral, organized by Mary’s Place, a refugee outreach center and ministry of the Cathedral Community, which worships at Sacred Heart. It was a night for refugees and volunteers to express their thanks for each other.
On this Thanksgiving, many of Rochester’s newest residents will give thanks in their own way for their new lives.
Free education is a big surprise for refugees from places where the poor can’t afford tuition or supplies — barriers that keep them poor and ignorant.
In Burma, Ngo said, her mother couldn’t afford the separate notebooks she needed for each subject. In Rochester, she said, “I am so happy I have so many pencils. I have pens. I have notebooks.” Supplies most Americans take for granted, but life-changers for the refugees. “I am so thankful,” Ngo said.
When a sponsor stepped forward last summer and offered to pay for her tuition at The Aquinas Institute, Ngo, unable to contain her wide smile, says, “I say to myself, ‘I am a rich girl now. I am a smart girl.’”
Already having mastered several Asian languages, Ngo now is studying English and Spanish, and also trigonometry, biology and chemistry. She is doing well.
At Lake Avenue Baptist Church, Hkadin (pronounced Ka- DIN) Lee has encouraged the congregation, which includes hundreds of refugees, to come to the church for turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings, asking them to bring food and the gift of themselves. “I want the Burmese to know our American community and to have a chance to share our blessings. I want them to know this American tradition,” says Lee, who came here from Burma 20 years ago as a student and settled down. She works part time at her church and is a case manager at Mary’s Place, helping the current wave of refugees find apartments and the services they need to start over.
Settling in
Every year, hundreds of refugees arrive in Rochester, all of them through the sponsorship of the Catholic Family Center. Refugees, as distinct from immigrants, have come to the United States to escape political persecution, often life-threatening persecution. In recent years, between 600 and 800 refugees have settled annually in Rochester, says Jim Morris, associate director for Refugee, Immigration and Language Services at the Catholic Family Center. The largest groups come from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, Cuba, Congo, Somalia and Iraq. Like earlier generations of newcomers, they are eager to experience the promise of America, to go to school, work, learn American customs, to preserve their heritage while assimilating — while building new lives in new homes.
But it would be wrong to romanticize their journeys to America, or to imagine them on a straight-line upward trajectory to success and happiness. The physical and psychological pain refugees have endured often revisits in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder. As they work to learn a new language and to navigate a strange new city, they also must deal with depression, alcoholism, domestic abuse and other manifestations of that trauma; and yet, they are remarkably resilient.
Kathy LaBue, a parishioner in the Cathedral Community and the volunteer director of Mary’s Place, says many of the refugees from Burma — officially known as Myanmar — and Africa have been forced off their land and relocated in camps for many years. They typically arrive with nothing but the clothes they are wearing.
LaBue and some friends first noticed Asian newcomers in their neighborhood in early 2009, walking in flip-flops and wearing lightweight robes. They decided to collect coats and other winter clothing for them.
Within months the volunteer effort had moved into the rectory at the closed Holy Rosary Church on Lexington Avenue and started a new ministry, Mary’s Place. The building is open five days a week and gives donated clothing to anyone in need without question.
Cathedral Community volunteers joined with others from parishes in Webster and from Lake Avenue Baptist; students from the University of Rochester and Nazareth Colleges are coming in ever larger numbers. They tutor children and adults, give away household items and furniture as they are collected, and assist refugees in finding jobs and apartments.
Teenage volunteers play soccer with the children, read to them and share simple treats, such as popsicles and pieces of fruit. Mary’s Place does not serve daily meals, but LaBue leaves donated bread and peanut butter on the kitchen counter every day. By early evening the food is gone.
Mary’s Place is like the early 20th-century settlement houses that dotted city neighborhoods and helped European immigrants acquire the skills they needed to succeed in America.
In one room, 10 computers, each equipped with Rosetta Stone English language programs, are in constant use as dozens of refugees rotate in and out. In the kitchen, small children learn to play computer games and write simple English sentences. At Halloween, teenage volunteers taught the young Burmese how to carve jack-o-lanterns, make simple costumes and practice the art of trick-or-treating. The house quickly transitioned to Thanksgiving mode as the calendar turned to November.
Shelves are filled with donated books and simple games that introduce the children to American culture. On the third floor, six or seven young men practice guitar and drums, calling themselves the Thai Guys and learning to write and play rock songs in English.
The drummer is Moe Oo, 20, who arrived from a refugee camp in Thailand two years ago, attended Freddie Thomas High School and now Monroe Community College. He hopes eventually to study mechanical engineering. Right now, Oo helps his fellow refugees learn the RTS bus system.
LaBue says he’s an emerging leader in the Burmese Muslim community. “He’s a natural. People respect him.”
At the night of gratitude, the Thai Guys opened with a song they wrote, “Our Family”: “We welcome you as our brother or sister. We help each other; don’t hurt each other.”
Eight-year-old Justin Aung was the showstopper as he performed Justin Bieber’s “Baby.”
As the band played, teenage refugees rocked with the rhythm and captured photos and video on their iPods and cell phones.
At the end of the evening program, the newcomers stood at the front of the hall with their young Americans friends, and together they sang Woody Guthrie’s anthem, “This Land is Your Land.”
Helping each other
Muhammad Alias, 18 and a junior at Jefferson High School, arrived in Rochester in 2008 with six other family members from a Burmese refugee camp in Thailand. At Mary’s Place Alias supervises the younger children, making sure they rotate on and off the kitchen computers on schedule. Like Oo, his friend, Alias too is a natural leader, serving as president of the Jefferson Interact Club, which organizes a variety of community service projects.
Alias is confident he will graduate from high school and go to college. He landed his first Rochester job at the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and the Interact Club has given him a chance to reach out to others in need. “We grow crops (in a school greenhouse and garden) and we sell them,” he says. “We send the money to different countries.”
It is important to the refugees, LaBue says, to find ways to strengthen and stabilize their families while reaching out to the larger community. But the road to acculturation is difficult.
We see many young women who have had their first child at 12 or 13,” LaBue says. And when they arrive in this country, young people carry the expectation that they will marry in their teens. “But the parents insist that they wait, that they go to college,” says LaBue, a longtime Maplewood neighborhood resident. “They know their children can’t succeed here unless they go to school.”
Hundreds of refugees visit Mary’s Place every week, LaBue says, and while they are patient and eager to give and learn, they are no strangers to hardship. Being with them, she says, is a life-changing experience.
To know the Burmese is to appreciate all we have, LaBue says, and to be constantly surprised by the joy that flows from the simplest of moments.
The youth group from St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Webster decided to help Mary’s Place with a coat drive last spring. During the summer, students started coming to the center. They played games with the children, helped them read and just had fun.
It makes me feel like we’re not volunteers, but friends,” says Lisa Nesbitt, 17, a senior at Webster Schroeder High School.
Johanna Whitman, 16, a junior at Webster Thomas High School, tells how a young Sudanese girl, Awal, “attached herself to me when I came in, and then she called me and just wanted to talk.” Johanna keeps a picture of her young friend in her bedroom.
Lisa keeps a picture of her friend Akon, 8, also from Sudan, on her mirror.
Coming here makes you feel so loved,” Johanna says.
Continuing connection
Ngo Hna wants to be a doctor one day. It is easy to understand. She lost both parents to illness in Burma by the time she was 13. She went to live with her uncle in a camp in Thailand and later they were taken to Malaysia, where they lived in dread of being detained by soldiers when they could not offer proof of citizenship.
When she learned that she could go to school in the United States, Ngo Hna was determined to go as far as she can.
We never saw a doctor in my village,” she says. “… People die and we don’t know why.”
She’s not sure if she will return to her country, but somewhere, she says, she will care for others in need of medical attention.
Ngo Hna has some help on her quest.
Natasha Golub, 26, emigrated with her family from Russia to Virginia 18 years ago. She is now a graduate student in the M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and a volunteer at Mary’s Place. Golub has reached out to Ngo and invited her to spend a day with her at UR. “She stayed all day and went to all the lectures,” Golub says.
I know she’ll get into a good school,” Golub says, “and she’ll catch up quickly” as her language skills improve. “Definitely, anything I can do to help. I will do.”

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Home is Where the Heartbreak Is



Each year on November 11th we take a moment to reflect on the people who took part in both World Wars, and how their sacrifices made our current freedom possible. We also use that day to remember the atrocities that mankind has inflicted upon each other and strive to ensure it never happens again. The shocking thing is these atrocities are still happening on a daily basis in places that most of the world turns a blind eye to.

Armed with nothing more than a camera, and a desire to bring the plights of the Burmese people to the global conscious, director Desiree Lim went to Malaysia to document what was going on with the refugee situation over there. What she uncovers in her documentary, Home, is a horrific account of violence and corruption that has infested every single aspect of Malaysian society.

Home examines how Burmese refugees flee the violent rule of the military junta for the safer lands of Malaysia and Thailand. Yet once they have reached these places, the Burmese refugees are subject to a whole other level of corruption and violence that they could have never imagined. Immigration agencies such as RELA routinely blackmail the refugees with threats of deportation. They are also unable to obtain the proper paperwork needed to start a new life so many must work illegally. This not only subjects them to police brutality, but physical, mental and sexual abuse as well. Many of the women are either raped by their employers or are sold to human traffickers, while the men are forced to work on fishing boats where their survival rate is slim at best.

What is really disturbing about all of this is how much Malaysia relies on the illegal immigrants for their infrastructure. There are now over three million Burmese refugees working in Malaysia. They keep all the various businesses, especially the food industry, running. Even the Burmese who have landed legally are not exempt from the corruption. The military junta have deals with Malaysia and Thailand which enforces that all Burmese workers in those lands have to pay a 10% tax off their paychecks. The money collected from this tax would go straight back to military junta. This essentially ensures the revolving door of corruption goes on as those who refuse the tax, or are working illegally and cannot pay the blackmail fees, are sent back to Burma.


The film is broken up into two parts, though only one is truly successful. The first half of the film is a drama in which Desiree Lim enlists one of the refugees, Roi Roi, to help reenact some of the stories that came out of Lim’s conversations with the refugees. This section nearly kills the film in my opinion, as the untrained actors do not convey the range needed for this type of tale. To be honest, I was getting ready to write the film off by time the credits rolled on the first segment.

Luckily I stuck with the film because the second half, the documentary section, is what truly makes this film work. All the emotion that was missing from the first segment is on display here. It is both mesmerizing and heartbreaking to hear the refugees, some of which whom cannot show their face on camera, recount the horrors that they have lived through up to this point. Whether it is the pastor living in the jungle, the mother taking care of both bedridden husband and their four kids, the woman degraded and abuse by female soldiers, or the human rights advocate discussing the obstacles she faces, they all have the same devastating impact.

Home does not provide any answers, which is not surprising considering that this is an issue that is much more complex than you could even imagine. Yet Home is a film that more people really need to see and discuss. The world cannot continue to turn a blind eye on this issue.

For more information on this subject please be sure to visit www.projecthomemalaysia.com

Refugees' right to work in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: The government will decide next month whether refugees will be allowed to work in the country.
Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam told The Malay Mail yesterday that a special Cabinet meeting to discuss issues on foreign workers would be held in mid-December and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“It was scheduled for last week but had to be postponed as Muhyiddin was away on a working visit to Japan,” he said.
“So, we’ll only know what the Cabinet decides on refugees next month.”
Earlier this year, the Home Ministry had set up a laboratory, comprising representatives from various ministries and agencies, to study foreign workers issues.
“The laboratory came up with about 55 proposals, including the refugee matter, which will all be forwarded to the special Cabinet meeting,” said Mahmood.
“These are merely initiatives and proposals, and whether each will be approved or not is the prerogative of the Cabinet."
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Malaysia has 90,000 registered refugees as of September.
Refugees are currently permitted to do only odd-jobs in this country.
Malaysia does not have special laws for refugees and they are considered illegal immigrants. Issues involving them come under the Immigration Act.
Mahmood said the Home Ministry was mulling suggestions by various quarters, particularly the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), that refugees be allowed to work here while waiting to be resettled to third countries.
The MTUC had hoped they would be permitted to work in labour-strapped sectors to help overcome labour shortages and reduce the need to bring in foreign workers, and believed their proposal would enhance Malaysia's image as a humane nation.

Source : The Malay Mail

Ambassador's Spouses Visited a Refugee School

Recently, the spouses of the ambassadors of the Scandinavian countries visited a refugee school administered by the UNHCR to tell the children about their home countries and play together. The school visited by the Association was Refugee School in Loke Yew, Kuala Lumpur, run by Chin Student Organization.
First, the children were shown where the Scandinavian countries are located on the world map and what the flags of the countries look like. Next, representatives of each country presented some special features of their home countries.
Greenland and igloos were presented by Denmark, whereas Norway focused on snow, skiing and ski-jumping. The children attending the visit did not know that much English so other media had to be used t get the message across, for instance pictures and sounds.

The teachers also helped by offering translation assistance when needed. The pictures showed Nordic nature, its animals and the four seasons, especially winter.  The children were also shown video clips of Santa Claus and the seasons changing, something that here in Malaysia seems very exotic indeed.
After the country presentations, the children were divided into groups. In one group, they had the chance to cut and color one of the Scandinavian flags out of paper, in another to mold a snowman and another to make a snowflake out of paper with the country representatives helping them. The children also got a chance to play, as Gunilla Weaver from Denmark had brought Legos for the children to play with, which seemed to interest especially the boys in the class.

Then, there was a chance to try out warm winter clothes, and even try out skiing, although only in theory. At the end of the visit, there was ginger bread and juice for all. Luckily there was enough for everyone, because instead of the 30 something pupils that were expected to show up, there were almost 50 eager children taking part. The children were very excited about the visit, as normally the school does not have the means to arrange such activities.

The refugee school is run by volunteers. The children who study there belong to Myanmar’s (Burma) Chin minority who face persecution in their home country. The situation has forced them to flee the country in large numbers. The majority of the Chin are Christians. The Chin and other ethnic minorities from Myanmar constitute the majority of the refugees in Malaysia.
The school has altogether around 150 pupils and it is run by volunteers with very few resources. UNHCR together with its volunteers tries to arrange the refugees also other activities besides schooling. In Kuala Lumpur, UNHCR has 250 listed volunteers, yet it is still in short supply of new volunteers. Everyone willing to help can do so by, for instance, teaching English or handicrafts, depending on their individual skills. In addition, assistance in fundraising is welcome.
Diplomatic spouses lend a helping hand
The participants of the visit were Benita Sonntag-Saarela from Finland, Anette Hjelmborn from Sweden and Gunilla Weaver from Denmark. Yoko Horio from Japan came along to watch and to take pictures. In addition, members of the Finnish Society in Malaysia participated in planning the visit.
The school visit was arranged by the Association of Spouses of Diplomatic Heads of Missions in Kuala Lumpur the members of which are the spouses of ambassadors and high commissioners set in Kuala Lumpur. Every year the association chooses a charity cause, and the refugee school was selected as the charity cause for 2010. Besides giving classes to the children, the association helps the school to pay its rent and organizes a Christmas party at the school with presents for all the children.
For more pictures of the school visit, go to the Embassy of Finland Facebook page.
If you want to help UNHCR in its efforts in Malaysia, contact the volunteer coordinator Eva Ladeborn mlsluvol@unhcr.org.

Original news source: http://www.finland.org.my

UN refugee agency signals more fighting in Myanmar

Myanmar refugees make their way home from the Thai border town of Mae Sot on November 9. The UN refugee agency has said that most of the 15,000 people who fled from Myanmar earlier this week have returned from Thailand despite renewed post-election fighting near the border.


 GENEVA (AFP) - – The UN refugee agency said on Friday that most of the 15,000 people who fled from Myanmar earlier this week have returned from Thailand despite renewed post-election fighting near the border.
A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Adrian Edwards said fighting reportedly erupted again overnight after the Thai army cleared their return, with the potential for more clashes around the Myanmar villages of Maekata and Halokani.
"As of today most of the 15,000 Myanmar refugees who fled into Thailand earlier this week have returned across the border," Edwards told journalists.
Sites in northern Thailand's Tak province emptied by Wednesday while all 3,000 refugees further south in Sanghklaburi had disappeared by early Friday, he added.
"In the light of the confused situation and the risks to safety, UNHCR is advocating with the Royal Thai government that refugees be given further time before being encouraged to return home," Edwards said.
UN human rights experts on Friday expressed concern about the impact of the earlier fighting and reiterated calls for the release of "over 2,200 prisoners of conscience" including jailed opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
"The elections were billed as one of the final elements of the so-called seven-step roadmap to democracy," the four experts said in a joint statement.
"However, the renewed clashes and resulting humanitarian crisis as civilians fled to a neighbouring State highlight the many unresolved challenges that Myanmar faces," they added in a statement.
"True democratic transition will require genuine dialogue with all stakeholders including Aung San Suu Kyi, and the various ethnic minorities that were excluded from the electoral process."
The statement was made by the Special Rapporteurs on human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, on the right to freedom of opinion, Frank La Rue, on human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggyawas, and the chairman of the working group on arbitrary detention, El-Hadji Malick Sow.

Thousands cheer for Suu Kyi's release

 YOKOHAMA, Japan - World leaders applauded the release of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday, calling her a human rights hero and urging the country’s ruling junta to free more political prisoners.
“She is a hero of mine and a source of inspiration for all who work to advance basic human rights in Burma and around the world,” U.S. President Barack Obama said, using the former name of the nation of 50 million nestled between China and India.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said her long detention was a “travesty””and her release “long overdue”, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel described her as symbol of the global fight for human rights.
“Her non-violence and relentlessness have turned her into a much-admired role model,” Merkel said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said her dignity and courage were an inspiration to people around the world and cautioned Myanmar’s military leadership against imposing further restrictions on her, a theme echoed by France’s Nicolas Sarkozy.
“France will pay very close attention to the conditions in which Aung San Suu Kyi enjoys her newfound freedom. Any obstacle to her freedom of movement or expression would constitute a new and unacceptable denial of her rights,” the French president said.
Suu Kyi, 65, has spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention because of her opposition to 48 years of military rule in Myanmar and her house arrest was extended in August last year.
Her release gives Myanmar a powerful pro-democracy voice just days after a widely criticised election was won by a party backed by the military and is likely to rekindle debate over Western sanctions against the resource-rich country.
FLOWERS IN HER HAIR
“It is now crucial that Aung San Suu Kyi has unrestricted freedom of movement and speech and can participate fully in her country’s political process,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.
Her hair pinned with flowers, the pro-democracy leader emerged from her crumbling lakeside mansion in Yangon on Saturday to rapturous cheers from supporters who had chanted for her release alongside riot police armed with guns and teargas.
“People must work in unison. Only then can we achieve our goal,” the Nobel Peace Prize-winner said, before returning inside her home for the first meeting with her National League for Democracy party in seven years.
Despite her steely determination in confronting Myanmar’s generals, the country has moved no closer to democracy after nearly half a century of brutal military rule and more than 2,000 political prisoners remain in custody.
The United States first imposed sanctions in 1988 after the junta cracked down on student-led protests and has gradually tightened them over the years, with Obama extending them in May.
The European Union adopted a common sanctions stance in 1996, and countries including Australia, Canada and Japan also have restrictions in place.
“In the prisons of Myanmar there are still at least 2,100 political prisoners,” the Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Switzerland appeals once again to the government of Myanmar to release these people immediately as well.”

Burmese refugees rounded up and sold in Malaysia

The government will decide next month whether refugees will be allowed to work in the country

Source from Malaymail, Thursday

PETALING JAYA:Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam told The Malay Mail yesterday that a special Cabinet meeting to discuss issues on foreign workers would be held in mid-December and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“It was scheduled for last week but had to be postponed as Muhyiddin was away on a working visit to Japan,” he said.
“So, we’ll only know what the Cabinet decides on refugees next month.”
Earlier this year, the Home Ministry had set up a laboratory, comprising representatives from various ministries and agencies, to study foreign workers issues.
“The laboratory came up with about 55 proposals, including the refugee matter, which will all be forwarded to the special Cabinet meeting,” said Mahmood.
“These are merely initiatives and proposals, and whether each will be approved or not is the prerogative of the Cabinet."
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Malaysia has 90,000 registered refugees as of September.
Refugees are currently permitted to do only odd-jobs in this country.
Malaysia does not have special laws for refugees and they are considered illegal immigrants. Issues involving them come under the Immigration Act.
Mahmood said the Home Ministry was mulling suggestions by various quarters, particularly the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), that refugees be allowed to work here while waiting to be resettled to third countries.
The MTUC had hoped they would be permitted to work in labour-strapped sectors to help overcome labour shortages and reduce the need to bring in foreign workers, and believed their proposal would enhance Malaysia’s image as a humane nation.

Over 90,000 refugees in Malaysia

Thursday, November 11th, 2010 15:20:00
KUALA LUMPUR: There were 90,301 refugees in Malaysia registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) up to September this year.
Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk A. Kohilan Pillay said Malaysia cooperated with the UNCHR and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in repatriating refugees to their countries of origin or relocating them to a third country willing to accept them.
"Until now, 49,082 refugees have been sent to third countries, 68 per cent of them through the UNHCR and 32 per cent through IOM," he said in his reply to a question from Hamim Samuri (BN-Ledang) in the Dewan Rakyat, here, today.
Kohilan said issues related to refugees had not been raised by the source countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand during their bilateral talks with Malaysia.
"However, their embassies here would always assist in the documentation process for refugees to be relocated to third countries," he said.
To a supplementary question from M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) on claims that the Malaysian government allowed the exploitatiion of refugees, Kohilan said the UNHCR and IOM were responsible for looking after the registered refugees.
However, he said, Malaysia also assisted in terms of medical aid and educational programmes for them.
He said as there were no special laws for refugees in this country, issues involving them came under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and that refugees were considered as illegal immigrants.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a hero for all of us

We're with Barack Obama: Aung San Suu Kyi is one of our heroes, too. Her constancy, dignity, clarity, and almost superhuman restraint, all deployed through long lonely years in the quest for a better life for the people of Myanmar, have made her a beacon of hope in a land languishing under a shameless and cynical military junta.
Freed last weekend after spending seven years -and 15 of the last 21 -under house arrest, Suu Kyi picked up where she left off, calling calmly for peaceful debate, national reconciliation, and a tranquil transition to democratic institutions. In her way, however, she also speedily turned up the heat; giving a speech and meeting with ex-officials of her National League for Democracy, which last spring was outlawed by the regime. She is now reportedly seeking legal methods to revive the party.
Suu Kyi must know the risks she runs, and at age 65 her regained freedom is surely truly precious to her. A lesser person would have slipped out of the country, collected her Nobel Prize, and retired to enjoy the adulation of the whole world.
But prisoners of conscience are nothing if not stubborn. "I may be detained again," Suu Kyi told CNN. "I don't think about it ... I just do what I can do at the moment." No wonder Obama called her "a hero of mine."
What surprises us is that the generals who run the country let her out of jail. True, she had served her fixed sentence, but military dictatorships have no more regard for legal niceties than they do for electoral ones, and national elections last week, won by the generals' cronies and toadies, were certainly a sham.
Myanmar-watchers think the release was the generals' attempt to win a small measure of respectability around the world. If so, it won't work. A prisoner of conscience is a powerful symbol of a country in chains, but so is a released prisoner of conscience. As long as 2,100 or more other political prisoners remain in Myanmar's prisons, as long as a fraudulently-elected "government" does the generals' bidding, and as long as Suu Kyi keeps calling for reform, the generals will have no respectability. And they dare not lock her away again.

Refugee children tell of their stories via snapshots


By JADE CHAN

jade@thestar.com.my
Photos by BRIAN MOH


LIKE any other child, Peter Jackson and his friends dream of becoming doctors or singers.
However, they are unlike most children as these teenagers are Myanmar refugee children in Kuala Lumpur.
The works of these budding photographers are exhibited at the Everyone Has Hope exhibition, with the photos portraying an insight into their life in the city.
Against the odds: A group of Myanmar refugee children playing football without shoes, a photo taken by Amos
The photography exhibition, presented by the See the World Through Our Eyes project, showcases some 60 photographs shot by 16 refugee children aged between 13 and 16 — Zaw Naw, Hanah, Nilarson, Zaw Rein, Peter Jackson, Neem, Grace Elly, Alex, Andrew, Amos, Suithlawntial, Joan, Maliani, Jonah, Myo Toe Aung and Sam Tun.
The project, conducted by a group of Taylor’s College students and lecturer, saw the children learn the art of photography over three months.
Organised with the support of British Council’s Global Changemakers, Amnesty International Malaysia and several partners, the project was aimed at allowing these children to develop skills in the arts, have fun, and ultimately tell their story to the world.
Budding photographers: The refugee children with the Taylor’s College students involved in > SEE NEXT PAGE the See the World Through Our Eyes Project, and some of the project’s supporters.
Peter, a keen and bright 13-year-old, had no knowledge about holding a camera but has since developed a passion for photography.
“My favourite photo is Thinking, which is about a man thinking about his life. With the man’s back facing the camera, I had no idea if that was a sad or happy moment. I made it more interesting by shooting it in black and white,” he said.
Peter enjoys shooting a variety of themes like black and white, landscape, action, portrait and night shots.
“I also hope to get an SLR camera and travel around the world to take photos,” said the aspiring photographer and computer technician.
All smiles: A photo taken by Amos entitled ‘Be Happy.’
Peter said he also liked dancing and singing to hip-hop tunes, with his favourite song being Mizz Nina’s What You Waiting For.
Ma Liani, 14, hopes to continue pursuing photography and becoming a doctor to help her people.
“Photography allows me to show other people’s lives to the world,” she said shyly with the help of a translator.
Home Saloon and Thoughts depict a typical scene at the refugee homes, whereby they have to do their own haircut as they can’t go to a barber.”
Telling a story: ‘Thoughts’ by Ma Liani is a photo that she said depicts a typical scene at the refugee homes, whereby they have to do their own haircut as they can’t go to a barber.
On why she selected My Lovely Sister as her favourite photo, Ma said it captured the innocence of a baby who is yet to be affected by the difficulties in life.
Of his nine photos on display, football enthusiast Amos picked Everyone Has Hope as his favourite because it depicted a group of fellow refugee children playing football.
“Even though they are playing football without any shoes (because they can’t afford them), they are still enjoying the game while dreaming of being their favourite footballers,” said the Lionel Messi fan.
Confident is a self portrait of Amos standing against an interesting graffiti wall along Jalan Imbi.
“I happened to be walking along the road and this wall’s striking colours caught my eye. I composed the shot and got a stranger to help me click the camera,” he said.
The 14-year-old who dreams of being a famous singer hopes to take more interesting photos in the future.
Taylor’s College Canadian Pre-U programme lecturer Colin Boyd Shafer said the project was inspired by a documentary from India entitled Born Into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids.
“A few of my students said they wanted to do something after watching the film. I got to know about the Association of Chin Refugees (ACR) School, where my sister had volunteered more than a year ago,” said the Canadian who teaches World Issues.
“Taking out a leaf out of the documentary’s concept, we decided to teach the refugee children about photography but first had to get the cameras.”
Shafer and the students involved in the project got their families and friends from Malaysia and Canada to donate their used cameras. He also sold some of his photographs to buy new ones.
They then got a group of amateur and professional photographers to teach the children the basics of photography and also went on short field trips.
“The children initially started focusing on inanimate objects like flowers, but we encouraged them to be more creative and explore photojournalism to tell stories with photos,” said Shafer.
“We did not expect the photos to be as creative as what they are exhibited today. While the photos capture their interaction with friends and family and their daily activities, the fact is that they managed to capture moments that are unreal.”
Isabelle Choi, 18, said the most important lesson she learnt from the project is to always hope and show positivity, while Shafer hoped that similar projects would be held at other schools for refugees.
Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Nora Murat noted that the youth were the ones who served as a catalyst to affect change.
Commending the project, she said: “There are more than 80,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, who are forced to leave their native land due to political, environmental and other problems.
“These photographs help personalise the refugees’ issues and allow the public to understand their life, difficulties, fear and hope.”
The exhibition’s launch featured a special performance by the budding photographers who came dressed in their traditional costumes.
The photos are priced at RM10 and RM25 for the 4R and 8R sizes respectively. All proceeds will go to the ACR School.
Everyone Has Hope is held until next Saturday at the Annexe Gallery, 1st and 2nd Floor, Central Market Annexe, Jalan Hang Kasturi, KL.
The exhibition is open to the public from 11am to 8pm daily. Admission is free.
For details, call 03-2070 1137.

Friday, November 12, 2010

GERHARD HOFFSTAEDTER 08 Nov, 2010 01:00 AM Prime Minister Julia Gillard was in Malaysia last week to discuss her planned East Timor regional processing centre for asylum-seekers. She was welcomed with much pomp and ceremony. Malaysia has much to feel positive about. The previous week, Malaysian authorities had shut down a major human-trafficking syndicate operating out of the country's immigration department, one of those arrested was a senior official in that department. As a reward Malaysia received high accolades from the Prime Minister. Indeed, it is highly unusual in Malaysia for high-ranking officials to be arrested in such a public fashion. Malaysia is trying to reinvent itself, yet again, as a country that cares about human rights and international treaties. In 2009, the United States criticised Malaysia for its poor performance in the field of human trafficking. Its track record on asylum-seekers fares even worse. Malaysia's subsequent revisions and better enforcement of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2007, public relations and awareness campaigns, and training of enforcement officers is widely seen as appeasement and a smokescreen devised to shift focus on to the good work being done around human trafficking. Most strikingly, people smugglers now face a maximum sentence of 20 years' jail or a fine of RM500,000 ($A170,000) or both as a result of the Act. Previously, the Immigration Act carried a penalty of a $A5000 fine or three years' imprisonment, or both. There are two things very wrong here. The first is that the recent anti-trafficking sting has not played out according to the international rule of law. The nine arrested, seven of whom were from the immigration department and suspected of having taken bribes for their services, are now under arrest under the Internal Security Act. This is a relic of British colonial rule and allows the Malaysian Government to detain people without trial for two years. And this is renewable indefinitely. Thus it allows for indefinite detention without trial.


Prime Minister Julia Gillard was in Malaysia last week to discuss her planned East Timor regional processing centre for asylum-seekers. She was welcomed with much pomp and ceremony.Malaysia has much to feel positive about. The previous week, Malaysian authorities had shut down a major human-trafficking syndicate operating out of the country's immigration department, one of those arrested was a senior official in that department.
As a reward Malaysia received high accolades from the Prime Minister. Indeed, it is highly unusual in Malaysia for high-ranking officials to be arrested in such a public fashion.
Malaysia is trying to reinvent itself, yet again, as a country that cares about human rights and international treaties. In 2009, the United States criticised Malaysia for its poor performance in the field of human trafficking.
Its track record on asylum-seekers fares even worse. Malaysia's subsequent revisions and better enforcement of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2007, public relations and awareness campaigns, and training of enforcement officers is widely seen as appeasement and a smokescreen devised to shift focus on to the good work being done around human trafficking.
Most strikingly, people smugglers now face a maximum sentence of 20 years' jail or a fine of RM500,000 ($A170,000) or both as a result of the Act. Previously, the Immigration Act carried a penalty of a $A5000 fine or three years' imprisonment, or both.
There are two things very wrong here. The first is that the recent anti-trafficking sting has not played out according to the international rule of law. The nine arrested, seven of whom were from the immigration department and suspected of having taken bribes for their services, are now under arrest under the Internal Security Act. This is a relic of British colonial rule and allows the Malaysian Government to detain people without trial for two years. And this is renewable indefinitely. Thus it allows for indefinite detention without trial.

More than 90,000 refugees registered in Malaysia

By LEE YUK PENG

KUALA LUMPUR: As of Sept 1, there were 90,301 refugees from various countries registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees(UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Foreign Minister A. Kohilan Pillay told Parliament Thursday.
He said the Malaysian government had worked with UNHCR to either send the refugees back to their country of origin or relocate them to other countries willing to accept them.
"Until now, a total of 49,082 of them or 68% have been sent to third countries and 32% through the International Organisation for Migration," he told Hamim Samuri (BN-Ledang).
Kohilan said Malaysia was not a party to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugee 1951 and its Protocol 1967.
"Since there is no specific law here for refugees, they are subjected to the Immigration Act and all of them are regarded as illegal immigrants," he said.
The refugees issue was never raised by Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand during bilateral talks with them, he said.
"However, the embassies and high commissions based here would always assist in documentation for refugees to be relocated to other countries," he said.
Kohilan also told M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) that the refugees were provided with medical aid and education programmes.

Army should not decide the fate of Burmese refugees

By The Nation

Once again, the Thai government faces international condemantion over its treatment of victims fleeing from persecution or warfare

The smoke from the shelling in Burma has yet to disappear and the Thai Army is already forcing back the thousands of Burmese refugees who fled renewed fighting between Burmese troops and rebels from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). The fighting erupted in the wake of Burma's first election in twenty years, held last Sunday

Whatever happened to all the conventions and treaties Thailand signed with various international bodies, conventions that illustrate how much we care for our fellow human beings? Perhaps Thailand never officially recognised the concept of refugees in the first place, so therefore we are not legally obligated to any course of action, much less obliged to follow humanitarian convention. While it is easy to hide behind legal and technical jargon, there is still an ideal called international standards and norms that discourages the forcible repatriation of defenceless people back into conflict zones.

Less than 48 hours after the fighting erupted between Burmese government troops and a splinter group from the junta's long time ally, the DKBA, Thai military commanders were already mapping out the return of the refugees. The Third Army can argue otherwise, but excuse us for questioning its action.

This week's clashes between the junta and the DKBA were not the first and will not be the last, they are merely a sign of things to come. Ever since the DKBA broke away from the Karen National Union (KNU) in 1995, nobody has really believed that the good times between the Karen splinter group and the junta would last. In fact, none of the ceasefire agreements between the Burmese government and the various ethnic armies rest on solid ground. They are exactly what they appear to be: ceasefire agreements only - not comprehensive peace deals. And so when the man who orchestrated these agreements - General Khin Nyunt - was ousted from power, one could see that the writing was on the wall.

The junta - the State Peace and Development council (SPDC) - says it wants to bring all the ethnic armies under its command, but says nothing about an exit strategy for these groups. The junta only wants them to lay down their weapons and transform themselves into border guards under the direct command of the Tadmadaw (the Burmese armed forces). It says nothing about their historical investment, the fate of their leaders, nor the status of their people. In other words, the autonomous status they have previously enjoyed will just disappear overnight.

This is wishful thinking on the SPDC's part. Given the kind of demands the junta places on the ethnic armies, it is clear that peace has never really been on the cards. Yes, some of these so-called investments by the ethnic groups have been in opium cultivation and the illicit drug trade. But Burma knew all along what the ceasefires - first signed two decades ago - meant in real terms. It's just too convenient to label the "insurgents" drug-dealers when in fact the generals also benefit from the drug money that builds roads, hotels and other infrastructure.

Drugs and insurgency have always been two sides of the same coin in Burma, and no anti-narcotics policy has any chance of success unless it takes politics into consideration. If the junta is serious about peace, it should explore exit strategies instead of demanding that the rebel groups simply surrender and end the causes they have been fighting for since independence from Britain in 1948.

The clashes between the junta and the DKBA could intensify. Thailand needs to come up with a better way of handling the influx of refugees, if and when more fighting occurs. We should not leave it up to the Army to decide when and how these innocent victims are pushed back to Burma. It's not uncommon to see refugees return to villages infested with landmines and booby traps laid by Burmese troops. But the Thai Army doesn't to seem to have any problem with the possibility that these people could lose life or limb. To say the repatriation policy is heartless would be an understatement.

If our policy-makers can't find it in their hearts to do the right thing, they should know that the whole world is watching. If we continue to allow our bureaucrats and military leaders to get away with this kind of action - as they have done in the past with Lao refugees, the Rohingya boat people and others - then what kind of people are we?

Burma could become another Balkans, Jesuit warns


If the regime in Burma collapses, civil war could break out, causing great suffering and displacement - this is the opinion of the Jesuit Fr Bernard Arputhasamy, SJ, Regional Director of Jesuit Refugee Service Asia-Pacific, based in Bangkok.

Fr Bernard, who has just returned from a mission on the border with Myanmar, also confirmed the current ongoing humanitarian crisis: "More than 20,000 people of the ethnic group Karen have crossed the border to escape the conflict between the Burmese army and ethnic groups, following elections," he said.

He said the emergency response was being managed in a joint effort between the Thai government, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and a group of NGOs, including the Jesuit Refugee Service, who are bringing tents, food, drinking water, and medicine to the refugees.

Fr Bernard said: "The problem of ethnic minorities in Myanmar is very complex and goes back years, to prior to the country's independence. Many groups, such as the Karen, Shan, and Kachin are seeking territorial independence. They want their own state. Each group is internally divided and does not speak with one voice. In any case, the Burmese regime is the one ensuring territorial unity by force. If the regime were to collapse any time soon, I am sure there would be a civil war and Myanmar would end up like the Balkans or Iraq."

He continued: "I think sometimes people view Myanmar with too much romance, or the country is attributed with a sort of 'ideology of
democracy' which does not take into account the situation on the ground, the historical and social conditions. We demand freedom and human rights, but I think the solution is in a progressive involvement of the Burmese junta in a democratic transition, made of small steps forward...also with the intervention of states like China and India, which have strong trade relations with Myanmar. It is a long and tiring path, which also involves educating the diverse population of Myanmar in the prospect of a federal state. But, I think this is the only non-violent approach."

Thai Children’s Trust is appealing for funds to help feed Burmese refugees in the Mae Sot area, where more than half the refugee children are malnourished. If you would like to support their work see: http://www.thaichildrenstrust.org.uk

Source: Fides/TCT

MYANMAR REFUGEES IN THAILAND

A Myanmar refugee, who crossed over from Myanmar to Thailand when a battle erupted between Myanmar's soldiers and rebels, carries his relative at the Thai border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said.

A Myanmar refugee, who crossed over from Myanmar to Thailand when a battle erupted between Myanmar's soldiers and rebels, carries his relative at the Thai border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said. Several rockets or mortar bombs fell on the Thai side, a witness said. There were no reports of casualties.

A woman looks at a Thai soldier armed with rockets as she rides past on a motorcycle at the Thai border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said. Several rockets or mortar bombs fell on the Thai side, a witness said. There were no reports of casualties.

A group of Myanmar refugees, who crossed over from Myanmar to Thailand when a battle erupted between Myanmar's soldiers and rebels, get down from a truck at the Thai border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said.

A group of Myanmar refugees, who crossed over from Myanmar to Thailand when a battle erupted between Myanmar's soldiers and rebels, board a boat on the Moei river along the Thai-Myanmar border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said.

A group of Myanmar refugees, who crossed over from Myanmar to Thailand when a battle erupted between Myanmar's soldiers and rebels, walk across a stream of water at the Thai border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said. Several rockets or mortar bombs fell on the Thai side, a witness said. There were no reports of casualties.

A group of Myanmar refugees, who crossed over from Myanmar to Thailand when a battle erupted between Myanmar's soldiers and rebels, walk along a street side at the Thai border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said. Several rockets or mortar bombs fell on the Thai side, a witness said. There were no reports of casualties.

Myanmar refugees, who crossed over from Myanmar to Thailand when a battle erupted between Myanmar's soldiers and rebels, receive food from officials at the Thai- Myanmar border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said.

A Thai police stands guard over a group of people, who crossed over from Myanmar when a battle erupted between Myanmar's soldiers and rebels, at the Thai border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said. Several rockets or mortar bombs fell on the Thai side, a witness said. There were no reports of casualties.

A Thai soldier carrying a rocket-launcher runs for cover near the Thai- Myanmar border in Mae Sot, western Thailand on November 8, 2010, as clashes involving heavy weapons took place on the Myanmar side of the border. Rebel troops clashed with government soldiers in a town in eastern Myanmar after rare elections, leaving three civilians dead and causing thousands to flee across the Thai border, officials said. Eleven more people were injured when heavy weapons fire from ethnic rebels hit the town of Myawaddy in Karen State, said an official in the military-ruled country who did not want to be named.

A group of Myanmar refugees, who crossed over from Myanmar when a battle erupted between Myanmar's soldiers and rebels, walk alongside Thai soldiers at the Thai border town of Mae Sot November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said. Several rockets or mortar bombs fell on the Thai side, a witness said. There were no reports of casualties.

A man approaches the border fence as Myanmar's soldiers battle with rebels in Myanmar's Myawaddi town, opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, November 8, 2010. A clash erupted between Myanmar soldiers battle with resistance group ethnic minority Karen rebels and government soldiers in Myanmar's Myawaddy town opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Reuters witnesses on the Thai side of the border said. Several rockets or mortar bombs fell on the Thai side, a witness said. There were no reports of casualties.

Source : www.globalnational.com

Amnesty report blasts Malaysia over refugees

By ucanews.com reporter, Kuala Lumpur
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A refugee settlement in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia are subject to arbitrary arrest, detention in appalling conditions, and deportation to the countries they fled, an Amnesty International report has found.

The report ‘Abused and Abandoned: Refugees Denied Rights in Malaysia’, Amnesty said that refugees and asylum-seekers who arrived in Malaysia are treated as irregular or undocumented workers.

According United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) data, there are 88,100 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the organization, including 81,600 from Myanmar.

There are also some 6,500 refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries, including some 3,500 Sri Lankans, 930 Somalis, 580 Iraqis and 530 Afghans. There are some 19,000 children below the age of 18. Thousands more are unregistered.

Despite the large numbers, Malaysia is not party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and therefore does not formally recognize any form of refugee status.

“Refugees should be able to live with dignity while they are in Malaysia. The government should move immediately to issue refugees official ID cards and grant them the right to work,” said Chris Nash, Head of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International.

Amnesty International said that government issued ID cards would provide immediate protection for refugees and asylum seekers from arbitrary detention, harassment and extortion by police and the People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA, Malay acronym), a paramilitary civil volunteer corps.

Local Catholic groups have also backed the call for refugee identity cards as a form of protection against unscrupulous security officials.

“We have a duty, a humane duty to protect and provide assistance to these refugees. The government’s policy is having a negative impact.

“Many of them are suffering from stress related illnesses,” said a Church worker in Kuala Lumpur, who assists Mynamar refugees.

Refugees in Thailand speak about their plight

By Panithan Kitsakul, Bangkok
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People during the event organized by the Jesuit Refugee Service in Bangkok

Refugees are not people experiencing economic difficulties but people who face possible death if they remain in their home countries, participants at a World Refugee Day program in Bangkok learnt.

“As Tamils, my family was threatened. We were afraid to be killed by the military and therefore decided to escape,” said Thulika, 18, a Sri Lankan.

“In Thailand, even though we are not threatened, we are still not free … We can’t work legally. My brother and myself can’t go to school,” said Thulika, who came to Thailand four years ago to escape the civil war.

Thulika was one of two refugees who spoke about their plight during a June 20 Mass organized by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) to mark World Refugee Day and the service’s 30th anniversary.

Refugees did not leave their countries “because we didn’t have work … but because we were threatened and did not have a secure life,” Thulika told Mass participants, which included some 50 refugees.

Pakistan’s Ahmadi community, regarded by many Muslims as a heretical Islamic sect, faces similar danger.

“Ahmadis as a minority in Pakistan have been threatened since 1953,” said Shama, a young woman refugee from the community.

“In 1984, the president made our group illegal. We were attacked every day. My father was injured, my brother’s friends were killed.”

JRS’ task is to protect the lives of refugees and ensure they apply for refugee status, JRS director Father Bernard Arputhasamy said on the sidelines of the event.

The organization collaborates with the government, NGOs, civil society, the United Nations and the public for these purposes, said the priest.

JRS in Thailand presently works with refugees both inside and outside refugee camps in Bangkok and in areas bordering Myanmar.

In addition to providing food, clothing and medicine, the organization also arranges vocational training and language and computer classes for them.

SOURCE : UCANEWS

What can Myanmar refugee kids dream about?

By Panithan Kitsakul, Bangkok ( UCANEWS )
What can Myanmar  refugee kids dream about? thumbnail
Bishop Joseph Phibul Visitnonthachai, head of Thailand’s Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees

Bishop Joseph Phibul Visitnonthachai of Nakhon Sawan in Thailand has been executive director of the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR) since 1998.

The organization, established by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand, serves thousands of Myanmar refugees who have fled fighting in their country.

In this interview, Bishop Phibul speaks about the uncertain future these refugees face and the work COERR does in helping them fulfill their human potential.

Q: What kind of support does COERR provide for refugees?

A: COERR started assisting 16,000 refugees fleeing fighting in Myanmar in 1984. It has since continued to be a key partner with 17 NGOs and the UNHCR in addressing the material and security needs of more than 140,000 Myanmar refugees presently living in nine camps along the border.

For the Myanmar refugees in Thailand, COERR operates an integrated program in three strategic areas, namely protection of extremely vulnerable individuals, organic agricultural production and environmental protection, and peace-building.

Q: Does the government support COERR?

A: COERR carries out its programs in the refugee camps with the formal approval of the Thai Ministry of Interior, as required for all NGOs. COERR also coordinates with the ministry’s local officials in protecting the refugees.

In implementing some of our programs, COERR also works with several other government agencies such as the Forest Fire Control Division; the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

These agencies have provided us with training and technical advice.

Q: What are the challenges of working with refugees?

Mae La refugee camp along the Thai-Myanmar border, served by COERR

A: The basic problem the refugees face is that they are caught in a long-running and unresolved conflict in their home country.

Even after 26 years, there is still no viable large-scale solution in sight for them. They continue to live in a limbo-like existence in the camps.

While they have a safe refuge here, they are not allowed to leave to seek employment outside. As such, they are completely dependent on support from the donor community, through the services of the NGOs, for their survival. The refugees have nothing certain about their future.

The root causes of this problem are inside Myanmar — the continuing armed conflicts, lack of respect for human rights and general widespread instability. For as long as these remain unresolved, Thailand will continue to see an inflow of refugees.

It is very painful for us to see the refugees, especially youths, missing out on opportunities to fulfill their human potential through no fault of their own. Their perception of life and the world are limited by the fences of their camps.

A refugee mother, with tears in her eyes, once said to us, “What can I tell my children to dream about before they go to sleep?”

Q: Has anything changed in the nature of COERR’s work over the years?

A: COERR’s work has been evolving from that of a “relief model” to a “developmental model.” Our humanitarian developmental approach ensures that our current interventions are fully relevant to the dynamics of the situation that Myanmar refugees are in.

The underlying philosophy in all COERR programs is to optimize opportunities for beneficiaries to develop self-help skills and capacities, while pursuing their human potential to the fullest extent possible.

Q: Does COERR have adequate human resources and funding?

A child at a refugee camp

A: COERR is very fortunate to have competent and dedicated staff made up of 85 Thais, who work in close partnership with 325 refugees who comprise the camp staff.

The main work of the COERR Thai staff is to transfer knowledge and train camp staff in self-reliance capacity-building to the fullest extent possible.

It has been heartwarming to see the many Thais who are willing to work with us and refugees who want to help themselves and their communities.

Funding is an ongoing challenge though. Donors rightfully expect results and solutions. Moreover there are so many emergencies and disasters around the world that need donor funds.

We have to compete for donor funds, and this can only be successful if we continue to design and operate programs which are relevant, cost-efficient and effective in producing desired results.

COERR has been very blessed to have long-standing partnerships with several donors, notably Caritas Denmark, UNHCR and UNICEF.

Q: Do Thai people have a negative attitude toward refugees and your work with them?

Refugee children play in a stream at their camp

A: Although Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, this country has had an outstanding record of providing a safe haven for people fleeing fighting in neighboring countries.

More than two million refugees have come through this country in the past years. Nevertheless, the Thai government has policies that limit the movement and activities of refugees.

Issues related to pollution and competition for forest products come up periodically with Thai villages situated near the refugee camps.

It is important for agencies working with refugees in the camps to also recognize and address the needs of affected Thai villagers in order to avoid or reduce conflict.

Q: What do you expect of upcoming elections in Myanmar?

A: We cannot make predictions about Myanmar, particularly on political matters. Time and again, the generals who run the country have proven to be very unpredictable.

Our most reasonable expectation from the elections, if they are to take place, is that the generals will still have their own way, and the results will be exactly what they want them to be.

Church workers aid Myanmar refugees

By Vorapoj Singha, Bangkok ( UCANEWS )
Church workers aid  Myanmar refugees thumbnail
People on the move in Myanmar

Church workers have rushed humanitarian aid to thousands fleeing to Thailand from Myanmar to escape fighting between an ethnic militia and the military.

“Myanmar people feel unsafe to live there as casualty figures on the Myanmar side of the border could not be confirmed,” said Suree Vinitchop, director of Santhawamaitri Suksa school run by St. Paul de Chartres nuns in Mae Sot.

“The violence has also spilled over to the Thai side,” she said.

Fighting broke out on Nov. 8 between Myanmar troops and rebels belonging to the Karen ethnic minority who seized key government offices in Myawaddy, on the Thai-Myanmar border.

The violence came just one day after the military dictatorship’s first elections in 20 years.

Suree led a Catholic team on Nov. 9 to aid Myanmar civilians who fled into Thailand.

“Villagers living in at-risk areas on the Thai side of the border were evacuated to safer areas,” she said, adding that they will plan other kinds of assistance after studying the situation further.

According to Thai media reports, at least 10 people, including Thais and Myanmar villagers, were wounded when stray shells landed on Thai territory.

The fierce fighting forced at least 20,000 Myanmar people, mostly Karen civilians, to flee across the border into Thailand. They were allowed to take refuge at the Border Patrol Police unit in Mae Sot on the Thai side of border.

Father Rangsipol Plienphan, secretary of Nakhon Sawan diocese, which covers Mae Sot district, said he will provide aid once he gets first-hand information about the situation.

“The Myanmar (people) are fleeing to our country now because there have been reports of more clashes,” the priest said.”If it is possible, I hope the negotiations will work out so the refugees can return to their country.”

Thailand shelters around 110,000 Myanmar refugees in nine camps along the border. Some have been there for more than two decades.

Church center shelters Myanmar refugees

By Vorapoj Singha, Bangkok ( UCANEWS )
Church center  shelters Myanmar refugees thumbnail
Mae La refugee camp in Thailand, home to around 50,000 refugees from Myanmar

More than 200 Myanmar refugees escaping post-election clashes have taken refuge in a Church-run children’s learning center across the border in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand.

“Our learning center has become a temporary shelter to keep some of them safe. The Myanmar people who walked to our center were starving and exhausted,” said Brother Victor Gil Munoz, director of the La Salle Learning Center, which educates mostly stateless children living in the border area.

Fighting broke out on Nov. 8 between Myanmar troops and rebels belonging to the Karen ethnic minority, a day after the military-run country’s first elections in nearly two decades.

By Nov. 10, however, the estimated 20,000 refugees who fled Myawaddy, opposite the Thai town of Mae Sot, have gone back, after Myanmar military reportedly took control of the area.

The situation in Sangkhlaburi, however, “remained tense as fighting continued, forcing several thousand refugees to flee to Thailand,” said Brother Munoz.

According to him, most of the people who have fled were women, children and the elderly.

Thai authorities have declared the area around Sangkhlaburi a war zone as some rocket-propelled grenades landed on the Thai side of the border.

The Catholic bishops’ National Catholic Commission on Migration (NCCM) has sent relief goods to the La Salle Learning Center, said NCCM coordinator Somsak Sae-ung.

He added that NCCM and the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees will “provide Myanmar civilians with humanitarian assistance until the situation on the other side of the border returns to normal.”