A BURMESE asylum seeker held in detention in Darwin has said he was sold by immigration officials in Malaysia to people smugglers.
By DAVID WOOD
The revelation came after the Federal Government announced a potential one-off deal with Malaysia where 800 asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat would instead be sent to Malaysia for processing.
The second part of the plan would see Australia accept 1000 refugees already processed by the UNHCR in Malaysia each year for the next four years.
The asylum seeker has been in the Northern Immigration Detention Centre after he made it to Ashmore Reef with a group of 10 Rohingya people on December 29, 2009.
The man said he was found to be a genuine refugee at the end of May last year.
He is from Burma's Rohingya minority group and said he was granted refugee status in May last year but is still waiting for his security clearance from security agency ASIO. The man wrote in a letter of his experience describing the Rohingya an oppressed stateless people from Burma who have been the target of ethnic cleansing by the military to stop the creation of a Rohingyan state.
He said his family home was demolished several times by authorities and when he moved to his mother's native village he found everyone subjected to violent abuse, extortion, military harassment and corporal punishment. He said he escaped to Thailand but could not stay there long because of hostility to Burmese people.
"In Malaysia, I was detained many times as Rohingya people (were subjected to a) constant cycle of humiliation, harassment and abuses," he wrote.
"I was involved with Rohingya refugee organisations and Burmese political opposition groups based in Kuala Lumpur.
"Once I was detained, I was sold by corrupt immigration officials to people smugglers, I was then sold to a large fishing boat and forced to work at the threat of being shot at sea on the fishing boat.
"I managed to escape the boat when it came into land to collect ice and ran from the boat ... "
He said in order to avoid further persecution he came to Australia by boat from Indonesia.
"In Malaysia, I was detained many times as Rohingya people (were subjected to a) constant cycle of humiliation, harassment and abuses," he wrote.
"I was involved with Rohingya refugee organisations and Burmese political opposition groups based in Kuala Lumpur.
"Once I was detained, I was sold by corrupt immigration officials to people smugglers, I was then sold to a large fishing boat and forced to work at the threat of being shot at sea on the fishing boat.
"I managed to escape the boat when it came into land to collect ice and ran from the boat ... "
He said in order to avoid further persecution he came to Australia by boat from Indonesia.
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