Mindat-Mkuiimnu Motor Road Construction Underway

14 March 2012: About an 87-mile long motor road construction from Mindat Town to Mkuiimnu village in southern areas of Chin State has been in motion as part of the reduction of poverty and rural development planning by the Chin State Government.

The ongoing construction undertaken by a Burmese company 'Myat Noe Thu' provides necessary facilities including bulldozer, engineer, drivers and fuel for free of charge under the direct leadership of Chief Minister of Chin State Government U Hung Ngai since the start of the project on 21 January 2012.

One of the local community leaders said: "The locals, both Cho (Mün) and Dai, warmly welcome the road construction project. However, it has been made known to us that we must take responsibility to provide food, labour and other necessary tools."

On completion, the road is believed to pass from Mindat to 16-mile Junction, Sheet, Tuili, Dukimnu, Hlihying (Shihjüng), Kinhlih (Künshih), Thaiimnu village till Mkuiimnu, which is located in the most interior part in southern Chin State and mostly populated by a Dai-Chin tribe.

It is claimed that Chin State Minister of Mining and Forest, U Kyaw Nyein, is also in charge of the new project.

As of today, the road construction is known to have reached just over Sheet village, which is about 13 miles from 16-mile Junction.

"The locals have tried their best to make contribution for the needs of the road construction but it is not sufficient because the need is still great. Therefore, it is an on-and-off project whilst the road construction leaders are raising financial needs and man power," added the local leader.

The locals are unable to provide for the needs anymore because they are exhausted and enough food is not available due to the Mtam (Mautam) food crisis, according to the Chin leader, whose name is not revealed.

Some locals are claimed to be worried that the project might come to a halt due to their insufficient contribution and a 2-mile long area with giant cliffs yet to be going through.

"The construction engineers believe that if they can overcome the 2-mile long giant cliff, then it will be a lot easier and quicker to reach the target village, Mkuiimnu. The construction chairman urges all local people to voluntarily provide man power and for the needs in order to successfully complete the project," said one of the locals.

A Dai-Chin leader said: "It is difficult to predict when the road construction will be finished as the project much relies on contributions by the local people, who had recently been affected by the devastating food scarcity. The government, not the local people, must take more action for its completion."

Chin State has been ranked the poorest among the 14 states and divisions in Burma, according to a report 'Poverty Profile' published last year by the UNDP.

The food security condition in parts of Chin State is of great concern due to crop failures and an extreme reduction of yield in 2011, a report in January 2012 by UN-OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) said.

 

Good and Bad 

We, the kcho have some experiences in road building for the development of our beloved kcholand. There may be something good but more bad fortune for kcho girls. We have found that a lot of kcho girls have experienced sexual abuse by Burmese Road Builders. The honesty and the dignity of some kcho girls is taken or abused by Burmese Road Workers. This experience comes from Mindat-Matupi Road Contrution and it would be the second time, it is going to happen again in Kcholand.  The Chin Authorities should take a careful action and give kcho girls some protection from Sexual Abuse.

 

97,000 Refugees And Asylum-seekers Registered With UNHCR

By S. Kishokumari

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Bernama) -- About 97,000 refugees and asylum-seekers are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia till January this year, which is more than half of the country's Orang Asli (indigenous people) population of 149,000.

According to UNHCR spokesperson Yante Ismail,about 88,500 of them were from Myanmar, comprising 34,400 Chins, 23,000 Rohingyas, 10,500 Myanmar Muslims, 4,600 Rakhines, 3,800 Mons, 3,300 Kachins and other ethnicities.

"There are some 8,200 refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries, including some 4,400 Sri Lankans, 1,000 Somalis, 770 Iraqis and 440 Afghans," she told Bernama recently.

She also elaborated that 71 per cent of the refugees and asylum-seekers were males and 19,700 of them were children below the age of 18.

Nevertheless, Yante said no specific placement such as camps were provided and as such they (refugees and asylum-seekers) lived scattered but had access to the informal work sector and opportunities to be self-reliant.

"One important fact is that the refugees can move freely, they are not in camps and are able to be empowered to find their own ways of coping and rebuilding their lives with dignity.

"If there are allegations of crimes committed in Malaysia by refugees or asylum-seekers, UNHCR would expect them to undergo due process under the law like just any other person," said said.

Recently, police foiled a drug smuggling attempt with the arrest of two Myanmars having UNHCR cards in front of the Kota Tinggi Plaza in Johor Baharu on Feb 23.

On Feb 22, police had also crippled a gang of burglars comprising 16 Myanmars, including six UNHCR card holders in the city.

By Bernama

Crackdown planned against employers, illegal workers after March 31

KUCHING: Employers in Sarawak better get their foreign workers legalised or send them home before April 1 — or face the music.

Immigration director Datuk Robert Lian said the department would launch its “Blue Sky” operation to nab employers who still kept their illegal foreign workers after the amnesty period ended on March 31.

He warned that the operation, which would involve relevant government departments including the police and military personnel, as well as Rela, would go after the employers first.

He believed that the illegal employment of foreigners could be eliminated by cracking down on employers besides arresting the illegal immigrant workers themselves.

“In fact, the employers are the ones who commit more offences. They harbour the illegal immigrants and in doing so, evade paying the levies on foreign workers,” he told a press conference at his office here yesterday.

Levies on foreign workers in the state range from RM410 to RM1,490 a year depending on which sector they are in.

Robert said employers were given until March 31 to apply from the state Immigration Department the visit pass temporary appointments (VPTA) for their illegal foreign workers who were registered under the biometric system last year.

He reminded that employers must first get the labour recruiting licence (LRL) from the state Labour Department before they could apply for the VPTA.

He further clarified that under the exercise, only Indonesians could be recruited and not other foreigners.

Robert said employers in the state must not assume that the Government would extend the deadline for them to deal with the matter.

“We have given employers enough time to legalise their registered (but illegal) foreign workers or send them home. Do not anticipate any extension of the deadline,” he said.

Robert also warned all illegal foreign workers who had registered themselves under the 6P programmes to leave the country voluntarily before April 1.

He said those who left the state voluntarily during the period would not be arrested and charged in court.

He also said that the registered illegal foreign workers from Indonesia could apply to work in Sarawak through their employers but that other nationals must leave the state voluntarily.

“Indonesians, whose applications to work in Sarawak were rejected by the Labour Department must also leave the state voluntarily before March 31. So far, we have 80 applications for the VPTA,” he said.

Robert said registered illegal Indonesian workers aged between 13 and 17 must leave the state voluntarily as well.

He said if they were below 12 years old their parents must apply for social visit passes for them.

By theStarOnline

Angelina Jolie praised for refugee work

Angelina Jolie was thanked for ''doing incredible things'' at the Woman in the World summit last night (08.03.12) by a Rwandan genocide survivor who introduced her to the stage.

The 36-year-old actress - who is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador - spoke about the plight of Somali refugees at the event at the Lincoln Centre in New York and was introduced by Rwandan genocide survivor Sandra Uwiringiyimana.

Taking to the stage, Sandra thanks Angelina for ''taking justice into her home and hands and doing incredible things,'' with the actress appearing visibly moved by the touching introduction.

During her address, Angelina told the story of Dr. Hawa Abdi, who runs a medical camp in Somalia which is now being overrun by militants and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.

She said the story ''illuminates the nightmare of tens of millions around the world the internally displaced and the ones homeless within their homelands'',

She added: ''It is, right now, Friday morning in Somalia. In a few hours, 400 human beings are about to become, once again, displaced.''

Other speakers at the three-day summit include politician Hillary Clinton and actress Meryl Streep.

Source : http://entertainment.malaysia.msn.com

Burmese teen is not quite a stranger, not yet fitting in

By Rosemary Winters

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published 5 hours ago • Updated 55 minutes ago

Heber City » Brian Felsch rattles off commands to his science class at Wasatch High.

"Close your books. Close your notes. Close your mouths," he barks.

Notebooks slam. Backpacks zip shut. Students’ pencils are poised for a second chance. Felsch is giving them a redo on a nitrogen-cycle quiz, calling out the questions as students scribble their answers.

But one teen sits quietly in the back of the room with his textbook open. KaPaw Htoo, a junior, will take a different test — one that doesn’t require words.

The 16-year-old KaPaw Htoo, widely believed to be the first refugee to attend Wasatch High, still speaks very little English. His family, ethnic Karens who fled violence in Burma decades ago, moved from a Thai refugee camp to Utah last summer. They settled in the Salt Lake Valley, where KaPaw Htoo (pronounced CAW-paw TOO) attended Cottonwood High. But in October, his father landed a job as a presser at Park City Dry Cleaning and Linen, a Heber business that has hired about 20 Burmese refugees,and KaPaw Htoo’s family moved to the small rural town a month later. Heber’s budding refugee community is nearing 60, including a number of children attending Wasatch district schools. Since January, two more Karen teens have joined KaPaw Htoo at Wasatch High.

"It’s a new experience for us, for sure. Most of our English language learners are Spanish speaking," says Vicci Gappmayer, Wasatch’s director of student services. "It’s been a new challenge. But we’re always up for that."

KaPaw Htoo seems unfazed by the change in schools. He says he likes his teachers, although when asked about his favorites, he gives room numbers: He doesn’t know their names. At lunch time, he joins a raucous game of soccer but doesn’t speak to the other boys. In an interview conducted through a Karen interpreter, he says he wants to try out for the soccer team. But a few days later, he says he’s not going to the try-outs, offering no explanation. He’s quiet in class unless called upon to read out loud. And then his voice is almost too soft to hear.

But he’s ever mindful of his biggest challenge.

"Language is the barrier I have living here," he says through the interpreter. "If I can read and write fluently, then I won’t have any problems living here."

Utah schools use a variety of "research-based" methods to reach the state’s 45,000 students who are not fluent in English, says Rita Brock, the State Office of Education’s English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) specialist. Some in San Juan and Tooele counties teach English with an eye to preserving American Indian students’ indigenous languages. Others use dual-immersion programs in elementary schools to give students a bilingual education in English and in Spanish, French, German, Arabic or Chinese. Most schools that teach students who speak a variety of languages use "sheltered instruction," teaching the English language and academic content in an all-English setting. This model relies heavily on visual cues, including illustrations and gestures, to communicate.

Refugees, who are legal immigrants fleeing violence in their home countries, often pose additional challenges for schools. Children may have received limited schooling in refugee camps and need help adjusting to a new culture.

 ho moved to Logan from Salt Lake City to work at the JBS meat-packing plant in Hyrum. Refugees from many nations are typically resettled in Salt Lake City and assigned a caseworker for their first two years in Utah.

Most arrived with almost no material possessions, says Katie Jensen, co-director of the nonprofit English Language Center in Logan. But the community rallied to gather blankets, clothing, housewares and furniture. The language center offered an adult English class at the apartment complex where the refugees live.

"The pluses of coming to a community like this is the area is easier for [refugees] to navigate. It’s more of a rural setting, which mirrors a little bit how they lived before arriving in the United States," Jensen says. "But no rural area is going to have all of the resources that an urban area like Salt Lake City has."

But Jensen believes Logan is now better prepared to help refugees.

In the past year, the city gained a refugee community council and a Utah Department of Workforce Services refugee liaison, who helps connect refugees to food stamps and other financial assistance they may qualify for. The Logan school district, which has 60 refugee students, has reached out to parents, coaching them on how to read the school calendar, offering tutors at parent-teacher conferences and organizing family field trips in which parents and students ride the public bus together to get to the library or a book store, says ESL specialist Janiece Edgington. Mount Logan Middle School is organizing a "cane ball" club so students can play the game common in Burma and Thai refugee camps. It’s similar to hacky sack but involves a ball woven from cane or synthetic materials.

Hopefully, we’ll see other students [outside of the Burmese community] wanting to try it," Edgington says. "What we do is provide opportunities for students to integrate but not force it.

The bug connection » Heber, too, has welcomed the Burmese refugees, most of whom speak the Karen language, says Briton Wright, who has helped connect the Heber refugees with jobs and enroll their children in school. Wasatch district has offered a free adult ESL class, four days a week, at the apartment complex where the families live. At Christmas time, many Heber residents provided sub-for-Santa gifts to the refugee families, including KaPaw Htoo’s family.

"I think they love us," the teen says in Karen when asked about his Christmas gifts — a soccer ball, socks and clothes.

At Wasatch High, the faculty has had to be nimble in crafting an academic plan for KaPaw Htoo. He spends five of eight class periods in English instruction or "content support," a study hall for English learners where they get help with assignments in other classes. Initially, he was enrolled in the school’s most basic math class, Algebra I. But he was removed from that class after teachers realized KaPaw Htoo was too far behind. In Thailand, he never completed third grade.

Now, he spends one of his two study halls learning math with Luann Brandt, a Spanish teacher who also works with English learners. She uses a colorful, oversized math workbook for second-graders that features illustrations that can be readily understood. She emphasizes the vocabulary of math while teaching concepts such as how numbers may be "greater than" or "less than" one another. KaPaw Htoo practices counting by odd and even numbers and by multiples of five.

"The teacher will explain to me one time, and then I can do it," KaPaw Htoo says confidently in Karen.

His English vocabulary is growing slowly. English teacher Brent Price estimates that KaPaw Htoo knows about 300 words. His reading comprehension is similar to a kindergartner’s, but he’s starting to string together simple sentences. In one classroom assignment, KaPaw Htoo writes 10 sentences, ranging from "I play ball," to "Luis has new shoes."

"When I first came [to] Salt Lake, it was very hard for me," KaPaw Htoo says in Karen. "But now, most of the time, I can understand what the teachers say. The harder part is … for me to reply, to answer."

His other classes are art, desktop publishing and science. In Felsch’s science class, Wendy Sharp, aninstructional aide, sits in the back of the class quietly working with KaPaw Htoo and two Spanish-speaking students. As Felsch lectures students about the nitrogen cycle, KaPaw Htoo studies a diagram in his text book. His test will be whether he can use pictures and arrows to draw nitrogen’s cycle from plants to animals to the soil.

Sharp explains how bugs eat a dead pig, breaking down its body and returning nitrogen to the soil. KaPaw Htoo surprises her by telling her he ate bugs in Thailand — specifically, spiders. He would catch spiders, mice and snakes and fry them to supplement the family’s camp rations. Moo Eh Htoo, a Karen student who has lived in Utah for four years, helps explain what KaPaw Htoo is saying. (The two are not related. In Karen culture, families do not share surnames; rather, they treat their entire name as a first name.)

KaPaw Htoo’s dream » Meeting the testing goals set by No Child Left Behind poses a special challenge for teachers working with students like KaPaw Htoo who are learning English. Students get to skip state exams the first year they are learning the language, but after that they are held to the same standards as native English speakers. Utah, like most states, is seeking a waiver from the law, which requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014.

In Utah, 35 percent of English learners scored proficient in language arts last year, compared with 85 percent of students who were fluent in English. The disparity was similar in math: 29.7 percent versus 71 percent.

Felsch says studying to get his ESL endorsement has helped him understand how to simplify science lessons and assignments for KaPaw Htoo.

"I can still do things with pictures and demonstrations, and he can still learn," Felsch says.

Increasingly, Utah school districts require new hires to have the ESL endorsement and encourage experienced teachers to get the training. This year, Wasatch High has offered the training on site through a partnership with Brigham Young University. 

Source : http://www.sltrib.com

Burma/Myanmar's steps toward reform bring opportunities, challenges

NEW YORK, NY--After six decades of civil conflict, recent steps toward democratization by Burma’s (Myanmar’s) new government are being met with widespread optimism, reports Jack Dunford, executive director of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) and a 28-year veteran of service to Burma’s refugees and internally displaced.  Church World Service is a TBBC founding member and funder. 

Opposition party leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been freed from house arrest, and her National League for Democracy is now campaigning for April 1 by-elections to fill 48 vacant parliamentary seats.  Burma’s army has signed ceasefire agreements with several ethnic armed forces, including the Karen National Union, resulting in a significant decrease in clashes in parts of eastern Burma.

“This is the best opportunity we have seen in decades,” said Dunford during a visit to New York.  “It’s the first time since 1984, when the TBBC was founded, that I have seen Burma’s military regime acknowledge the political aspirations of the country’s ethnic nationalities and the need for dialogue.  If this fails, there may not be another chance.”

Necessary for peace, he said, is a careful process of national reconciliation with all parties at the table - including refugee and IDP (internally displaced persons) groups, and including both the Burman majority and Burma’s indigenous ethnic nationalities.

Dunford helped found the Bangkok-based TBBC in 1984 when Burma’s ruling regime drove the first 10,000 refugees permanently into Thailand.  Today the TBBC provides food, shelter and capacity-building support to 138,000 refugees in nine camps in Thailand, also assisting about 50,000 internally displaced persons in eastern Burma. 

Burma’s regime long accused the TBBC of supporting the ethnic opposition by providing assistance to indigenous ethnic refugees, but now the government is recognizing the consortium for caring for so many of Burma’s people for so long.  “Now we are seen as part of the solution, not as part of the problem,” Dunford said.

Even as it continues to sustain the refugees and IDPs, the TBBC is working to be sure refugees are not forced to return before conditions in Burma allow safe, lasting repatriation.  As hopes for real reform are raised, Dunford said it is crucial for all parties - including the international community - to exercise common sense and to continue to support the refugees until conditions allow safe, lasting repatriation.

More than 3,700 villages have been destroyed since 1996 alone, and the countryside is littered with landmines, according to TBBC documentation.  Some 450,000 people remain displaced in Burma’s southeastern region - at least 112,000 of them newly forced from their homes in just the past year.  TBBC’s latest survey in the region finds that nearly two-thirds of rural households in the region live in poverty, unable to meet their basic needs. 

Moreover, there is still conflict in some areas - most notably Northern Shan and Kachin states.  Some 70,000 people are currently displaced by fighting in Kachin State.  Human rights abuses against civilians, including forced labor and conscription of child soldiers, continue in conflict-affected areas. 

In addition to the 138,000 refugees from Burma living in the Thailand-Burma border camps, there also are 90,000 refugees from Burma living in Malaysia.  Seventy-five refugees from Burma have been resettled from Thailand to other countries, 50,000 of them to the United States. 

As part of “preparedness” for eventual repatriation, UNHCR (the United Nation’s refugee agency) has commissioned a survey of the skills and assets of the refugees in the Thailand-Burma border camps.  The camps are governed by the refugees and all services, from health to education to warehousing and distribution of rations. are staffed by the refugees.  As a result, if and when the refugees do repatriate, they will have a wide range of skills to offer.

For its part, the TBBC is convening as many “dialogues” as it can among refugees and, when appropriate, governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders, with two goals: to listen to the refugees’ concerns and aspirations, and to contribute to sharing of accurate information about what is going on in Burma.

“Refugees want to return home to Burma, but as always what’s stopping them is fear of Burma’s army,” Dunford said.  “They hear about ‘ceasefire’ and worry it is a ruse to push them back into danger.” 

He praised the U.S. government for never waivering in its support for the refugees from Burma.  Some 40 percent of the TBBC’s budget now comes from the U.S. government, which, Dunford said, is sympathetic to the plight of Burma’s ethnic nationalities and is also supportive of TBBC’s cross-border work.

We need to keep both cross-border and in-country humanitarian work,” Dunford said.  “These two approaches are complementary and it will take time before it becomes possible to access the conflict areas from the inside.” 

The TBBC is a consortium of 10 international nongovernmental organizations in eight countries.  Church World Service is one of two U.S.-based members, the other being the International Rescue Committee.

In addition to supporting the TBBC, CWS has been providing humanitarian assistance inside Burma via Rangoon since Cyclone Nargis in 2008.  CWS currently supports programs of disaster risk reduction, capacity building for local nongovernmental organizations, microcredit for farmers, maternal and newborn child health, snakebite prevention and treatment, and a small HIV/AIDS program.

Source and Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, 212-870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526, jdragin@gis.net

Protect Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Forced Labor and Human Trafficking

Why This Is Important

Dear Friends,

There are over 94,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, and they are among the most destitute and marginalized populations in the country.

Refugees do not have the right to work. Their children cannot go to public school. They have very poor access to health care. Poverty and hunger are daily realities. And because they fled from their home countries due to persecution, they cannot return home.

To survive and provide for their families, refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia often work in low paying jobs without legal protection. Because their labor rights are not upheld in Malaysia, unscrupulous employers and agents take advantage of them. They use a host of tactics– including deception, withholding of wages, physical confinement, debt bondage, and violence–to force refugees into jobs and keep them from leaving.

Refugees and asylum seekers are all around us in Malaysia. A refugee might have served you coffee this morning in a restaurant. Or built the apartment you are living in.

Unfortunately, forced labor and human trafficking are also all around us in Malaysia. In fact, in a recent study, 61% of refugees and asylums who had worked full-time in Malaysia had experienced forced labor.

How does this affect refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia?  Research in Malaysia found that refugees who had experienced forced labor had higher rates of Depression and Anxiety compared to those who had not. It is also known that survivors of human trafficking suffer tremendously, particularly in terms of their health. They are vulnerable to infectious diseases, malnourishment and injuries. Mental health is equally a concern.

Momentum is building around the issues of trafficking and forced labor in Malaysia. The government is waking up to the problems, and civil society is working to create an environment that reduces vulnerability and protects survivors. What is needed now is for more people to take a stand and call for substantial changes in laws, policies and programs in the country.

This is where you can do your part.

Sign the Petition Letter to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak, to take a stand against forced labor and human trafficking in Malaysia and to ask for a stronger protection environment for refugees and asylum seekers.

Source : http://www.change.org/petitions/wake-up-malaysia-protect-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-from-forced-labor-and-human-trafficking

Arrest of 33 refugees in Alor Star

Tenaganita reports it has just received information that about 33 Chin refugees, including women and children, were arrested in Alor Star on 24 February 2012.

A crowded immigration detention camp in Malaysia

The refugees had fled to Malaysia, via Thailand, and were arrested after crossing the border.

The refugee leaders understand that at least 15 of the 33 have been sent to Belantik Immigration Depot. They are currently trying to obtain more information.

If you have any information pertaining to this arrest, please contact Tenaganita’s Refugee Action Programme at: rap[at]tenaganita.net

***

6P: CRACKDOWN ON MIGRANTS & REFUGEES

Despite statements by the Home Ministry that the “amnesty period” has been extended to 10 April 2012, refugees and migrants continue to be arrested, detained & whipped.

Key concerns:

• Detention and deportation of refugees, stateless persons, trafficked victims and other vulnerable populations including children
• Use of violence by enforcement officers during raids, arrests and detention
• Violation of rights during arrests and detention : i.e. no access to lawyers, phone call to family, deprivation of basic needs, etc

In order to monitor and respond to this crackdown, several hotline numbers have been set up:

• Tenaganita: *hotline number pending; email: rap[at]tenaganita.net
• MSRI (hotline for refugees & asylum seekers): +6-012-6628483
• Suaram: +6-03-7784 3525 / 013 3470860, refugee@suaram.net /saradev14@yahoo.com

Please send information about raids, rights violations during this crackdown or any other relevant information to: raidwatch@gmail.com

Source : By Aliran, on 6 March 2012

KL plans crackdown on illegal migrants

Many foreign workers including Bangladeshis face arrest threats in Malaysia as the immigration authorities are conducting periodic raids following an announcement of massive crackdown on "illegal" migrants.

Malaysia's home ministry Secretary-General Tan Sri Mahmood Adam last week said they would start a massive crackdown on illegal foreign workers without mentioning the date.

Meanwhile, police on February 11 arrested over 100 migrant workers and refugees, said Kuala Lumpur-based migrants' rights body Tenaganita in a press statement on February 22.

"Many workers are living in a tense situation after the arrests," said Harun Al Rashid, a Bangladeshi working at a regional migrants' rights organisation, Caram Asia, in Kuala Lumpur.

It could not be learned immediately if there were any Bangladeshis among the arrestees, he said on February 26.

Bangladesh high commission's labour counsellor Mantu Kumar Biswas in Malaysia told The Daily Star he had no idea about such arrests.

"There might be some stray incidents of arrest, but not any wholesale roundup of foreign workers yet," he said over phone in his immediate response.

The foreign workers who have not registered or applied to the immigration authorities for regularisation under an amnesty programme are facing sheer threats of arrest, according to the Bangladeshi expatriates in Malaysia.

An estimated 5 lakh Bangladeshis work in Malaysia. According to the Bangladesh High Commission, around 2.7 lakh irregular Bangladeshis got registered and a few thousand of them returned home without giving any penalty.

The rest secured passports so they could apply for regularisation.

However, on average, 150 Bangladeshi expats are going to the high commission every day to secure passports so that they can apply for regularisation.

Under the amnesty programme, Malaysia started registering the irregular foreign workers and the immigration authorities started regularisation from October 10 last year. Since then, they extended the deadline thrice, last time from February 15 to April 10.

The country has so far registered around 1.3 million irregular foreign workers but regularised only around four lakh of them. Mantu Kumar Biswas said the Malaysian authorities did not mention the number of Bangladeshis regularised until now.

"The deadline for regularisation has been extended. I expect all Bangladeshis applying will be regularised," he said.

Meanwhile, Nazrul Islam Ajith, a Bangladeshi working in Kuala Lumpur, said he estimated there would be 1 to 1.5 lakh Bangladeshis who either did not get registered or did not maintain proper procedures in applying for work permits.

"One has to have a job and apply through the employer for work permit. But many Bangladeshis do not have employers," he said, adding that many applied through outsourcing companies. Both these types of workers' applications are being rejected, he said.

Earlier, outsourcing companies hired Bangladeshi workers to supply them to different companies, but many were involved in malpractices.

"I would suggest that those who wish to continue working in Malaysia immediately get a job and apply through employers for work permits," said the Bangladeshi who has been in Malaysia for over 10 years.

Meanwhile, Tenaganita condemned the arrest of migrants and said it was a failure of Malaysia that it could not regularise the workers who have got registered.

In a statement on February 22, it said the government rejected many applications for work permits, saying their employers' factories are either operating illegally or are built on land designated for agriculture.

"Illegal factories are not the fault of the workers, but this rejection of applications will undoubtedly affect migrants who will be the target of arrest and detention," said Tenaganita chief Irene Fernandez.

Source : http://www.thedailystar.net/

Burmese Migrants in Malaysia Face Registration Woes

By PATRICK BOEHLER / THE IRRAWADDY

While a controversial government amnesty program for illegal migrants in Malaysia is expected to run out next month, a similar scheme may soon affect  tens of thousands of Burmese refugees in the nation.

The so-called “6P” scheme was introduced by the Malaysian authorities last summer to biometrically register and legalize illegal foreign workers, but most Burmese refugees were not eligible for the amnesty program.

Holders of refugee identity cards issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur were excluded. By the end of January, 91 percent of the 97,000 refugees registered with UNHCR in Malaysia were Burmese.

They include 34,400 Chins, 23,000 Rohingyas, 10,500 Burmese Muslims, 4,600 Rakhine, 3,800 Mon, 3,300 Kachins and other ethnicities, UNHCR external relations officer Yante Ismail told The Irrawaddy.

Yet tens of thousands are still waiting to be granted asylum status, wrote Irene Fernandez, executive director of the non-governmental organization Tenaganita, in an open letter on the issue earlier this week.

And those who have been granted are at the mercy of enforcement officers who “arbitrarily acknowledge or reject UNHCR-issued documents,” she added.

In November last year, the UNHCR said it had agreed with the Malaysian authorities to set up a mechanism similar to the P6 program for UNHCR-registered refugees.

“The inclusion of their biodata within a government database will lead to greater protection for refugees, particularly against arrest and detention as their identities can be easily verified by law enforcement officials,” said UNHCR representative Alan Vernon at the time.

“This will also help prevent prosecution of persons holding UNHCR documents for immigration offenses or deportation,” he added.

The UNHCR refugee registration program was scheduled to begin in January 2012. However, it has not started yet due to technical problems, according to a person familiar with program who asked to remain anonymous.

But acceptance into a 6P-based scheme does not guarantee an easy ride for Burmese migrants working in Malaysia, with many current 6P participants finding themselves worse off than before.

Illegal foreign workers who register in the scheme escape criminal punishment, but will eventually have to return to their country of origin. Their employers are also granted equal amnesty.

“When their visas expire, they will be sent home. So both the worker and employer should know (…) that the government is not opening up for good,” Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam told news website Free Malaysia Today.

Illegal migrants who have a police record, have left the specific employer who arranged their residence in Malaysia or do not pass a mandatory health check, are also excluded from the P6 program, according to regulations published by the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs.

Only 120,000 illegal foreign workers registered with 6P by the end of December so authorities decided to extend the program, Malaysian state news agency Bernama reported.

By the end of February, 379,000 people registered, with almost 95,000 of them returned to their country of origin, according to a press statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Official estimates put the number of illegal foreign migrants working in Malaysia  between 1.3 and 2 million.

But according to Fernandez, “2.6 million migrants came forward to register under 6P, half of whom were undocumented migrants.”

“More than 70 percent remain undocumented,” she wrote in her recent open letter blaming poor handling of the process by authorities. “The implementation of the program has thus far been chaotic and lacking in transparency and accountability,” she added.

Although it is uncertain what extra protection registering with the Malaysian authorities would afford Burmese migrant workers, there is little disputing that their current situation remains precarious.

Some Burmese refugees registered with the UNHCR have been arrested and detained in the last few weeks, according to a reader's letter sent to the Malaysian online news service Malaysiakini.

The letter tells of a raid on Feb. 25 at a bus station in Selangor and another similar raid on Dec. 5 last year.

“Asylum seekers received the inhumane and unacceptable punishment of caning while in Kajang Jail because they could not provide identification,” a reader calling herself Iang Hlei Par wrote regarding the latter case.

“We must not turn a blind eye to such abuse that is a result of disorganized and negligent government,” she added.

According to Fernandez, up to two hundred migrants including refugees were arrested in a raid in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 11.

An urgent concern and a call for protection

From Lang Hlei Par

My concerns are for the undue threat of arrest, actual arrests, and unjust detainment (involving caning), against the Burmese asylum seekers currently taking refuge in Malaysia. The Malaysian Government is disorganised and abusing innocent people in their process of dealing with refugees, asylum seekers, and illegal migrant workers.

Malaysian is trying to clear the country of the undocumented Illegal Migrant Workers, who have failed to register under the conveniently confusing and constantly changing 6P Programme, by using the force of Rela (ill-trained citizen volunteer corps), Immigration Police, and Malaysian Police.

This planned “Big Sweep” to eradicate all the ‘illegals’ who are in Malaysia to work, is directly threatening Burmese asylum seekers who were victims of one the most brutal military regimes in history.  (The refugees, not asylum seekers, should be protected by the registration with UNHCR, however some UNHCR card holders have been arrested and detained in the past couple of weeks.)

These asylum seekers and refugees need support from the international community to urge the Malaysia and UNHCR to cease all raids, hold a confidential and safe biometric registration (which will provide proof of identity) before any more raids or arrests can take place, to stop using ill-trained law enforcement such as Rela, and to accurately and clearly state what is expected from the 6P programme.

Currently, the registration of the 6P programme is over on the 10 April when the threat of raids will heighten once again.  However, there was even a raid on the morning of Feb 25 at the Kajang Bus Station in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur that involved unjust arrests.

At least seven detainees, from a raid that happened on 5 Dec 5, 2011, who are asylum seekers, had the inhumane and unacceptable punishment of caning while in Kajang prison because they could not provide identification, despite the fact that they have no way to acquire identification.  Those detainees have still not been released.

The protection of these people is necessary to prevent constant fear and further harm for those that have already endured and escaped forced labour, physical abuse and torture, religious persecution to the point of ethnic cleansing, and other violations of their basic human rights in Myanmar.

The protection of these people is necessary to prevent more wasted time and resources for everyone involved.  It is the right thing, to do our best to assist in stopping this crisis of further injustice on humanity.  We must not turn a blind eye to such abuse that is a result of disorganisation and negligence.

Source : FreeMalaysia

Does Malaysia deserve a seat in UNHRC?

Malaysia is currently one of the 47 member states in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and will serve in the council till 2013. The UNHRC was created by the UN General Assembly on 2006 under resolution 60/251 in order to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights for every human being.

The question is whether Malaysia deserves to seat in the respected seat in promoting and protecting human rights? This letter does intend to look into this question whether Malaysia deserves or not by looking at the refugee situation and current state’s policy and implementation in regard to refugees’ survival in Malaysia.

I am, once again disenchanted with the statement made by one of the senior ministers that refugees can’t work because they were covered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It is not a matter of welfare.

It’s a matter of right – human right. To work is a right not welfare regardless of nationality, race and status. It is covered by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Furthermore, the right to work is a fundamental right enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention to which Malaysia is reluctant to ratify it.

Malaysia often promoted its self as a moderate country and committed to promote human rights. While doing that, Malaysia keeps reluctant to ratify many UN conventions and treaties including the Refugee Convention. Non-legally binding commitment is the best way in showing its commitment to promote human rights and helping refugees in the country.

Malaysia committed to provide assistances to refugees based on the humanitarian basis. Does this guarantee that refugees may enjoy their rights? Does this assurance the protection and empowerment of refugees? The statement made by the minister that refugee can’t work has shown that no one is able to make the government accountable to what they have committed to do.

Malaysia is reluctant to be a signatory to the Refugee Convention, and the domestic act has never protected refugees. Malaysian Immigration Act 1959/63 does not even differentiate between refugees and irregular migrants and therefore they can be arrested, detained, deported and caned for up to six strokes. While facing all the threats above, UNHCR’s role in protecting and providing immediate and necessary assistances are limited.

In terms of empowering refugee community and helping in need of immediate assistance refugees, how many refugees are now given allowance by the UNHCR since they are not allowed to work legally in this country? If they are given in cash, how much does UNHCR give them? Is it enough to cover one family (between 3 to 6 family members)?

If a refugee is handicapped, injured because of accident or has a chronic disease, is UNHCR able to provide assistances? If a refugee is not be able to pay for hospitalisation fees (even after 50% discount), is the UNHCR able to look into this and help? If refugess are not allowed to work and UNHCR does not provide them any assistance, how do they survive? Many of refugees in Malaysia I’ve met expressed their difficulty in getting assistance from UNHCR.

The government tends to look at the refugee issues in this country from a security perspective. Issues related to the inflow and daily survival of refugees has escalated beyond  humanitarianism.

Government institutions and agencies tend to look them as a threat to the state, and environmental security. My question is how many refugees involved in street crimes, robbery and any other serious crimes? Does the Malaysia statistic able to prove the alarming figures?

By looking their presence in the country as a threat, the war against refugees has long been undertaken. But not in a direct war and proclamation but war through proxy’s issues such as war against people smuggling, human trafficking and terrorism. Even the victims of people smuggling and trafficking to which many of them were genuine refugees – have been charged and criminalised under specific acts.

No right to seek asylum where they were arrested upon arrival. No genuine protection to not be forcibly returned to home country to which they will face serious threat. No right to gain education.

Nothing is given in the form of genuine and fundamental rights to refugees in Malaysia but Malaysia still seat in the UNHRC to so-called promoting and protecting human rights. Does Malaysia deserve to seat in the UNHRC?

Source : Free Malaysia

Burmese refugees victims of chaotic gov't ops

My concerns are for the undue threat of arrest, actual arrests, and unjust detention (involving caning), against Burmese asylum seekers currently taking refuge in Malaysia. The Malaysian government is disorganised in their operations against illegals, and abusing innocent people in their process of dealing with refugees, asylum seekers, and illegal migrant workers.

The ministry is trying to clear the country of the undocumented illegal migrant workers, who have failed to register under the conveniently confusing and constantly changing 6P Programme, by using the force of Rela (ill-trained citizen volunteer corps), Immigration enforcement officers, and Police.

This planned 'Big Sweep' to eradicate all the 'illegals' that are in Malaysia to work, is directly threatening the Burmese asylum seekers who had been victims of one the most brutal military regimes in history.

The refugees, asylum seekers, should be protected by the registration with UNHCR. However some UNHCR card holders have been arrested and detained in the past couple of weeks.

These asylum seekers and refugees need support from the international community to urge the ministry and UNHCR to cease all raids, hold a confidential and safe biometric registration (which will provide proof of identity) before any more raids or arrests can take place, to stop using ill-trained law enforcement such as Rela, and to accurately and clearly state what is expected from the 6P Programme.

Currently, the registration of the 6P programme will be over on the 10 April after which the threat of raids will heighten once again. However, there was even a raid this morning, February 25, at the Kajang Bus Station in Selangor, that involves unjust arrests.

At least seven detainees, from a raid that happened on December 5, 2011, who are asylum seekers, received the inhumane and unacceptable punishment of caning while in Kajang Jail because they could not provide identification, despite the fact that they have no way to acquire identification. Those detainees have still not been released.

The protection of these people is necessary to prevent constant fear and further harm for those who have already endured and escaped forced labour, physical abuse and torture, religious persecution to the point of ethnic cleansing, and other violations of their basic human rights in Burma.

The protection of these people is necessary to prevent more wasted time and resources for everyone involved. It is the right thing to do our best to assist in stopping this crisis of further injustice on humanity. We must not turn a blind eye to such abuse that is a result of disorganised and negligent government.

Source : http://www.malaysiakini/.

102 Rohingya found floating off Nai Harn - youngest just 13 years-old

The Phuket News - Sunday, 26th Feb 2012

More than 90 Rohingya refugees were captured by Chalong police this morning, after their boat ran out of fuel off Nai Harn beach.

The Rohingya's boat, measuring just 10 metres long by five metres wide, with no apparent shelter for those onboard, was discovered wrecked just off Nai Harn beach.
It is reported that there were approximately 102 refugees on the boat, with some of them are believed to still be in hiding around Nai Harn and Promthep Cape.
One of the captured refugees, Suremula, 24, said that he and the others left their villages in Rakhine State, on the border between Burma and Bangladesh, about 12 days ago.
As with many of the predominately Muslim Rohingya, their final destination was Malaysia.
However, they ran out of food three days ago, and used up the last of their fuel early this morning off Nai Harn.
Their presence on Phuket was discovered by local villagers, who saw the refugees light a fire on the deck of the boat in order to warm themselves.
All of the refugees later left the boat to beg for food and water from people in the area.
Suremula said that life as a Rohingya in Burma is hard, as they are discriminated against as a minority, and pushed to the edge of society by the country's rulers.
"We don't receive help from the Burmese government," said Suremula through an interpreter. "Even though some of us have received basic education, we will never have the opportunity to find good jobs."
Suremula said that he earned about 1000 kyats (around B5,000) a year from whatever jobs he could find – ranging from rubber tappers to construction workers – to feed his family, which numbers more than ten.
"All of us onboard the boat decided that the only way out was to seek a better life in a new land," he said.
Among the refugees, the youngest are Dehuahusan, Aenatula and Sherfvic, all 13 years-old, who said they were only hoping for a brighter future.
"Do you know where we will be taken to?," asked Aenatula. "Will we be taken back to Burma? We don't want to go back to where we came from."
Local officials say that the Rohingya will be sent to a refugee centre in Ranong Province.
However, the Thai government can't send them back to Burma, as the Burmese government doesn't consider them to be citizens.
Their fate is unknown.