FLIGHT FROM BURMA

University of Evansville freshman Hlawn Kip Tlem mixes in quite well with her fellow students. She graduated from an Indianapolis area high school, majors in civil engineering and is enjoying her first taste of college life.Tlem's road to UE, though, is unlike that of anyone else on the campus. She and her family fled military rule in Burma (Myanmar) and went to Malaysia, were granted refugee status and then came to the United States in 2008.

So, one would think Tlem has some interesting stories to tell in the dorm room over pizza — a dish that she said she has come to really enjoy while living in the U.S. But Tlem said she remembers little about her distant past in Burma. She also is does not publicly discuss her views of the political situation in the country, where the United Nations, U.S. State Department and other organizations have said that violations of human rights are commonplace.

"It was just like a normal life. Go to school, study, play around," Tlem said of her upbringing in the country in Southeast Asia.

While growing up, "I didn't really think about going to another country. But my parents had to leave, and we had to leave ... I was really young."

The family of five children belongs to the Chin ethnic minority group, primarily found in western Burma near the country's border with India. It's been identified by world media as one of Burma's most frequently persecuted populations.

While in Malaysia, Tlem's family was granted refugee status by the United Nations. Those fleeing persecution may apply to live elsewhere in the world, but the screening process is lengthy. According to UE, only one half of 1 percent of those who apply are eventually relocated to another country.

UE says the United States admits 70,000 refugees each year, and many of them, including the Tlems, are helped by organizations such as Church World Service. The Tlems came to Indianapolis in 2008 and were assisted by Exodus, a nonprofit refugee resettlement organization affiliated with Church World Service. Exodus helped the family secure its most basic needs.

Learning fluent English was Tlem's biggest challenge in the U.S. "I spoke a little bit of it, word by word," she explained. "I was really afraid to question or ask people will be you please slow down."

But she picked it up quickly and excelled academically at Southport High School. While honing her language skills, she earned a full-tuition Lilly Endowment scholarship to attend UE. Her immediate family remains in the Indianapolis area.

Tlem has been given some big platforms from which to share the story of her family's journey. She spoke recently at the Church World Service 65th anniversary celebration in New York.

While there, she was interviewed for a CBS documentary called "Refugee Resettlement: Faith Communities Making a Difference."

"I only knew I would be there to give a brief speech (in New York)," she said. "Then I found out CBS wanted to interview me about the challenges I faced as a refugee, how difficult it was to adjust, and how I got involved with my community. At the time, I didn't realize it would be nationwide. I was nervous but excited."

The program also will feature stories about refugees from other countries. Locally, it will air on WEVV-CBS44 at 5:30 a.m. Oct. 2. For those who aren't awake at that hour, it will be available online at cbsnews.com/religionandculture.

Since the school year began at UE, Tlem has met a couple of a local Chin families and has enjoyed settling in, just as she did during her high school years in Indianapolis.

Students from nearly 50 countries are enrolled at UE.

"I love the people in Evansville," Tlem said.

Source : http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/sep/27/flight-from-burma/

Measles alert began with flight from Malaysia to U.S.

Report cites unvaccinated refugee from Myanmar

By Mark Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

The measles alert in Milwaukee began when an unvaccinated 23-month-old refugee from Myanmar flew here from Malaysia, according to a report Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The child flew to Wisconsin on Aug. 24 and was reported to have laboratory-confirmed measles on Sept. 7. Since then measles have been confirmed in two more people in Milwaukee, both of whom appear to have acquired the disease through exposure to the refugee patient, said Paul Biedrzycki, the city's director of disease control and environmental health.

Biedrzycki stressed that some of the three cases are still undergoing laboratory testing by CDC.

The CDC's report in "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly," said a case reported a little earlier, Aug. 26 in California, also involved an unvaccinated Burmese refugee, a 15-year-old boy, who had flown to the U.S. on the same day as the Milwaukee refugee.

The patients in Wisconsin and California flew on different flights. However, three other unvaccinated refugee children who were on the same flight as the boy in California have also come down with confirmed cases of measles: two very young children in Maryland and a 14-year-old in North Carolina.

"Whether these three patients were exposed to measles in Malaysia or during travel to the United States is unclear," according to the CDC report.

Thirty-one refugees flew on the same flight from Malaysia as the California patient, arriving in seven other states: Maryland, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. To prevent further transmission of measles, refugee travel from Malaysia to the U.S. has been suspended.

Biedrzycki said the new report raises several key points for public health officials: Imported measles cases are on an upswing in the U.S. at the moment; air travel is increasing the speed, efficiency and geographical range that viruses such as measles can spread; and finally the appearance of cases in refugee populations brings its own challenges.

When tracking viruses among refugee populations, health officials sometimes encounter language barriers and cultural issues having to do with refugees' access to American health care and their comfort and familiarity with the system.

Biedrzycki said Milwaukee health workers are working with refugee resettlement agencies such as Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities, as part of an outreach effort to identify and control the spread of measles. He said the city was able to alert local health care workers very early to be on the lookout for cases with symptoms that match those of measles. The symptoms are cold-like in the beginning, followed by a red, blotchy rash that starts at the hairline and migrates down the arms and legs.

Biedrzycki and the CDC have recommended that clinicians who see patients with suspected measles cases should be isolated and have blood samples and nasal swabs taken.

The CDC report recommended that U.S.-bound refugees in Malaysia who show no evidence of immunity be vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella, and have their travel to the U.S. postponed for 21 days after vaccination.

Source : jsonline.com

Chin Refugees Extorted, Beaten up by Thugs in Malaysia

MALAYSIA :: A number of Chin refugees in Malaysia have faced extortion and physical attacks by a group of South Asian thugs in recent weeks.

Mr. Ngun Thawng, 54, was beaten up by four thugs near his rented flat in Kuala Lumpur when he came back from a church service around 4pm on 11 September while another incident on 10 September involved Mr. Cung Lian Hup, 31, and Mr. Bawi Lian Thang, 26, being attacked by a taxi driver and his four friends.

The Chin victims said they were stopped, threatened and beaten up by a group of thugs believed to be from South Asian countries after all their belongings including mobile phones and money were forcibly extorted.

"A group of four people near our house asked if I had a cigarette and I said I didn't. Then, they started asking if I had money and I said the same. After that, they asked for a mobile phone and I didn't have any. So, they slapped me three times for no reasons," explained the 54-year-old refugee from Thangzang village in Thantlang Township, Chin State.

The two Chin refugees, Cung Lian Hup and Bawi Lian Thang, got beaten up in an unprovoked attack when a taxi driver from Kotaraya in Kuala Lumpur deceived and took them to a group of thugs.

"We were driven to a different location and when we got there, there were his four South Asian friends waiting for us. They started asking for 1,000 Ringgits each. As we didn't have any money with us, they forced us to make a call to our friends and family members," the Chin refugees told Seihnam newsletter.

"As our calls didn't get through to anyone, they started threatening, beating and groping to see if there was anything valuable that they wanted to take from us. Finally, we managed to escape to the nearby Chinese restaurant," the victims told CDAC (Chin Disciplinary Action Committee).

The two Chins were said to have lost their UNHCR registration cards and 60 Malay Ringgits to the South Asian thugs.

One of the two Chin victims was taken to hospital with the help of the Malaysian police after the incident was reported to the Police Station.

Earlier this month, a group of six Chin refugees working on the cultivation farm near Kampah were robbed and attacked by thugs in the early morning while they were still in bed.

Source: Chinland Guardian

6P Confusion Embraces Refugee Communities in Malaysia

MALAYSIA :: Many Chin as well as other Burmese refugees have raised grave concerns in fear of deportation to Burma over the documents issued by the Malaysian Immigration following the 6P registration beginning on 23 August.

The documents issued after the taking of individual biometric information at the Putrajaya Immigration Office include some indications that translate 'return to origin' or 'returning to your country of origin', according to sources.

Some refugees who have had their fingerprints taken in Kuala Lumpur are alarmed after finding out they have been issued documents with different writings on them.

The UNHCR in Malaysia have been criticised for not being able to give clear messages regarding the 6P exercise and accused of 'betraying' the refugees to undertake the biometric processes without its details being properly explained.

A Burmese refugee, Kyaw Htoo Aung, was quoted as saying that the UNHCR tricked them [refugees] in a bid to clear corruption dealings with refugee processes.

Yante Ismail, External Relations Officer at the UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur, said: "UNHCR has received confirmation that the Government of Malaysia has no intentions of deporting UNHCR document holders who register under the 6P programme."

"UNHCR has learnt that the document issued to refugees and asylum-seekers during the registration was the same as the document issued to migrants. This was a document that carried the words “Return to my home country” for the purpose of providing that option to migrants. But this does not apply to refugees and asylum-seekers," posted Yante Ismail today.

David Nun Tho, Coordinator of Falam Refugee Organisation (FRO), admitted the 'confusion and anxiety' created among Chin refugee communities in Malaysia while stressing that they should go ahead with the biometric registration as the community-based organizations (CBOS) have a constant liaison with UNHCR.

Yante Ismail also acknowledged the 'inadequate communication' that has caused a bewildering atmosphere, adding: "When UNHCR learnt about this yesterday, we immediately raised this matter with the Government who will now rectify the document for all UNHCR-registered refugees and asylum-seekers."

The new biometric system requires all foreign individuals including refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR to undergo the taking of their bio-data and information when entering Malaysia.

It is estimated that there are over 86,000 refugees from Burma registered with UNHCR in Malaysia, of which more than 35,000 are of Chin ethnicity.

 

Source: Chinland Guardian

Sports Day for Chin Refugee Children Held in Malaysia

MALAYSIA :: The 5th Annual Sports Day, organised by the Chin Student Organisation (CSO), drew about 500 people including more than 400 Chin refugee students and 32 school teachers at the Australian International School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last Saturday.

The much-awaited event, attended by both the students aged between 6 and 17, and their parents as well as other guests based in Malaysia, opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by CSO Chairman Roger Khua Hup and Principal of the Australian International School Malaysia (AISM) Mr. David Kilpatrick.

A group of more than 400 Chin refugee children sang a powerful Chin patriotic song called 'A Hme Ram Laitlang (Beautiful Chin Hills)', with all the attendees standing in silence and awe.

"It was a great day. Both the students and their parents enjoyed the event. We also had a great support from friends from the international communities and local Malaysians," one of the CSO teachers, Biak Hmun Lian, told Chinland Guardian.

"Most of us, the teachers, nearly melted into tears when the children sang the Chin song. Seeing the innocent children, who do not seem to realise why they are here in Malaysia, enjoy the singing and activities made us both happy and tearful," added the editor of Seihnam Newsletter, published weekly in Hakha-Chin dialect by CSO.

The programmes also involved Chin traditional dances performed by Grade II and III students aged between 12 and 15, and other sports activities including football, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, 100 and 200 metres sprints, and other games for younger children.

In the evening session, the winning teams and individuals were presented prizes, which was followed by a ceremony of giving achievement awards of the first, second and third prizes to outstanding students in the mid-year examination.

Roger Khua Hup, CSO Chairman, said: "We cannot express our thanks and gratitude in words to our friends, families, individuals and staff members for the enormous support and contribution not only for the sports day but for other activities. In particular, we would like to extend our thanks to the AISM for allowing us to use the school."

The AISM Principal was quoted as saying that he was happy to have participated in the event till the end and the AISM school is open to any activities for Chin refugee children.

One of the AISM teachers said: "We are grateful and much encouraged when we see all the activities and works done for the children. And we have great respect to you for your collaboration and unity throughout the programmes."

The Chin Student Organisation (CSO), a community-based group formed in March 2005 by a group of Chin university students to provide informal educational services to Chin refugee children stranded in Malaysia, currently runs six learning centres with 450 to 500 student every year.

According to an estimate by the UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur, there are around 5,000 refugee children in Malaysia, of which about half are of Chin ethnicity from Burma, a country ruled by successive military regimes since 1962. 

Source: Chinland Guardian

Dr Cynthia, the Burmese refugee whose clinic treats 150,000 patients a year

Cynthia Maung at her Mae Tao clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand, where she treats 150,000 Burmese a year. Photograph: David Longstreath/AP

 

She is Burma's most famous doctor, yet Cynthia Maung – or Dr Cynthia, as she is known locally – has not lived there for 20 years. She can't: she's a political refugee who had to flee the military junta.
Like the 150,000 patients she treats every year, Maung is in self-exile in the Thai frontier town of Mae Sot on the Burmese border.
So it is down a muddy alley that Maung treats – for free – both those Burmese living in the many border refugee camps and those who risk death and arrest to illegally cross the border and get paracetamol, give birth or undergo cataract surgery.
There are no TVs, no food trolleys, no vials of anti-bacterial hand gel at Maung's Mae Tao clinic. Instead, there are makeshift spittoons for the blood-orange betel nut Burmese men pack into their mouths, woodblock hospital beds with flower-embossed plastic laminate for sheets and stray dogs wandering among the concrete wards.
It's a step-up from the rickety barn that once housed the clinic, which today treats everything from diabetes and post- traumatic stress disorder to cancer and epilepsy. But malaria and diarrhoea are the most common – yet easily preventable – complaints, Maung says.
"The Burmese government wants power, not health, [because] people who are sick or suffering they can control more," she says, referring to the fact that Burma spends 3% of its gross domestic product on healthcare but 40% on its military.
The junta has historically branded Maung an insurgent and terrorist but, ironically, Burmese army personnel and government officials are among her patients.
Everyone here, it seems, is a victim of the regime and the decades-long civil war between government militias and various ethnic groups.
"There's no hospital where I come from – it's rebel territory five hours away in the jungle," says an ethnic Karen paddy farmer as he awaits a clinic-made prosthetic leg after his own was blown off by a landmine. "Dr Cynthia is our only option."
An ethnic Karen herself, Maung fled Burma by foot over 10 long nights in 1988, then aged 28. Armed with just a shoulder bag full of limited medical tools – among them a stethoscope, thermometer and two pairs of forceps – she expected to stay just three months on the border, where she and thousands of other political dissidents of the '88 uprising could "continue the struggle".
"Now it's been 23 years," she says with a shrug. The struggle is ongoing.
Maung used to sterilise her equipment in a rice cooker. Two decades on, her donor-funded clinic runs an annual budget of 100m baht (£2m) and is staffed by nearly 700 doctors, medics, nurses and volunteers.
Many of Maung's former students have left Mae Tao to practice in Burma and "backpack medics" regularly cut through dense jungle to help the hundreds of thousands in Burma's most inaccessible areas.
While the Burmese government has done its best to deter her, killing and arresting medics and burning down all but one of six field clinics, Maung has stretched funds to establish schools, orphanages and safe houses on the Thai border, even though her activities are illegal in Thailand.
Maung's own statelessness – as well as the Thai government's recent threat to close the border camps, potentially pitching hundreds of thousands of refugees back across the river – is a reminder that theirs is a desperate situation without a clear end in sight.
The area around Mae Sot is now home to as many as 150,000 ethnic Karen refugees scattered in camps that were first established in the 1980s. The Karen have been fleeing Burma for decades to escape civil strife and repression at the hands of the military junta. Some refugees were born and have spent all their lives in the camps.
But the 51-year-old doctor is ever hopeful. "No camp should ever be forever," she says. "Luckily many civil society groups working [on the border] in education, healthcare and policy development are helping to build a real future for Burma."

Source : guardian.co.uk

Silence is deafening

Petra Gimbad

THE lack of response from the public, in relation to the Australia-Malaysia refugee swap a few months ago, comes as no surprise to refugee rights activists.

An average citizen, who perceives that there are more than enough Third World foreigners in Malaysia, will regard the agreement as a win-win solution.

Receiving 800 refugees in exchange for 4,000, therefore, sounded like a fantastic deal. Following the announcement, a journalist from Al-Jazeera wished to get in touch with refugees willing to provide their honest perspectives on the issue. I was working with Afghan and Myanmar refugee communities at the time.

The first person who said yes, proclaimed, "Of course! I want this to happen – I want to go to Australia, for me and my family. I want to thank the Australian government and hope they will resettle me."

This refugee's response summarised the kind of hope that goes hand-in-hand with bleakness. While politicians, learned academics and well-informed critics were and still are debating the legality of the agreement, for many refugees in Malaysia, any flicker of hope is good news.

Refugees in Malaysia are in a country of transit. Fully conscious of their lack of choices, feelings of desperation run high: having being forced to accept and struggle to live with the reality that resettlement involves years of waiting at best for the luckiest.

As of May, UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Malaysia registered 94,400 asylum-seekers and refugees. In addition, new asylum-seekers are processed every day.

Colleagues from UNHCR Malaysia estimate the office receives about 400-500 new asylum-seekers daily. The chance of being counted among the 4,000 heading to Australia is slim. Still, it offers a choice many hope to take.

(Contextualise this figure against UNHCR's latest figure of 10.4 million refugees worldwide, which does not include the 4.7 million refugees registered under UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.)

Although the agreement came as good news to many, this must have come as bad news for refugees who left for Indonesia via the smugglers' route.

This may be precisely the hoped-for response, given that Malaysia and Australia are involved in the Bali Process. Supporters of the bilateral agreement argue that hard measures must be taken to clamp human smuggling.

Since the announcement of the bilateral agreement, Thailand expressed interest in a similar swap agreement with Australia. For reasons which may prove similar to Malaysia, taken up, this could be good news to a government with 100,000 refugees and an estimated unregistered 53,000 in nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, not to mention to the refugees themselves.

Less certain is the impact of such agreements on human smugglers' profits. Would the bilateral agreement have attracted even more refugees to Malaysia who hope to be resettled under the Malaysian Solution?

Desperation breeds its own logic. In the face of harm, optimism becomes a survival tactic. Despite the many risks, refugees continue using smugglers.

The discovery that 128 refugees were dropped off in Indonesia instead of Australia as promised, did not deter others from setting their sights on Australia as a destination point, even after the agreement was announced. These refugees either did not know or could not believe that they will be taken to Malaysia.

Additionally, smugglers have started the process of rerouting – sending refugees from Indonesia to New Zealand as an alternative to Australia. This group in question consisted of Sri Lankan refugees who do not have resettlement as a durable option even with UNHCR status.

Canada, which is further away and more perilous as a destination may be a preferred route (and a more lucrative option) as well in future.

In the end, the agreement's feasibility as a solution depends on who you are and which country you are coming from – as a government, citizen or refugee.

A refugee learns not to think in terms of days or months. Many think in decades. Some, especially those who have spent most of their lives in war and transit, think in generations: "I do not want resettlement for myself," they say. "My time is over. I want it for my children's education and for them to build new lives. It is OK if I die here, as long as they can live."

Sadly, to a refugee, this agreement matters. Although it is heartening that the solution was struck down by the Australian High Court, there are millions more around the world in search of a home.

Petra works with children and refugees. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

The Sundaily

62,156 children, teens registered under 6P programme

By The Sundaily

PUTRAJAYA (Sept 12, 2011): A total of 62,156 children and teenagers 18 years old and below have been registered during the foreign workers biometric registration stage which ended on Aug 31.

The biometric registration stage is part of the government’s 6P programme to build a database and control the influx of foreign workers into the country.

“Based on the statistics given by the Immigration Department, 40,500 of these children are aged 12 and below and 21,656 are between the ages of 13 and 18 years old. We believe most of them are the dependents and wards of the workers.

“We are also not putting off the possibility that these children are working for certain unscrupulous employers. These kids could also be exploited by the human trafficking syndicates.

We’re still in the midst of studying their real status as it is against government policy to employ underaged children or for foreign workers to bring them into the country,” Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told a press conference today.

When asked whether these children were born in Malaysia, Hishammuddin said a more detailed study needs to be done, adding that this data is from those who voluntarily registered as “there could be more unregistered illegal foreign workers in the country.”

The Immigration Department’s numbers also showed that 1,015,852 illegal foreign workers want to work in Malaysia and only 95,446 illegal foreign workers want to return home.

The statistics also shows that 966,542 are already illegally employed while 257,524 are unemployed.

Hishammuddin said the ministry was also investigating unscrupulous companies, which had the licence to help manage the biometric registration process, for allegedly bringing in foreign stakeholders and directors who have “their own agenda.”

“We have identified a few companies who were given the responsibility to aid us but have taken advantage of the situation and we are investigating them. These companies might have foreign interests in them, making them a foreign interest cat's paw.

“Some of these companies brought in foreign stakeholders or directors and they might have their own foreign agenda. Some of them have taken money early, some have taken more money, some of them have abused their privileges. There are also those that brought in these foreigners to link up with other foreigners.

“We are micro-managing the 6P programme. Don’t think I don’t know what is going on,” said Hishammuddin, adding that in the long run, the human trafficking problem must be seen from a bigger context of money laundering, drug smuggling and terrorism.

Touching on the Malaysia-Australia refugee swap, he also said that Malaysia is on the right track in light of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s decision to amend the law in light of their High Court’s decision not to send the first batch of refugees to Malaysia.

“This is about Australian law, Australian court and Australian decision. Prime Minister Gillard has stated her intention to amend the law. This means that we are on the right track.

"As I’ve said before, we respect Australian law. And if their court decision is made based on their law and yet they make the decision to amend the law, it shows that we’re on the right track,” said Hishammuddin.

Chin Refugees Robbed, Their Shelter Burnt Down in Malaysia

By Chinland

11 September 2011: A group of six Chin refugees working in a farm were robbed in their sleep by a gang of 'unknown' thugs in Kampar, Perak State of Malaysia in the early morning of last Monday.

The Chins, Bawi Thang from Matupi, Ling Bu, Näng Khäng, Ling Ling, Bawi Näng and Zo Hlei Thang from Mizo Community, were forced to sit down and threatened to give all their belongings by a group of thugs with weapons, according to one of the victims.

"The door was knocked in the middle of the night, and we thought it was the Malaysian authority on patrol trying to arrest us. On answering, one of our friends was beaten up with hoes," one of the victims told the Voice of Chin Refugees.

The victim said four of them managed to escape and run away while the thugs were busy shouting at and beating up Niang Khaing inside their shelter.

A total amount of 250 Malaysian Ringgits and mobile phones were taken away, according to the victim, who is currently living with one of the Matu Community leaders in Kuala Lumpur.

Later in the morning, their shelter, farm tractor and other vehicles belonging to their employer were set on fire.

The Malaysian police are known to be investigating the incident after their employer made a report to the authority.

One of the Chin community leaders said the Chin refugee men are physically in good health but still mentally distressed and tired.

The Burmese Refugees are usually targeted by Robbers and a lot of indian taxi drivers in KL robbed the refugees coming from Ipoh and Cameron Highland.

US TV to Broadcast Refugee Resettlement into America

14 September 2011: CBS, a major US commercial broadcasting TV network, is to launch a 30-minute programme about refugee resettlement into the US on 25 September 2011.

In a statement released yesterday, CBS said many out of about 70,000 refugees admitted in the US in 2010 are assisted in their settlement by national faith-based humanitarian agencies such as the Church World Service (CWS).

The programme, entitled 'Refugee Resettlement: Faith Communities Making a Difference', will feature profiles of people including a young Chin woman, Hlawn Kip Tlem, from Chin State, Burma - a Southeast Asian country ruled by the military regime for decades.

Fleeing to Malaysia, Ms. Hlawn Kip Tlem along with her family came to settle in Indianapolis, USA four years ago, with little knowledge of English.

"She recently graduated from Southport High School and won a fully paid four-year scholarship to the University of Evansville. She talks about her experience adjusting to a new life in a new land," added the statement.

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) that has been actively involved in raising awareness of Chin refugees for years, and has liaison with CBS Religion Unit on the project welcomes the upcoming TV programme.

Salai Bawi Lian Mang, CHRO Executive Director, said: "We are very happy about the 'Refugee Resettlement' programme of CBS News. We believe that it will enormously make the Chin people from Burma and their situation known to the American public."

The Church World Service (CWS), which has assistedd in the resettlement of 500,000 refugees across the US since 1946, recently celebrated its 65th anniversary at the City Museum of New York.

Erol Kekic, Director of Immigration and Refugee Program for CWS said resettlement alone is not enough for solving problems facing refugees but it is a part of the solution.

Last year, the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC), one of the CWS affiliates, organised a program which pairs Christian and Muslim volunteers to co-sponsor a new refugee who has no ties to friends or family in the US, according to the CBS statement.

The program also include interviews with Erol Kekic, Director of Immigration and Refugee Program for CWS, as well as Vincent Cochetel, Regional Representative for The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who speaks about the issue.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that in 2010 more than 43 million people were forcibly displaced by conflicts.

Recognizing Statelessness

The role of government in our lives is now the subject of pitched debate in Washington and throughout the country. But no matter your view on this contentious issue, nobody questions the profound responsibility of public institutions, here and abroad, to safeguard basic rights against discrimination, to equal justice and to political participation.

Sadly, those rights are denied to some 12 million people around the world who have been denied citizenship -- rendered stateless -- often by discriminatory national policies that exclude minorities even when they have lived in a country for decades or centuries and have well-established ties to both the land and culture of their places of residence.

From the Roma in Europe, to Dominicans of Haitian descent, to Bidoon in Kuwait and other countries, stateless communities suffer from marginalization and neglect. Most lack identity documents and cannot register a marriage, death, or birth of a child. Without documentation, many stateless people cannot open a bank account, own property, find legal employment, access public health services or enroll in school. And because they have nowhere else to go, they -- and their children, and their children's children -- live in a state of permanent uncertainty.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and it is a fitting time to consider the current dimensions of this terrible problem, which first gained international attention when the Nazis systematically denationalized German Jews. In its own effort to focus attention on the issue in this anniversary year, the United Nations hosted a photo exhibit on statelessness at its headquarters in New York this summer, which graphically depicted the dimensions of the problem and offered powerful contemporary stories of stateless people in Nepal, Kenya, the former Soviet Union and elsewhere.

A young Muslim girl (Rohingya) picks up her identity document provided with UNHCR assistance in Burma's N. Rakhine State. (Photo courtesy of UNCHR)

Among the most egregious stories are those of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority from Burma's Northern Rakhine State who have lived in Burma for centuries, but were excluded from the country's 1982 citizenship law and continue to suffer persecution, including forced labor, confiscation of property, rape, and other forms of violence. While approximately 750,000 Rohingya remain in Burma, an estimated three million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Saudi Arabia, and other countries in the region. Although some have been recognized as refugees, many others lack documentation and are at risk of arbitrary arrest and detention, deportation back to Burma, human trafficking, and other abuses. The Obama Administration is working with other donor governments, international and non-governmental organizations, and affected countries in the region to provide assistance to the Rohingya and identify durable, humane, and comprehensive solutions for their plight.

Globally, the U.S. government is concerned about statelessness as a human rights and humanitarian issue that impacts prospects for democratization, economic development, and regional stability. U.S. diplomats around the world are working to persuade other governments to amend nationality laws that discriminate against women and minorities and cause statelessness, provide documentation to stateless persons, protect them from abuse, and ensure they have access to basic services. And we are the single largest donor to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the agency mandated to protect stateless people, contributing over $700 million last year.

Happily, the laws of the United States do not contribute to the problem of statelessness; we grant citizenship through birth in the United States, birth abroad to a U.S. parent if statutory requirements are met, and through naturalization. To be sure, certain provisions of the 1961 Convention would make it difficult for the United States to move toward ratification -- for example, the Convention limits voluntary renunciation of nationality in ways that would conflict with the right to voluntary expatriation that is recognized under U.S. law. Nonetheless, we support the objectives and principles of the 1961 Convention as well as the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and we believe other governments should consider accession and implementation as a means to minimize statelessness.

Preventing and reducing statelessness requires first that governments, civil society groups, and international and regional organizations recognize the problem, its causes, and the suffering and indignities it inflicts on millions of people around the world. But recognition is not enough -- governments around the world must be pressed to take strong action to address this eminently solvable problem and ensure a brighter future for millions of disenfranchised and vulnerable people.

Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Treat domestic workers right - or they won't come

The signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Indonesia and Malaysia on the May 30th was supposed to signal another wave of recruitment of domestic workers from Indonesia to Malaysia.

Three months later, recruitment agencies and the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) are crying out for the prime minister to intervene on the apparent continued moratorium by Indonesia, which Papa claims has left 35,000 families desperately waiting for domestic workers.

An official from the Indonesian Embassy, however, states that there isn't a moratorium in place - Indonesian women simply do not want to work as domestic workers in Malaysia.

It is now for us to ask ourselves - do we have safe and sustainable migration policies in place, and legal frameworks to safeguard the rights of domestic workers in Malaysia?

The MoU signed three months ago with Indonesia does not protect the rights of the domestic worker to Malaysia.

The Employment Act does not recognise her as a worker but as a servant. This non-recognition opens the gate to exploitation.

The right to a day off in a week is vague in the MoU as it also states that a worker can instead choose to be paid for overtime wages, without any means to account for what constitutes overtime and how this will be documented.

Similarily, her other rights as a worker are not recognised, and no standard contract for work has been developed by the Human Resources Ministry.

These omissions and commissions only reveal that the current policy and the MoU do not protect rights of the domestic worker and thus domestic workers and their families find that Malaysia is no longer a safe place to seek employment.

Tenaganita's recent study on recruitment in Indonesia revealed that families do not want to send their daughters to Malaysia as their lives will be threatened.

Every parent wants to ensure the safety of their children. Malaysia is seen as a dangerous place, especially for women and domestic workers.

Recent media reports of domestic workers being locked away for nine days with little food, and found dead of severe abuse, only reinforce this belief.

Malaysia's response, however, to these systematic violations of rights has been one of arrogance.

In The Star newspaper on Sept 6, labour director general Sheikh Yahya Sheikh Mohamed stated: "We recruit maids from 11 other countries besides Indonesia. We are not desperate for maids. We can always hire from other countries if they don't lift the ban".

The above statement smacks of arrogance of a person who believes that since we are "rich", we can move anywhere to recruit.

The poor are vulnerable and thus can be cheated, exploited and abused. There is absolutely no soul searching from the government of the day to identify and address the root causes of these serious concerns faced by domestic workers and employers today.

Unfortunately this is the glaring truth which we, in particular the government is denying and not taking effective steps to address it.

The recent court judgement on the refugee swap deal between Australia and Malaysia, which was a slap on our policies and positions, should awaken us to change.

Without ensuring the protection of rights of migrant workers, we cannot achieve sustainable employment. There is a global outcry which is now manifested in the ILO Convention on domestic workers.

Malaysia voted against it. As nations move forward to develop sustainability, Malaysia slides back, moving towards exploitation and practices of slavery.

Employers must realise that they can no longer expect cheap labor, demand an 18 hour work day and silence the migrant worker with the support of the state.

The government can no longer sustain this form of modern day slavery manifested in domestic labour.

There must be respect for the dignity of the person, decent work ensured and work out a due diligence of process from recruitment, employment and return.

Dr Irene Fernandez is executive director of Tenaganita.

Source : Malaysiakini

Chin Refugee Father of Three Killed in Mala

05 September 2011: Chin refugee, Pu Za Thio, a father of three children, was brutally beaten up to death by a gang of Indians around 11pm at night in Puchong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last Saturday.

The Indian men on motorbikes started an unprovoked attack on them while Za Thio, 35, and his brother Thla Bawi, 28, were seeing their Chin friend off to a 14 bus stop near their house, according to the brother.

"Za Thio and his friend were attacked while they were on their way to a toilet near the bus stop. And both of them ran but in different directions. His friend managed to escape," said Za Thio's brother.

Later in the night around 1am, the body of Za Thio was later found dumped in a nearby ditch after a thorough search by Chin friends and communities in the neighbourhood.

Za Thio's body has been kept at Serdang Hospital and there are some injuries on his face, according to the Malaysian Police.

His friend, who cannot be reached at the moment, was quoted as saying that he was beaten up and left by the gang after falling onto the ground unconscious. 

"His wife is deeply grief-stricken and keeps crying. No one can talk to her properly," said Salai Biak Hmun Lian, editor of Seihnam newsletter in Malaysia.

Mr. Za Thio, survived by wife Par Cia and three children aged between 7 years and 6 months, was described by friends and communities as a kind and humble man.

"We are much saddened by the sudden loss of our friend, who is a good and kind-hearted man," said Siang Nawl, who is from the same village, Hriang Khan in Thantlang Township, Chin State.

No detailed information about the killers has been known up to date although the police are conducting an investigation.

One source from Malaysia suggested that the Chin victim must have been killed by mistake as there was a riot in the Malaysian capital prior to the incident.

A postmortem examination is known to have been carried out in the hospital today but the result has not been revealed yet.

Pu Za Thio and his family are UNHCR-registered Chin refugees from Burma in Malaysia awaiting to get transferred to a safe country under the UNHCR Resettlement programme.

The funeral service is scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia tomorrow.

Refugee from Myanmar who came to Grand Rapids joins National Guard to give back to U.S.

The drill sergeant had never heard such a thing.

When he handed out uniforms for basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., one soldier in the platoon thanked him for the new clothes.

That would be Pvt. Saw Blut, a Grand Rapids resident and refugee of Myanmar who joined the National Guard a few months ago.

“I have never heard a complaint from that soldier. I think he exceeds the discipline here,” said Staff Sgt. Jamar Mabry.

Blut, 20, said he simply wants to repay the country that is his new home.

“This country, they help me. I want to give back something, too,” he said.

Blut was to graduate last week from basic training then attend classes in vehicle maintenance before returning to Grand Rapids later this year.

Persecuted in his homeland

His background might explain why Blut does not take freedom or opportunity for granted.

He belongs to an ethnic minority called the Karen people who have been persecuted in the nation formerly known as Burma for decades. It is estimated that 200,000 people have been driven from their homes in decades of war, with more than 100,000 living in refugee camps across the border in Thailand.

“The soldiers would come into our villages, kill and terrorize our people and burn our houses,” Blut said.

Soldiers also threatened to force him to serve in the army against his will, Blut said.

Blut grew up in a poor rural village near Pathein, the fourth-largest city in Myanmar. Plumbing, electricity and paved roads are considered luxuries.

Blut said he speaks with his parents several times a year on a shared line, but disconnections and interference on the line make it difficult to keep in touch. He has a sister and brother who still live in Myanmar, as well.

Blut said that, in 2007, “I ran out of my country and went to Malaysia.”

A new home: West Michigan

He later applied for refugee status and arrived in Grand Rapids in 2008. As a refugee, he has legal permanent resident status and can apply for citizenship after five years. The U.S. military accepts citizens and those with permanent resident status.

Blut was assisted in resettlement by Grand Rapids-based Bethany Christian Services, where officials say hundreds of refugees from Myanmar have settled in West Michigan in the past half-dozen years. More than 60,000 have settled in the United States since 2005.

Lukas Ziomkowski, a program supervisor for Bethany, called Blut “a great example of how successful refugees can be in our community and communities across the country. He is extremely motivated. He doesn’t take anything for granted. He is very hard working.”

He added that he was not entirely surprised Blut chose to enter the military.

“I think he quickly became patriotic and thankful toward our country as well. I could see him doing this as a way of giving back.”

To hear Blut tell it, the rigors of basic training are more like a walk through clover than some physical ordeal.

“Basic training was great. I have great battle buddies,” he said.

Drill sergeant Mabry said he wouldn’t mind having a few more like Blut.

“If we get more soldiers like that, it will have a positive influence on everybody. If you tell him to do something, he gets it done.”

And why not?

“It’s a very good country,” Blut said. “We can say whatever we want. You can practice any religion you want.

“If you try hard, there is a lot of opportunity.”

US cable claims refugees fearful of rampant police extortion

By Between news 

Eight kilo­me­ters away from the Prime Minister’s Office in Putra­jaya, 1,000 unreg­is­tered Myan­mar Chin refugees live in fear of police harass­ment in prim­i­tive jun­gle camps.

Located on the bor­der of palm oil plan­ta­tions, the camps where the refugees stay, were built four years ago, a famil­iar set­ting where the police made raids, threat­ened unreg­is­tered refugees with arrests and depor­ta­tion extort­ing money in lieu of an unthreat­ened sojourn.

The United Nations High Com­mis­sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have not max­i­mized their efforts to reg­is­ter the Myan­mar Chins leav­ing them sus­cep­ti­ble vic­tims for extor­tion­ists, traf­fick­ers and abu­sive employers.

A UNHCR reg­is­tra­tion is the only pro­tec­tion for refugees and their chil­dren. Access to legal med­ical care, edu­ca­tion and the right to res­i­dence are the priv­i­leges given to a refugee with a UNHCR reg­is­tra­tion card.

Out of the 20,000 Chin refugees esti­mated by unof­fi­cial US sources in the cable, 7,805 have been UNHCR-registered as of July 1, 2006.

Sur­viv­ing under uncer­tain cir­cum­stances with very lit­tle money, uncer­tain pay­ment of wages, get­ting med­ical care in emer­gency sit­u­a­tions and fac­ing arrest and depor­ta­tion if caught by Malaysian author­i­ties, the unreg­is­tered Chin refugees are the most exploited refugees in Malaysia.

Inter­viewed by a trans­la­tor, a Chin refugee said that he would rather die in his present cir­cum­stances than go back to Burma. Burma must have given him hell before he left that country.

It will be a great bless­ing if the Samar­i­tan move by the United States to reset­tle the suf­fer­ing thou­sands of Chin refugees in Malaysia will hap­pen as learned from the cable.

The sad saga of Chin refugees in Malaysia

A leaked 2006 US diplomatic cable tells about how the police extorted money from Burmese Chin refugees in exchange for their freedom.

(Free Malaysia Today) -  A leaked US diplomatic cable from 2006 has revealed the plight of the Burmese Chin refugees stranded in Malaysia and the urgency sought by the US diplomats for Washington to “settle large numbers of these refugees as quickly and smoothly as possible”.

The KL-based US diplomats also urged their government, in particular the Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration (PRM), to grant additional funding to help out the Chin refugees.

“Institutional funding is needed to provide basic medical treatment and English language training for both children and working adults.

“Given our pending resettlement of thousands of Chin refugees from Malaysia, modest investments in immunizations, medical care and English language training in Malaysia’s relatively low cost environment would yield substantial benefits for both the Chin refugees and the United States,” said the US embassy cable dated Nov 20, 2006, to the State Department in Washington DC.

The cable was leaked by whistleblower site WikiLeaks and handed over to Raja Petra Kamarudin’s Malaysia Today website which published it today.

The US diplomats also stated that they would work with the relevant US government agencies and the UN’s refugee agency – the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – to resettle the Chin refugees away from Malaysia quickly.

The additional funding sought by the US diplomats were also to be used for basic medical and education needs of the Chins and other refugee communities in Malaysia, stated the cable.

Camps close to Putrajaya

The cable was a result of a visit by the US embassy’s political officer to two jungle camps housing about 200 Chin refugees near the Malaysian administrative capital in Putrajaya on Nov 15, 2006.

The cable noted the physical characteristics of the camps, which were made out of shelters using wooden poles, plywood for elevated sleeping platforms, and fluttering sheets of plastic for roofing and walls.

The cable also pointed out that “a sense of devotion to Christianity pervaded each camp”.

“Each camp contained a church structure (the largest and most well-maintained structure in each camp) and all of the approximately 100 square foot dwellings viewed by political officer prominently displayed crosses or pictures of Jesus.”

The refugees at the two camps have not been visited by UNHCR representatives during at least the past two years, said the cable quoting the refugees, and as many as seven camps containing up to 1,000 Chin refugees were erected within five miles of the Prime Minister’s office in Putrajaya in 2006.

The interests of the Chin refugees in Malaysia were taken care by the Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR) and the Chin Refugee Committee (CRC). The cable stated that CRC claimed to have about 17,400 members in Malaysia.

Police extortion

The Chin refugees had also informed the visiting US diplomat of their fear of police extortions and raids.

The diplomat stated that the police were aware of the presence of the camps.

One-time refugee finds home in U.S. Army

FORT JACKSON, S.C., Sept. 1, 2011 -- In 2007, a then 16-year-old Saw Blut was a refugee in Malaysia, having fled his home in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, a country in Southeast Asia.

Today, the Army private will carry his platoon's streamers in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, as he officially graduates Basic Combat Training here, becoming an American Soldier.

As a Christian in the mostly Buddhist country, and as a member of the Karen tribe, one of the country's minority groups, Blut and his family found themselves among the thousands being persecuted. The government, Blut said, sought to overtake his tribe and six others in the country.

The government was also trying to force him to join the military, he said.

"I thank God every day for freedom and the strength he gives me to carry on in order to help my family and others," said the now 20-year-old Blut, who became a U.S. citizen during a family day swearing-in ceremony Wednesday.

After taking refuge in Malaysia, Blut was eventually granted asylum in the United States through the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. In 2008, he settled in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he later enlisted in the Michigan National Guard.

Blut, who left behind his parents and siblings, said his journey was not without fear.

"I was a bit scared of being caught but I was more determined to seek freedom," he said.

For Blut, becoming a Soldier is an outward expression of his gratitude.

"It's my way of giving back to the country that has given so much to me," he said.

His fellow Soldiers and cadre members say his positive and grateful attitude is evident in their interactions.

"He is a genuine and positive individual and will contribute to our Army because of it," said Staff Sgt. Jamar Mabry, one of Blut's drill sergeants. "Because of him, we start every training event with a small prayer. He brings positive energy wherever he goes."

Likewise, Blut has learned from them.

"I have gained so much from this experience; discipline and an appreciation for others, especially my drill sergeants,"he said.

Blut's performance in BCT has resonated with his battle buddies, as well.

"He is one of the hardest workers in our bay and always has something positive to say. I believe that the troubles he has gone through make him who he is today," said Pfc. David Macedo. "Hearing about what Pfc. Blut has gone through makes me feel bad about my complaining. It makes me more appreciative of the life we have here in the (United) States."

The word, "troubles," does little to capture the depths of the hardship and persecution Blut and his family had to endure.

"My family farms. They grow and tend rice fields," Blut said. "Often times they would have to give up their profits and crops to the Burma government or they would burn the villages. I even recall some people being beat and even killed."

Despite his struggles, Blut makes it clear that he does not share his story with others to gain sympathy.

"I want others to know that because of my trust in God for everything, I am able to take part in the training and opportunities the Army has given me. I thank God, my drill sergeants and my battle buddies for what they have instilled in me."

Blut will attend Advanced Individual Training here with the 187th Ordnance Battalion.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Although both Burma and Myanmar are acceptable, the Leader follows Associated Press style guidelines by referring to the Southeast Asian country as Myanmar. Pvt. Saw Blut refers to his native country as Burma.

Free Malaysia Today: The sad saga of Chin refugees in Malaysia

A leaked 2006 US diplomatic cable tells about how the police extorted money from Burmese Chin refugees in exchange for their freedom.
KUALA LUMPUR: A leaked US diplomatic cable from 2006 has revealed the plight of the Burmese Chin refugees stranded in Malaysia and the urgency sought by the US diplomats for Washington to “settle large numbers of these refugees as quickly and smoothly as possible”.

The KL-based US diplomats also urged their government, in particular the Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration (PRM), to grant additional funding to help out the Chin refugees.
“Institutional funding is needed to provide basic medical treatment and English language training for both children and working adults.

“Given our pending resettlement of thousands of Chin refugees from Malaysia, modest investments in immunizations, medical care and English language training in Malaysia’s relatively low cost environment would yield substantial benefits for both the Chin refugees and the United States,” said the US embassy cable dated Nov 20, 2006, to the State Department in Washington DC.

The cable was leaked by whistleblower site WikiLeaks and handed over to Raja Petra Kamarudin’s Malaysia Today website which published it today.

The US diplomats also stated that they would work with the relevant US government agencies and the UN’s refugee agency – the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – to resettle the Chin refugees away from Malaysia quickly.

The additional funding sought by the US diplomats were also to be used for basic medical and education needs of the Chins and other refugee communities in Malaysia, stated the cable.
Camps close to Putrajaya

The cable was a result of a visit by the US embassy’s political officer to two jungle camps housing about 200 Chin refugees near the Malaysian administrative capital in Putrajaya on Nov 15, 2006.
The cable noted the physical characteristics of the camps, which were made out of shelters using wooden poles, plywood for elevated sleeping platforms, and fluttering sheets of plastic for roofing and walls.

The cable also pointed out that “a sense of devotion to Christianity pervaded each camp”.

“Each camp contained a church structure (the largest and most well-maintained structure in each camp) and all of the approximately 100 square foot dwellings viewed by political officer prominently displayed crosses or pictures of Jesus.”

The refugees at the two camps have not been visited by UNHCR representatives during at least the past two years, said the cable quoting the refugees, and as many as seven camps containing up to 1,000 Chin refugees were erected within five miles of the Prime Minister’s office in Putrajaya in 2006.

The interests of the Chin refugees in Malaysia were taken care by the Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR) and the Chin Refugee Committee (CRC). The cable stated that CRC claimed to have about 17,400 members in Malaysia.

Police extortion

The Chin refugees had also informed the visiting US diplomat of their fear of police extortions and raids.

The diplomat stated that the police were aware of the presence of the camps.
“The refugees said local police visited the camp regularly in search of refugees who have not yet been registered with the UNHCR.

“In exchange for the refugee’s freedom, the police take all money possessed by such individuals.
“According to the refugees, the police have not alerted immigration officials to the presence of the camp, as they do not want immigration officers to destroy the camp and thereby impede the police’s extortion activities,” stated the cable.

The Chins also told the US diplomat that the police had asked them to dismantle their church structure following complaints from local Muslim villagers about the “unregistered” church’s existence in the jungle near their homes.

Funding for medical needs

The cable further stated that the refugees had also complained about the UNHCR’s perceived unwillingness to register “non-emergency” refugee cases such as theirs. The UNHCR documentation was the refugee’s only form of protection from deportation.

The refugees have informed the US diplomat that they hoped for a quick resettlement into a third country and were firm in their stand not to return to Burma. They were also unaware that the United States planned to resettle thousands of Chin refugees from Malaysia.

The political officer also mentioned of a visit to a refugee medical clinic organized by the ACR. The clinic, located in a non-descript two-storey walkup in Kuala Lumpur, was manned by two French doctors, one French nurse and a Burmese doctor. They were all volunteers.

The cable stated that the clinic treated 30-40 persons during its once weekly operating hours for a charge of RM10 per patient. The clinic was funded solely by donations from Chin and other refugees and has only limited medical instruments and medicine supplies.

A volunteer doctor informed the US diplomat that funding was necessary to establish a medical outreach program to treat sick individuals in the refugee camps, and to treat psychological trauma, as well as pre-natal care among the refugees.

Refugees timourous from police shakedowns, US cable claims

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 – As many as 1,000 unregistered Myanmar Chin refugees live in fear of police harassment in primitive jungle camps within 8km of the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya, according to US diplomatic cables leaked today.

The camps, located on the fringe of palm oil plantations, were set up as far back as four years ago and some are known to the police who have carried out regular raids, threatening the unregistered refugees with arrests and deportation while allegedly extorting money in exchange for letting them go.

According to the leaked cable released on Malaysia Today, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have been unhelpful in registering the Myanmar Chins, deeming them to be “on-emergency” cases and leaving them more vulnerable to exploitation.

The UNHCR registration provides the only form of protection to refugees, including children. Without it, they are unable to have access to legal medical care and education and risk being shipped home if caught by the authorities.

While Malaysian law forbids refugees from working in the country, many at the Putrajaya camps were employed illegally as day labourers in the palm oil plantations for RM25 a day, but were often denied even that pay for one reason or another.

The cable noted that as of July 1, 2006 only 7,805 Chin had been UNHCR-registered as “persons of concern” in Malaysia, a moderate increase from 6,566 at year-end 2005.

However, unofficial US sources in the cable put the number of Chin refugees in Malaysia much higher, at about 20,000.

“Working on the plantations for little money and uncertain payment of wages, receiving access to medical care only in some emergency situations, and facing arrest and deportation if captured by Malaysian authorities, unregistered Chin refugees living in the jungle remain among the most vulnerable and exploited refugees in Malaysia,” the cable said.

It added that one Chin told its translator: “We would rather die here than go back to Burma”; it added that the refugees “remained unaware that the United States planned to resettle thousands of Chin refugees from Malaysia”.

The lives of refugees in Malaysia have come under the spotlight since Putrajaya admitted to a human trafficking problem and signed a deal with Canberra to exchange refugees.

A young Myanmar refugee waves as he arrives for a demonstration outside the UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur December 3, 2008. — Reuters pic

The first boatload of refugees held on Christmas Island were set to be shipped to Malaysia as early as next week, but the deal, known popular in Australia as the “Malaysian Solution”, has crumbled after an Australian High Court deemed it illegal two days ago.

CHIN REFUGEES STRUGGLE WHILE AWAITING UNHCR REGISTRATION AND RESETTLEMENT

Summary

1. (SBU) In their primitive jungle camps and at a medical clinic they established in Kuala Lumpur, Burmese Chin refugees recently described to us their harassment by police and their perceptions of UNHCR indifference regarding their plight. 

Up to 1,000 Chins live in jungle camps abutting palm oil plantations within five miles of Malaysia's seat of government in Putrajaya. Approximately 60 percent of these and other Chin refugees remain unregistered by the UNHCR, largely due to the UNHCR's decision last year to cease new registrations of non-emergency refugee cases. 

Working on the plantations for little money and uncertain payment of wages, receiving access to medical care only in some emergency situations, and facing arrest and deportation if captured by Malaysian authorities, unregistered Chin refugees living in the jungle remain among the most vulnerable and exploited refugees in Malaysia. 

During our recent meetings with over 100 of these refugees, they conveyed their impatience to get UNHCR documentation, their desire for basic medical care and English language training, and their hope for resettlement to a third country as soon as possible.  End Summary.

Chin Refugees Struggling in Jungle Camps

2. (SBU) Together with two Burmese Chin refugees acting as guides and interpreters on November 15, poloff visited two jungle camps housing about 200 Chin refugees near the Malaysian administrative capital in Putrajaya.  The camps are located on the edges of palm oil plantations where some of the refugees find work as day laborers. 

The camps shared common physical characteristics.  In small clearings hacked out of the jungle, the Chins erected temporary shelters using wooden poles, plywood for elevated sleeping platforms, and fluttering sheets of plastic for roofing and walls. 

A sense of devotion to Christianity pervaded each camp.  Each camp contained a church structure (the largest and most well-maintained structure in each camp) and all of the approximately 100 square foot dwellings viewed by poloff prominently displayed crosses or pictures of Jesus. 

Neither camp had been visited by UNHCR representatives during at least the past two years, according to the Chins.  Poloff's guides said the Chins have established as many as five other jungle camps in the vicinity of the Putrajaya palm oil plantations.  Collectively, the camps may contain up to 1,000 Chin refugees within five miles of the Prime Minister's office.

Living in Fear of Extortion, Raids and Deportation

3. (SBU) The first camp we visited was only 500 meters from a paved road.  It iswell-known to local police.  During discussions with four men living in the camp, they said local police visited the camp regularly in search of refugees who have not yet been registered with the UNHCR. 

In exchange for the refugee's freedom, the police take all money possessed by such individuals.  According to the refugees, the police have not alerted immigration officials to the presence of the camp, as they do not want immigration officers to destroy the camp and thereby impede the police's extortion activities.

Refugees in this camp told us police recently asked them to dismantle their church structure.  The police said the church's presence could force government officials to burn and raze the camp, as local Muslim villagers have complained about the "unregistered" church's existence in the jungle near their homes. 

This is not an empty threat.  A similar camp was destroyed earlier this year, following complaints about the camp's church by local residents.  The camp and church have been recently rebuilt, with the church disguised as a meeting hall during the week.

Hard Work for Uncertain Payment

4. (SBU) The refugees said they are paid about RM25 ($6.75) for a full day's work on the plantations, but that the work is sporadic and their wage payments are often delayed and sometimes completely withheld. 

One of the men said he had not been paid in over a month.  He continued working, despite the probability of receiving less than full payment, as he needed to feed his three children, aged 4-10, who lived with his sister in another nearby camp.  He said his 33 year-old wife recently died suddenly of heat exhaustion while working at one of the plantations. 

Non-payment of wages and other forms of labor exploitation at plantations, construction sites and restaurants continue to plague the approximately 20,000 Chin refugees currently living in Malaysia, according to our sources.

Frustration With the UNHCR

5. (SBU) Following a 30 minute hike, we arrived at a second, much more remote camp.  This camp was situated in a ravine and accessible only through a winding, narrow path.  Camp residents claimed its existence is unknown to police and immigration officials, and the camp has never been raided.

Approximately 100 camp residents, including 20 women and children, greeted poloff outside the camp's church and answered questions about their living conditions and relationship with the UNHCR.  Most of the refugees have lived in the camp for 1-2 years, although one man claimed to have lived there four years.  All were Zomi Chin refugees. 

About 20% were registered with the UNHCR, prior to the UNHCR's temporary suspension of most new refugee registrations last year.  The refugees complained about the UNHCR's perceived unwillingness to register "non-emergency" refugee cases such as theirs, as UNHCR documentation is their only form of protection from deportation. 

(Note: As of July 1, 2006 the UNHCR had provided its formal recognition to 7,805 Chin "persons of concern" in Malaysia, up moderately from 6,566 at year-end 2005.)

6. (U) They all hoped for resettlement into a third country as soon as possible. They wished to leave the jungle, and they described conditions in the camp as "dangerous and unhealthy."  Of the camp's total population of about 125 persons, two were killed and 18 injured by lightning during 2006. 

One resident told poloff's translator, "We would rather die here than go back to Burma."  They remained unaware that the United States planned to resettle thousands of Chin refugees from Malaysia. 

Poloff informed them that the USG and UNHCR are gearing up to "significantly increase" resettlement of Chin refugees into the United States starting next year.  They were pleased to hear this, although they remained skeptical of how the UNHCR registration process will proceed.  The prospect of resettlement didn't terribly excite them, probably because the concept seemed much closer to theory than reality, and their day-to-day survival currently demands their full attention.

Chin Medical Care on Ad Hoc Basis

7. (U) On November 9, poloff visited a refugee medical clinic organized by the Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR), one of the two largest entities representing the interests of Chins in Malaysia.

(Note: the other large organization is the Chin Refugee Committee (CRC), which claims to have about 17,400 members here.). 

Located in Kuala Lumpur in a non-descript two-storey walkup, the clinic is staffed by two French doctors, one French nurse and a Burmese doctor (all volunteers).  The clinic treats 30-40 persons during its once weekly operating hours for a charge of RM10 (about $2.75) per patient. 

The clinic is funded solely by donations from Chin and other refugees and has only limited medical instruments and medicine supplies. 

One of the French doctors commented that tuberculosis is common among the refugees and that few of the approximately 800 Chin children in Malaysia have received basic immunizations.  She was aware of the Chin's jungle camps near Kuala Lumpur and expressed frustration that no one had yet funded a medical outreach program to treat sick individuals in those camps.  She said the Chin community also needed money for treatment of psychological trauma, as well as pre-natal care and medical facilities to ensure proper delivery of the increasing number of Chin babies born in Malaysia.

Comment

8. (SBU) The ARC and CRC have performed admirably in their attempts to organize and care for their own people, but institutional funding is needed to provide basic medical treatment and English language training for both children and working adults. 

Given our pending resettlement of thousands of Chin refugees from Malaysia, modest investments in immunizations, medical care and English language training in Malaysia's relatively low cost environment would yield substantial benefits for both the Chin refugees and the United States. 

Post looks forward to working with PRM, UNHCR, IOM, DHS, the Overseas Processing Entity and the Department's regional refugee affairs office in Bangkok to resettle large numbers of these refugees as quickly and smoothly as possible.  We will remain actively engaged in that process, while also coordinating with PRM and the UNHCR to ensure timely provision of additional PRM funding this fiscal year for basic medical and education needs of the Chins and other refugee communities.

LAFLEUR