GIVING a voice to the refugees: that is the best way to describe Life Sdn Bhd 7: Refugees. Produced by The Actors Studio in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Malaysia (UNHCR), this theatre production will be staged at The Actors Studio@Lot 10 from tomorrow (Oct 26) to Sunday (Oct 30).
Ahmed, Khampi, Ngun Siang, Raine, Sharifah, Theepika and Trasia are refugees from Myanmar, Somalia and Sri Lanka who will be narrating their hopes and fears in having to leave their home country and making the perilous journey to Malaysia, and how being here has changed their lives.
“Theirs is a heart-wrenching story of detention, abuse, fear, neglect and humiliation,” says Datuk Faridah Merican, Actors Studio co-founder and director of this production. “[But] it is also a story of resilience, courage, hope and love.”
Faridah adds that she is not directing actors in this production. “I am simply guiding them in telling their true stories and I am not putting words in their mouths.”
Her main role is giving them the strength, power and courage to stand up on stage and tell their story as honestly as possible. “It is not going to be easy,” she says. “They will be going through all kinds of emotions and that is understandable.
“They come here because they are running away from something which is truly unbearable. You simply cannot imagine what some of them have gone through and, fortunately, we do not live like that. They are just looking for a place to stay where they can live a life as a normal human being.”
Joe Hasham, the artistic director for Life Sdn Bhd 7: Refugees and also Faridah’s husband and co-founder of Actors Studio, admits that the production has opened his eyes on the refugee issue in Malaysia.
“The most horrible thing for any human being is to lose his/her dignity and these refugees have lost that,” he says. “They cannot work legally or send their children to school legally.”
Joe hopes that Life Sdn Bhd 7: Refugees will help open the eyes of the people from other countries, like his birth country Australia, that Malaysia is not as horrible a place as that painted by some of their media. “No one is saying Malaysia is perfect,” says Joe who has been living in this country for more than three decades. “But it is certainly not as bad as the Australian media has made Malaysia out to be.”
Over 95,000 refugees from 50 countries are registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia. Alan Vernon, a UNHCR representative, believes most people have the wrong impression that refugees are migrants who are looking for economic opportunities. “The truth is that most refugees are forced to leave their countries because of persecution and armed conflict,” he explains.
He feels this production will be an excellent platform for Malaysians to understand the refugees better and inspire them to think how they, in their own individual capacity, can help these refugees. “Refugees do not want to be a burden to any one,” says Vernon. “Like everybody else, they want to be self-reliant too.”
Joining the refugees on the stage will be Susheela Balasundaram of UNHCR, and Miss Universe Malaysia 2011 and refugee advocate Deborah Priya Henry who will be sharing her experiences working with refugees.
“There are some Malaysians who feel we should not make refugees our problem,” says Deborah. “But the reality is that they are here. Ignoring them and pretending that they do not exist is not the best solution for the problem.
“Imagine a society that has no education and imagine a society where adults cannot work. Eventually, they will become a social problem that will hurt us as Malaysians. I am not saying that we give them citizenship. But we could at least provide them with proper education and perhaps, allow the adults to work.
“[Remember], you and I can be a refugee tomorrow because of certain circumstances [beyond our control].”
Adding spice to the production are singer-cum-songwriters Ian Chow and Ariff Akhir who will be performing their original compositions that capture the essence of the refugees’ struggles.
Also, part of the proceeds from the production will be going towards the Refugee Welfare Fund that provides emergency medical and welfare assistance to refugees in Malaysia.
Life Sdn Bhd 7: Refugees opens tomorrow at 8.30pm. For tickets and enquiries, call 03-2142 2009.
Source : TheSundaily
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