Mental health of newly arrived Burmese refugees in Australia

Mental health of newly arrived Burmese refugees in Australia: Contributions of
premigration and postmigration experience

Robert D. Schweitzer1, Associate Professor
Mark Brough2, Director of Research
Lyn Vromans1, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Mary Asic-Kobe1, Clinical Doctoral Student
Schools of Psychology and Counselling1 and Social Work and Human Services2
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 4059
For submission to: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
Date: 13 November 2010
Corresponding Author: Dr Lyn Vromans
School of Psychology and Counselling
Queensland University of Technology
Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 4059
Tel: +61 (07) 3138 4617 Fax: +61 (07) 3138 0486
Email: l.vromans @qut.edu.au
Running Head: Burmese Refugees Word Count: 5035
Burmese refugees 2

Abstract
Objective: This study documents the mental health status of people from Burmese refugee backgrounds, recently arrived in Australia; then examines the contributions of gender, premigration and postmigration factors in predicting mental health. Method: Structured interviews, including a demographic questionnaire, the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, Postmigration Living Difficulties Checklist and Hopkins Symptom Checklist assessed premigration trauma, postmigration living difficulties, depression, anxiety, somatisation and traumatisation symptoms in a sample of 70 adults across five Burmese ethnic groups.

Results: Substantial proportions of participants reported psychological distress in symptomatic ranges including: posttraumatic stress disorder (9%); anxiety (20%), and; depression (36%), as well as significant symptoms of somatisation (37%). Participants reported multiple and severe premigration traumas. Postmigration living difficulties of greatest concern included communication problems and worry about family not in Australia. Gender did not predict mental health. Level of exposure to traumatic events and postmigration living difficulties each made unique and relatively equal contributions to traumatisation symptoms. Postmigration living difficulties made unique contributions to depression, anxiety and somatisation symptoms.

Conclusions: While exposure to traumatic events impacted on participants’ mental wellbeing, postmigration living difficulties had greater salience in predicting mental health outcomes of people from Burmese refugee backgrounds. Reported rates of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were consistent with a large review of adults across seven western countries. High levels of somatisation pointed to a nuanced expression of distress. Findings have implications for service provision in terms of Burmese refugees 3 implementing appropriate interventions to effectively meet the needs of this newly arrived group in Australia.

Key words: Burmese, refugee, trauma, mental health, postmigration living difficulties

Mental Health of Newly Arrived Burmese Refugees in Australia: Contributions of Pre and Postmigration Experience

The present study explores the mental health of humanitarian entrants from Burmese refugee backgrounds, recently arrived in Australia, as well as the contributions of gender, premigration trauma and postmigration living difficulties in predicting psychological wellbeing. Prolonged and violent ethnic conflict in Burma (more recently named Myanmar) since 1984 has resulted in the internal displacement of over one million people. A further million have fled Burma, seeking initial refuge in neighbouring countries, including Thailand, India, Bangladesh, China and Malaysia [1].

With the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a growing number of these individuals have arrived in Australia for resettlement since 2005, and in the 2008 to 2009 period, refugees from Burma received 2412 off-shore visas [2], second only to the 2874 visas granted to people from Iraq. While several Burmese ethnic groups are represented, including Rohingya, Chin, Mon, Karenni and Kachin amongst others, Karen people constituted the largest ethnic group arriving in Australia from Burma in the 2005 to 2009 period. According to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) Settlement data base, 4756 of the 8116 Burmese arrivals self-identified as Karen (Watters, A: personal communication). 

This is probably an underestimate, as many Karen may also be amongst the 1996 arrivals self-identified as the super-ordinate “Burmese”. Premigration traumas have been associated with negative mental health. Previous research findings indicate that being subjected to or witnessing traumatic events is a common premigration experience for people from refugee backgrounds. Traumatic experiences have been associated with mental health problems such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression and anxiety [3,4,5]. A systematic review of literature [6] suggests that 9% of adults and 11% of children from refugee backgrounds resettled in western countries report symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress disorder; around ten times prevalence rates for the general population.
While research examining relationships between premigration trauma and postmigration psychopathology suggest dose-response correlation [7], with greater exposure to trauma associated with higher levels of PTSD symptoms, the relationship between trauma and PTSD remains complex.

Ethnicity and gender appear to interact with psychological distress following traumatic events [8,9]. Davidson, Murray and Schweitzer [10] pointed to variation in the incidence of specific clinical disorders across refugee populations. The impact of culture on belief systems and on the experience and expression of distress [11,12] mean that different ethnic groups may vary in their appraisal and response to traumatic events.
In addition, gender has been found to impact mental health outcomes. For example, in a group of Sudanese refugees resettled in Australia for under two years, female gender predicted greater PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms [9].

Previous research suggests postmigration stress also affects psychological wellbeing. Recent research in Sweden examined impacts of previous trauma and resettlement stress on recently settled Middle Eastern refugees’ mental health [13].
While previous trauma contributed 22% of the variance in predicting PTSD symptoms, resettlement stressors contributed 24% of the variance of depression, anxiety and somatisation. Findings are consistent with Australian research by Schweitzer et al. [9]
who reported that level of postmigration living difficulties predicted anxiety and somatisation. Poorer outcomes have been found for females with prior high economic status or from rural backgrounds [14].
Successful settlement of refugees requires that government bodies and service providers respond effectively to the mental health needs of newly arrived people. While previous research points to the potential vulnerability of new arrivals [9,15,16], there exists little research into the mental health of people from Burma refugee backgrounds. In addition, an early study assessing the mental health of 104 Burmese political dissidents, living in exile in Thailand [17], found high levels of depression (38%), as measured by the Burmese version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist 25 (HSCL-25) [18]. The study also found high levels (23%) of PTSD symptoms as assessed by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire [19]. Consistent with findings by Allden et al. [17], a more recent study by Lopes Cardozo, Talley, Burton and Crawford [20], which documented the mental health of 495 Karenni refugees residing in Thai camps, reported high levels of depression (42%) and anxiety (41%), as well as physical complaints. Surprisingly, PTSD symptoms were lower (4.6%) than for other refugee populations, such as Cambodian refugees (37.2%) in the Thai-Cambodian border camps, also
assessed by the HTQ [21].

To our knowledge, the mental health status of refugees from Burma, recently resettled in Australia, has not been documented. On humanitarian grounds, Australia is currently committed to the intake and settlement of approximately 13750 refugees in 2010 [2]. Further, Australia’s DIAC is dedicated to managing the settlement of people from refugee backgrounds in ways that promote social and economic benefits to Australia. Australia’s humanitarian and socio-economic interests mean that responding to the mental health needs of people resettling in Australia after forced migration is a primary concern [22]. Research determining the predominant mental health issues of this population, as well as the contributions of gender, premigration and postmigration factors to psychological wellbeing has potential to inform policy and practice which seeks to enhance the welfare of vulnerable and trauma-affected populations more widely. The aims of the present study were to identify the mental health status of newly arrived refugees from Burma, and to determine the contributions of gender, premigration trauma and postmigration living difficulties to mental health status. Based on previous research investigating the mental health status of other refugee groups outlined above, it was hypothesised that: Hypothesis 1: Female gender would predict higher levels of PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms.

Hypothesis 2: A greater number of trauma experiences would predict higher levels of PTSD, depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms. Hypothesis 3: A higher level of postmigration living difficulties would predict higher levels of PTSD, depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms.

Method Participants

Participants were 70 individuals (40 females; 57.1%), with a mean age of 34.13 years (SD = 13.88; range = 18-80 years) from Burmese Refugee backgrounds, who: (a) had recently arrived in Australia as part of the Australian offshore humanitarian program with a mean time in Australia of 3.61 months (SD = 2.36 months; range 2 – 16 months); (b) were aged over 18 years old, and; (c) had provided voluntary informed consent to participate in the research. Individuals were recruited through the assistance of a non-government agency, funded by DIAC to assist refugees’ initial settlement. The agency receives all newly arrived refugees who are allocated for settlement in a specified Brisbane location and is responsible for their orientation program, housing and, where indicated, counselling. Individuals were recruited consecutively over a seven month period, and comprised 93% of adult clients allocated to the settlement service.

Materials Demographic characteristics

Participants gave permission for the researchers to use the demographic information already available through the service agency. Information accessed included: name; gender; age; visa type; marital status; highest education level; previous occupation; country of origin; ethnic group; language, and; date of arrival in Australia.

The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire

The HTQ [23] is a measure of trauma experience and symptoms. It was specifically designed for use with refugee populations and has been used widely in refugee research, including studies examining the mental health of Burmese refugees [17,20]. In the current study the HTQ symptom scale had good internal reliability, with
Cronbach’s alpha of .89.

The Hopkins Symptom Checklist-37

The HSCL-37 is a self-report inventory which measures symptoms along three subscales: anxiety (10 items), depression (15 items) and somatisation (12 items). The HSCL is a valid and reliable index across diverse refugee populations [24]. The HSCL- 37 was found to have good reliability in the current study with a total scale Cronbach’s alpha of .92 and subscale alphas for anxiety (.83), depression (.83) and somatisation (.80).

Postmigration Living Difficulties Checklist

The Postmigration Living Difficulties Checklist comprises a series of questions relating to postmigration stressors and has been used in previous studies examining the mental health of refugees, asylum seekers and temporary protection visa holders [9,15,25]. The items cover areas commonly identified as difficulties by refugees in Australia [26,27]. Since each item is considered as a separate stressor, the notion of internal reliability is not applicable.

Procedure

After receiving ethical approval through the university Human Research Ethics Committee counsellors working for the partner organization provided new clients with information about the research along with an invitation to participate. Where the client expressed interest in research participation, the counsellor referred the client to the researcher or facilitated a meeting with the researcher. Cognizant of potential vulnerabilities, client and participant welfare was prioritized throughout the research process. The researcher and counsellors worked with interpreters to ensure optimal communication and ethical processes. Where clients provided informed consent to participate, the researcher worked with interpreters and participants to complete the battery of questionnaires, usually over a two or three one-hour sessions at the office of the settlement organization.

Analyses

Following preliminary descriptive, assumption and correlation analyses, a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses examined the relative contributions of gender, premigration trauma and postmigration living difficulties on traumatisation, depression, anxiety and somatisation. For each symptom outcome: gender was entered at step 1; number of trauma events personally experienced was entered at step 2, and; level of postmigration living difficulties was entered at step 3.

Results Participant Characteristics

Table 1 shows participants’ self-identified religious, ethnic and language groups. The majority of participants were Christians from Karen ethnic and language backgrounds. Table 2 shows the participants’ visa, marital and educational status.

Participants came to Australia on Refugee (90%) or Women at Risk visas (10%). The majority identified themselves as married (53%), single (36%) or widowed (9%). While most had secondary (47%) or primary education (37%), a significant proportion had no education (13%).

Participants’ Experience of Traumatic Events

Table 3 shows the exposure to traumatic events experienced or witnessed by participants and their families. The most frequent type of personally experienced trauma reported were lack of food or water (74%), lack of shelter (69%), combat situations (58%) and ill health without access to medical care (56%). Participants also reported high levels of witnessing others experiencing traumatic events, including serious injury (65%), torture (46%) and rape (33%), or that their families had experienced or witnessed traumatic events.

Participants’ Postmigration Living Difficulties

Table 4 presents proportions of participants experiencing a range of postmigration living difficulties since arrival in Australia. All participants reported communication difficulties; 71% reporting this as a serious difficulty. A majority of participants (72%) reported worrying about family not in Australia as causing moderate or serious difficulty. All participants arrived in Australia on refugee or women at risk visas and the majority of people (87%) reported no problems with immigration processes.

Participants’ Mental Health Status

Table 5 shows proportions of participants’ psychological distress, as well as mean scores and standard deviations, as indicated by reported trauma symptoms on the HTQ [23] and reported symptoms of anxiety, depression and somatisation on HSCL subscales [18]. Significant proportions of participants reported experiences symptomatic of trauma (26%), anxiety (20%), depression (36%) and somatisation (37%). Based on the application of DSM-IV criteria to HTQ symptoms, nearly 9% of participants reported trauma symptoms that were consistent with meeting the diagnostic criteria of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Correlations

Since univariate score distributions for traumatisation, depression and anxiety were positively skewed, correlation analysis used Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation to calculate the strength of relationships among predictor and outcome variables (Table 6). Correlation coefficients suggested that symptoms of traumatisation, anxiety, depression and somatisation were strongly and positively correlated. Gender was not significantly related to premigration, postmigration and symptom variables and the magnitude of correlations was small. Premigration trauma events were correlated with postmigration living difficulties, somatisation and traumatisation, but not with depression, anxiety or gender. Postmigration living difficulties were correlated with traumatisation, depression, anxiety, and somatisation.

Predictors of Mental Health Symptoms

Considering that regression analysis is generally robust to violation of univariate normality, focus was on assumptions relevant to regression analyses. Examination of residuals scattterplots of the regression on the Anxiety symptom scores identified violation of the assumption of heteroscedasticity, which was rectified by square root transformation of anxiety scores. Since substantive results from transformed analyses did not differ from untransformed analyses, results from untransformed scores are reported. Table 7 displays results from the regression analyses. The models for each symptom outcome are described below.
Traumatisation

The overall model, including gender, number of trauma events and postmigration living difficulties, was significant, F (3, 64) = 7.06, p < .001, accounting for 24.9 % of the variance in traumatisation scores. Exposure to traumatic and postmigration living difficulties each explained additional variance in traumatisation scores when added to the model. Traumatic events and postmigration living difficulties made statistically significant unique contributions to traumatisation symptoms, but gender did not.
 

Anxiety

The overall model, including gender, number of trauma events and postmigration living difficulties, was significant, F (3, 64) = 3.68, p = .016, accounting for 14.7 % of the variance in anxiety scores. Exposure to traumatic and postmigration living difficulties each explained additional variance in anxiety scores when added to the model. Postmigration living difficulties made a statistically significant unique contribution to anxiety symptoms, but the number of trauma events did not. Gender made a unique contribution to anxiety only at p = .07.
 

Depression

The overall model, including gender, number of trauma events and
postmigration living difficulties, was significant, F (3, 64) = 4.34, p = .008, accounting
for 16.9 % of the variance in depression scores. Exposure to traumatic and
postmigration living difficulties each explained additional variance in depression scores
when added to the model. Postmigration living difficulties made a statistically
significant unique contribution to depression symptoms, but trauma events did not.
Gender made a unique contribution only at p = .08.
Somatisation
The overall model, including gender, number of trauma events and
postmigration living difficulties, was significant, F (3, 64) = 6.33, p = .001, accounting
for 22.9 % of the variance in somatisation scores. Exposure to traumatic and
postmigration living difficulties each explained additional variance in somatisation
scores when added to the model. Postmigration living difficulties made a statistically
significant unique contribution, but trauma events did not make a significant unique
contribution. Gender made a unique contribution only at p = .09.
Discussion
The aims of this study were: to identify the mental health status of newly arrived
refugees from Burma; and to determine the contributions of gender, premigration
trauma and postmigration living difficulties to mental health symptoms. Significant
proportions of participants reported psychological distress in symptomatic ranges,
including: PTSD (9%); anxiety (20%), and depression (36%). Many reported symptoms
Burmese refugees 16
of substantial traumatisation (26%) and somatisation (37%). Contrary to the first
hypothesis, gender did not predict symptom outcome. The second hypotheses received
only partial support: the level of exposure to premigration traumatic events predicted
trauma symptoms, but not anxiety, depression or somatisation. Findings supported the
third hypothesis: Postmigration living difficulties predicted mental health
symptomatology, making unique contributions to traumatisation, anxiety, depression
and somatisation.
Premigration Trauma
Newly arrived Burmese people, participating in this study, reported being
exposed to multiple and severe premigration traumas. Such exposure is consistent with
the experience of Karenni refugees living in Thai-Burmese border camps reported by
Lopes Cardozo et al. [20], and similar to reports from other refugee populations who
have fled from ethnic and military conflict [9]. The current research used a shortened
17-item version of the HTQ events schedule, and one significant item omission was
“forced labour” which emerged frequently in conversations and was endorsed by 34%
of Karenni refugees in previous research [20].

Postmigration Living Difficulties
Participants reported experiencing a range of postmigration living difficulties.
All participants reported problems with communication, with 71% reporting this as a
serious difficulty. A majority reported that worrying about family not in Australia
caused moderate to serious difficulty. Anecdotally, compromised communication

exacerbated participants’ worries about future employment and educational
opportunities and underpinned many of their concerns about accessing health and
welfare services. The difficulty was related to concerns that doctors often did not use
interpreters, or used phone interpreters inadequately; to the extent that the new arrivals
were fearful of incorrect diagnoses and medication.
Difficulties around communication were consistent with research by Momartin
et al. [15], which also found this to be the primary concern of Persian-speaking refugees
residing in Australia for an average of three months. In contrast, people from Middle
East refugee backgrounds, settled in Sweden for an average of 12 months (SD = 8.1
months) reported worries about family abroad as their major concern [13]. Concerns of
newly arrived Burmese refugees can also be compared with those of Sudanese refugees,
35% of whom had been in Australia for two years or more [9], who reported worry
about family not in Australia, difficulties with employment and adjusting to the cultural
life in Australia.
Results are consistent with Gonsalves’ [28] early arrival and destabilization
stages of resettlement, which highlights the importance of individuals learning the
language of the land. Migrants, however, remain involved with their homeland; often
experiencing guilt about those left behind. Based on the work of Grove and Torbiorne
[29], Burmese refugees were likely embedded in their own cultural frame of reference,
perceiving cultural differences of their new country as “quaint” or “fascinating” (p.
214), although this needs further qualitative investigation.
Mental Health

Significant proportions of participants reporting psychological distress in
symptomatic ranges underlines the need for services. While acknowledging the
imperative to address the distress of individuals who are experiencing PTSD symptoms,
findings reveal the importance of avoiding ubiquitous assumptions of PTSD and instead
attending to the range of practical and psychological needs of people from refugee
backgrounds.
Burmese refugees were experiencing levels of psychological distress
substantially higher than 12-month prevalence rates in the general Australian population
for generalised anxiety disorder (2.7%), depression (4.1%) and PTSD (6.4%) [30].
Perhaps understandably, given less certainty about their future, previous research of
Karenni refugees in the Thai-Burma border camps by Lopes Cardozo et al. [20] found
much higher prevalence of anxiety (41%) and slightly higher prevalence of depression
(42%) compared to the current study. Investigating the mental health of Southeast Asian
refugees in the United States, Kinzie and Manson [31] reported that 49% presented
primarily with depression. Based on positive associations of anxiety and depression
symptoms with postmigration living difficulties found in the current study, it is possible
that higher levels of depression and anxiety found in the Thai camps and in the United
States may relate to a greater level of postmigration living difficulties in those contexts.
The positive relationship between postmigration living difficulties and symptomatology
found in the current study is consistent with previous research with a sample of
Southeast Asian refugees [32], which found a lack of English proficiency associated
with depression, and concluded that language skill may act as a stress buffer on mental
health during resettlement.

High prevalence of somatisation (37%) is consistent with high levels of physical
symptoms found in the Thai-Burma border camps [20] and high levels of somatic
complaints (39%) reported by Southeast Asian refugees in the United States [31]. High
levels of somatisation in Southeast Asian populations may relate to a culturally nuanced
expression of distress and may underpin lower levels of anxiety, depression and
traumatisation scores reported by recently arrived Burmese people compared to people
from Persian-speaking backgrounds, recently resettled in Australia for a similar period
[15]. Compared with the HSCL and HTQ anxiety depression and traumatisation
symptom scores of people from Persian-speaking refugee backgrounds [15], recently
arrived Burmese people reported lower levels of anxiety depression and traumatisation
PTSD rate in the current study was consistent with the 9% rate found in
systematic review of 6743 adult refugees across seven western countries [6] and with
the 10% rate found in an investigation of 2773 Southeast Asian refugees in California
[33]. This level was lower than the 13% rate for Sudanese refugees resettled in Australia
for less than 2 years [9], 23% rate reported for Burmese political dissidents living in
exile in Thailand [17] and the 37.2% rate for Cambodian refuges in the Thai-Cambodian
border camps [21]. High PTSD rates of other groups may reflect higher premigration
exposure to trauma or may reflect culturally specific responses to traumatic events.
Alternatively, higher PTSD proportions may represent impacts from postmigration
living difficulties, given existing premigration vulnerabilities. If the latter explanation is
possible, postmigration PTSD rate higher than the 4.6% rate for Karenni refuges in the
Thai-Burma border camps [17] could reflect a type of stress-diatheses in which
postmigration living difficulties experienced by newly arrived Burmese people
exacerbates existing vulnerability resulting from previous trauma.

Contributions of Gender, Premigration Trauma, Postmigration Living Difficulties to
Mental Health Symptoms
Findings from the current study revealed that levels of premigration trauma and
postmigration living difficulties both play significant roles in the mental health of
recently arrived refugees from Burma. Gender was not associated with levels of
traumatisation or postmigration living in the group of participants from Burma, and in
contrast to previous research with Sudanese refugees [9], did not predict mental health
symptoms.
While exposure to traumatic events impacted on participants’ mental wellbeing,
postmigration living difficulties had greater salience in predicting mental health
outcomes of people from Burmese refugee backgrounds. The finding that exposure to
premigration traumatic events predicts traumatisation symptoms is consistent with
previous research [3,4,5,7]. Findings from the current study revealed that postmigration
living difficulties made a unique and almost equal contribution as traumatic events in
predicting trauma symptoms. While premigration traumatic events did not make a
unique significant contribution to anxiety, depression and somatisation symptoms with
this group of participants, difficulties of postmigration living predicted these mental
health symptoms. Findings from the current study underline the role of postmigration
stressors in creating mental health problems and raise the possibility of a type of stress
diathesis in which postmigration living difficulties may trigger or exacerbate existing
predisposition to PTSD caused by exposure to premigration trauma.
m
Findings from the research are limited by several factors including the small
number of participants and potential bias in relation to the recruitment of participants.
As participation was voluntary, some self selection bias may be present. A larger
sample size would provide greater confidence in the generalisability of findings.
Because of the diverse range of languages across the different ethnic participant groups,
the research relied on interpreters, raising potential inconsistency in the questionnaire
administration. Results are limited by reliance on questionnaire methodology,
particularly salient in the context of research with people from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds in relation to social constructions of different
pathologies.
We acknowledge that the conceptualisation of disorders within the cultural
context draws upon Western models of psychopathology and hope in further
publications to describe some of the culturally related phenomenon that pertain to
people from this refugee group. Despite these concerns, the measures used have been
used successfully across diverse cultural populations and in the current study the
questionnaires had face validity in distinguishing between different pathologies. While
debate on the use of empirical questionnaires in culturally and linguistically diverse
populations continues, rather than assuming the presence of traumatisation and
implementing potentially aversive interventions such as exposure therapy, the current
findings speak to the importance of a comprehensive and culturally sensitive assessment
of psychological distress in refugee populations so that therapists may implement
appropriate and effective intervention.

From Burma to Bunbury: refugees may be resettled in WA coastal town

• Debbie Guest From: The Australia

BURMESE refugees could soon be making their new home in the West Australian coastal town of Bunbury under a plan being considered by the Gillard government. 

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship is in talks with the town's mayor to resettle about eight Burmese families by the end of the year. Another 20 to 30 families could follow next year and in the years after.
The refugees would be resettled in homes in the community and would already have had their claims for asylum processed and been granted visas, according to City of Bunbury Mayor David Smith.
"They would be accommodated in the community in normal houses and would be supported by non-government and the government agencies here in Bunbury," Mr Smith said.
He said a team of officials from the department had visited Bunbury, 180km south of Perth, to assess the town's economic and social infrastructure. Mr Smith said the officials indicated they thought the town was a good resettlement location for Burmese refugees.

He said housing the refugees would be a positive for Bunbury, which already had links to the Burmese community.
"Post-World War II we had a few who came here when the English empire withdrew from Burma... I went to school with some of them," Mr Smith said, adding that Australia's acceptance of refugees was one of the nation's success stories.
"All migrants have made a positive impact in Bunbury."
A spokeswoman for the department said Bunbury was one location under consideration to accommodate refugees.
"The process is only in its very early stages and discussions with stakeholders so far have been preliminary," she said.
The spokeswoman said the department had settled refugees in regional areas across Australia for some years and that settlement only occurred when the department had the support of the local community and state government service providers.

Burmese refugees fearful of new life in USA

By Jesse Wright,

 

MAE SOT, Thailand — The bus rumbled to life, and Hsar Say took one last look at the only home he'd known for the past 20 years. The lime green rice paddies, the banana trees, the bamboo huts he shared with the other refugees — they were all part of his past.

In a few hours, Say would board a plane to America with his wife and two kids. Whether that was a good thing, he wasn't sure.

"Basically I think (America) will be better than a refugee camp," he said. "In a refugee camp, you have no rights. You are put in a cage. It's illegal to travel outside the camp, so it's very different from being a human."

On the other hand, Say was a very important man — a teacher — among the other Burmese refugees at the Mae La camp in western Thailand. His wife taught adult literacy classes. He confessed to being "a little afraid" that in America, they'd end up like his wife's cousin, who moved to Kentucky and toils in a clothing store packing boxes.

"Maybe in America, I can work at a job to help other people," he said hopefully. "I like social work."

Such are the dilemmas facing Say and the 15,000 other refugees from Burma who have arrived in the USA since 2006, making them the biggest single group of refugees to enter the country during that time, according to the State Department.

Those who have escaped from Burma, also known as Myanmar, are in many respects a special case: They have fled a military regime that the Bush administration had singled out as one of the most brutal in the world. A cyclone in May killed at least 85,000 people and sent even more Burmese streaming across the border into Thailand, where there are about 100,000 refugees packed into nine camps.

Former first lady Laura Bush, who had made the plight of Burma's people one of her main causes, visited the Mae La camp in August and met a group of refugees on their way to South Carolina. "It was very moving for me to see how thrilled they were to be able to leave," she recalled in a recent interview with USA TODAY.

President Obama, in a statement in June, condemned the oppressive Burmese regime, saying the situation there "offends the conscience of the American people."

Adjusting to outside life is a particular challenge for many Burmese refugees.

Many, including Say, have spent most of their adult lives in the camps, leaving them unprepared for life on their own. Those who are granted passage to America by U.S. immigration officials must first take part in classes on how to provide for their own basic nutrition, how to change a diaper and how to use the bathroom on an airplane.

The fear of the outside world is so strong that about 60% of the refugees refuse to leave the camps, according to the International Organization of Migration (IOM), which is paid by the U.S. government to administer the classes.

"They don't know what's going on in America," said Peter Salnikowski, the IOM's cultural orientation program coordinator. "They ask: 'What are the camps over there like?' "

Spread over a dense green range of jagged low mountains, the Mae La camp is one of the largest camps in Thailand. Tall, barbed-wire fences separate the 40,000 residents from the rest of the world. Huts have been built with bamboo and teak hacked out of the jungle.

Some residents carry water from a nearby well; others cook curry over wooden fires.

Many are members of the Karen ethnic group, whose half-century struggle for independence within Burma has made them particular targets of the military. The Karen Human Rights Group, a local aid agency, says the military attacks Karen villages, burns homes and uses civilians as human minesweepers.

In defending its actions, the Burmese regime has said it is in a battle against separatists and terrorists.

The Karen make up about 7 million of Burma's 48 million people, though they are not the only group that suffers.

Last month, the United Nations criticized the Burmese regime for its failure to allow aid groups access to victims of Cyclone Nargis, eight months after the storm made landfall.

Despite it all, leaving is a difficult decision for Karen who fear their way of life will be lost in a new country.

"We're afraid that if we go (to America) we will lose our culture," said Naw Janey, 46, a mother of four.

She moved her family to Mae La this year after Cyclone Nargis destroyed their bamboo home on the Irrawaddy River delta. Despite her misgivings, she is applying for refugee status.

"We don't want to go to America, but it would be a good chance for my children to study," she said.

The U.S. government had closed its doors to most Karen refugees after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, after which it classified the Karen National Union — a group that includes guerrilla fighters as well as politicians — as a terrorist organization. The ban was lifted by the State Department in 2006, although former guerrillas are still denied entry.

To get to the USA, camp residents first must be formally classified as refugees by the United Nations. Then they can apply to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a process that can take months.

The ordeal gets no easier when they arrive in the USA.

The Karen speak their own language and only sometimes speak Burmese, which means good translators are hard to find, according to Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, an organization that helps Karen settle in the USA.

Local resettlement agencies are tasked with teaching the refugees English and helping them find a job once they arrive.Say was lucky: Among the three dozen passengers on the bus leaving the Mae La camp, he was the only one who spoke English. That will ease his transition to life in America.

As the refugee camp disappeared from view and the bus approached the Bangkok airport, his thoughts centered on the life he was leaving behind.

"One day, if it is OK, or even if it's not OK, maybe I can come back and visit and help the people who are struggling," he said. "Peace will take time."

Contributing: David Jackson in Washington

Suu Kyi visit brings hope to Thai Myanmar community

 

 

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi shake hands with migrant workers from Myanmar, as she visits them in Samut Sakhon province.

The Nation/Asia News Network
Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Myanmar's migrant workers, refugees, exile activists and ethnic groups were excited ahead of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to Thailand.
They said her attending a high-profile forum here raised hopes of a future of peace, democracy and reconciliation in their home country.
Thailand was the right place for her first international trip in 24 years, they said, as it would give her a chance to meet many people from Myanmar. She is here until Sunday.
"This visit is more important for strengthening ties between the Burmese democratic opposition and Thailand. It's also an acknowledgement for border-based ethnic groups, refugees and migrants that they are not alone," activist Soe Aung said.
Suu Kyi was invited to the World Economic Forum on East Asia to meet leading international business figures and express her vision for reform and the future of her country.
Foreign investors looking for business opportunities want to hear from her about Myanmar's political development. Migrant workers in Mahachai will be the first group she will meet today.
She will visit a market to see their working conditions, as well as Samut Sakhon's National Verification Centre and a learning centre at a migrant worker office, where she will deliver her speech.
Thailand has been a workplace for millions of documented and undocumented migrant labourers from Myanmar for a long time. They have contributed a lot to the Thai economy as well as sent a lot of remittances back home.
Many migrant workers told local media that Suu Kyi's visit would mean a lot to them, as it would give them courage and support. Some said they could not believe they would get to meet Suu Kyi in person.
After her session at the World Economic Forum tomorrow and Friday, Suu Kyi will travel to the border districts of Mae Sot and Tha Song Yang on Saturday to see refugees who fled from conflict and war at home, some nearly three decades ago.
The highlight in Mae Sot will be a meeting with ethnic leaders whose groups took up weapons against the military junta of the country previously called Burma for more than half a century.
Representatives of at least six ethnic groups, including the Karen, Karenni, Arakan, Kachin and Shan, will attend the planned meeting, according to Timothy Laklem, an executive member of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Peace Council member.
Representatives from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) run by Saw Ler Pwe, aka Na Kham Mwe, would be also at the meeting with Suu Kyi, he said.
The rare meeting between Suu Kyi and the many ethnic minority groups recalls the spirit of the Panglong Agreement which her father, national hero General Aung San, reached with ethnic groups in 1947, said Laklem, who organised the meeting.
"We hope that the daughter of Gen Aung San will carry on the spirit of the Panglong Agreement to move forward in genuine peace and democracy," Laklem said. "The meeting would be something like a second Panglong conference."
The KNLA Peace Council executive member did not expect concrete outcomes from the first meeting with Suu Kyi at the border town but hoped the gathering would create good and close relations between them.
Many groups have reached peace agreements with the government and are implementing ceasefires, although the Kachin are a notable exception. However, some groups fear the Myanmar army will not uphold the peace process.
Laklem said they would urge Suu Kyi to play a bigger role in helping facilitate peace talks between them and the government.
"Aung San Suu Kyi could help to guarantee that we would sit and talk with the government on an equal basis," he said.
Many other groups of Myanmar people and members of ethnic groups, notably refugees, expressed hope to see and meet Suu Kyi and expected she would share their concerns about their plans to return home.
Thailand has a clear plan to repatriate hundreds of thousands of refugees after reaching truces with the many groups.
Nan Dah Eh Kler, secretary of the Karen Women Organisation, issued an open letter to Suu Kyi yesterday inviting her to meet the group at a refugee camp in border of Thailand and Myanmar.
"The refugee communities are currently living with a great deal of uncertainty and worry due to the changing position of the international community regarding support and possible repatriation during these fragile peace negotiations," she said. "You [Suu Kyi] have long been a beacon of hope for many," the Karen woman said.

Source : http://news.asiaone.com

Suu Kyi visits Burmese refugees in Thailand

MAHACHAI, Thailand (AP) — Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule.

Aung San Suu Kyi waves to the crowd while leaving a community center in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand. Pic: AP.

“Don’t feel down, or weak. History is always changing,” she told an exuberant crowd of thousands southwest of Bangkok. Many held signs saying, “We want to go home,” and Suu Kyi said her visit was aimed at learning how she could help them.

“Today, I will make you one promise: I will try my best for you,” she said.

Suu Kyi, who arrived in Bangkok late Tuesday, left her luxury hotel and the skyscraper-packed capital Wednesday for the nearby town of Mahachai, home to Thailand’s largest population of Burmese migrants. Thousands of Burma’s downtrodden crowded around her and chanted: “Long Live Mother Suu!”

“I had only seen her on TV and in newspapers,” said Saw Hla Tun, who left Burma’s Karen state seven years ago and earns a meager wage carrying heavy salt sacks on his back. “I couldn’t hold back my tears when I saw her.”

After speaking to the crowd from a fourth-floor balcony at a community center, the Nobel Peace Prize winner met with migrant workers who told her they face mistreatment from employers but lack knowledge of their rights and have no legal means to settle disputes.

Suu Kyi spent 15 of the last 24 years under house arrest. During intermittent periods of freedom, she dared not leave Burma — not even to visit her dying husband — because she feared the military junta ruling at the time would not allow her to return. Now, in a sign of how much life has changed, the democracy activist and newly elected member of Parliament is traveling across Thailand, where she will speak later this week at the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

She’ll return to Burma briefly before heading to Europe for a five-country tour in mid-June. Her stops include England where she’ll address the British Parliament and Oslo, Norway, to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won 21 years ago.

Fixing a battered economy is one of the most crucial challenges facing Burma, also known as Burma, as it begins opening up in the wake of 49 years of military governance that ended only last year.

Thailand hosts around 2.5 million impoverished Burmese who have fled here to work low-skilled jobs as domestic servants or in manual labor industries like fisheries and the garment sector.

Andy Hall, a migrant expert and researcher at the Institute for Population and Social Research at Thailand’s Mahidol University, said the Burmese migrants — up to a million of them undocumented — make up between 5 and 10 percent of the Thai work force, contributing as much as 7 percent of the nation’s GDP.

Many are exploited and paid reduced wages. Some have been trafficked; some have had their passports confiscated by employers. Hall said they were nevertheless “the lifeblood of a lot of the Burma economy, sending home money to support families who don’t have enough money to eat.”

“They have no voice, they can never speak up or stand up,” Hall said. “So for Aung San Suu Kyi to visit is like a dream come true, someone who finally may be able to bring attention to their suffering.”

One of the migrants, a 26-year-old woman named Khin Than Nu, works at a Thai canning factory and dreams of her home in Burma’s Mon state.

“We left our parents in Burma, and all my brothers and sisters work here to support our parents,” she said. “I hope Daw Suu will help develop our country, and bring jobs so we can go home.”

UNHCR avoiding its responsibility to refugees

By Aliran,

The UNHCR is completely misguided in offering any support whatsoever for the Malaysia refugee swap, according to Australian and Malaysian refugee advocates.

Aliran exco member Angeline Loh

Richard Towle, Australian head of the UNHCR, was reported in the Fairfax press today as stating that “the assurances of legal stay and community-based reception” in the Malaysia deal “can be seen as a more positive protection environment” than detention in Australia, “provided the assurances are carefully monitored”.

“How Richard Towle can find a way to support the government and the Malaysia Agreement at this juncture is a complete mystery. At best he is guilty of wishful thinking; at worst his comments are ill-informed and irresponsible. There has been no law change in Malaysia and refugees are just as vulnerable as ever,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

“Detention in Australia is an abomination and must be put to an end. But supporting the Malaysia swap is no way to achieve a more humane refugee policy.”

“People come to Australia because there is no prospect of safe resettlement in South-East Asia. The Malaysia deal would make Australia complicit with the persecution of refugees in Malaysia, where there is no control over how they are treated.”

“It is absurd to believe that Malaysia’s assurances of humane treatment can be ‘carefully monitored’,’’ Rintoul continued. “The UNHCR itself is chronically unable to cope with the more than 90000 registered refugees in Malaysia.”

“The only members of the confirmed oversight committee proposed to police the deal are Australian and Malaysian officials, and the text of the arrangement has practically no details of how implementation will be monitored. There is no guarantee that safeguards will be met.”

“Julia Gillard’s amendments to the Migration Act to allow the Malaysia agreement must be defeated,” said Rintoul.

Malaysian advocate criticises Towle

Malaysia has been universally condemned for its treatment of refugees. Angeline Loh, from the Malaysian human rights organisation Aliran, presently touring Australia, is sharply critical of UNHCR’s support for the Malaysia deal.

“How can Richard Towle be so sure that asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia will be safe when there has been no evidence that the Malaysia government’s pledges will be put into practice?” she asked.

“There has been no legislation passed to amend the [Malaysian] Immigration Act or to recognise asylum seekers and refugees or the human right to seek asylum.” Refugees in Malaysia will continue to be caned, and no document issued by Malaysian authorities will prevent this, she said.

“UNHCR seems to be trying to avoid its role and responsibility in overseeing and directing refugee protection in lending support to a bilateral agreement that does not guarantee refugee protection by trivialising the importance of the inherent human rights of refugees,” Loh continued

“Why doesn’t UNHCR openly support the calls by Malaysian NGOs that the government ratifies the 1951 Refugee Convention instead of the ‘Malaysian Solution’, which will not solve the problems of human trafficking or people smugglers?”

Loh will be among a number of high-profile speakers addressing a public demonstration in Sydney at midday this Saturday at Town Hall Square.

For more information, contact Ian Rintoul (Refugee Action Coalition) 0417 275 713

Government’s deception of undocumented migrants and refugees

By Aliran, on 13 April 2012

To promise an amnesty and then to back-track and break those promises does not forge greater trust in the authorities, remarks Angeline Loh.

Immigration detainees at the Lenggeng Detention Centre, Malaysia, 23 July 2009 - Photo courtesy of Amnesty France Flickr

The recent announcement by the Federal authorities that the deadline for registration of undocumented migrant workers was extended to 10 April 2012 seems to be a misrepresentation, misleading employers, undocumented migrant workers, asylum seekers and refugees.

 

Crackdowns had already started even before the last deadline on 15 February prior to this extension and are still continuing long before the new deadline.

Neither the Minister of Home Affairs nor the immigration authorities have made public any reasons for launching these crackdowns on undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and confirmed refugees during this amnesty period.

Migrants and human rights NGOs – Tenaganita and Suaram – have reported arrests and possible deportation of about 323 supposedly undocumented migrants from 11 February to 5 March. This number, however, includes persons with official UNHCR refugee status as well as asylum seekers protected by international law.

The use of deception as a ruse to corner and deport undocumented migrants, refugees and asylum seekers flies in the face of customary international human rights and refugee law. It indicates the extent to which the government of this country may be trusted by the international community as well as its own citizens.

To promise an amnesty for undocumented migrant workers, negotiate humanitarian agreements with the UN refugee agency and other interested parties, yet to subsequently back-track and break these promises, does not forge greater trust in the Malaysian government. The government looks set to continue its ‘war on migrants’ that has intensified since 2004. 

6P Registration – Going nowhere

A registration exercise to collect biometric data was carried out in August 2011 on refugees in the Klang Valley, at Putrajaya. Since then, nothing more has been heard about this programme or if the data collected has been used to identify refugees, amongst other measures that may assist in setting up a more comprehensive and updated immigration system to deal with current migration issues.

Moreover, the 6P registration of undocumented migrant workers appears to be going nowhere. According to media reports since last year, employers trying to get their foreign workers registered have faced long delays and queues merely to obtain queue numbers. Foreign workers had to be brought by their employers to Putrajaya from all corners of the country and had to wait days just to be registered.

There were also complaints about the slow pace at which immigration department staff worked and the breakdown of equipment used for electronic data collection. In some cases, foreign workers and employers were kept waiting at the immigration office for a whole day, only to be asked to return to the immigration office the next day to start the same process all over again.

Keeping workers and employers in limbo only causes work stoppages incurring daily losses, slow and reduced production of goods and services, or complete shutdowns that could end in the bankruptcy of many SMEs. Moreover, the current crackdowns on undocumented migrant workers without fair warning to either workers or employers and the non-compliance with government-set deadlines for an amnesty will disrupt operations to the disadvantage of both workers and the employers on whom they depend. This also creates an artificial labour shortage without any back-up labour force or compensation for arbitrary redundancy or loss of investment.

Immigration crackdowns detrimental to economy

Further, employers of undocumented migrant workers not yet registered face a maximum fine of RM50,000 and a twelve month jail term for each undocumented employee (Section 55B Immigration Act 1959/63). Attacking foreign employees and their employers would only bring about a lose-lose economic situation for smaller businesses in Malaysia, which contribute substantially to local investment in goods and services.

The other short-sighted measure instituted by the authorities is the prohibition on employing refugees present in the country. UNHCR-confirmed refugees number nearly 100,000. A number of refugees are reasonably able-bodied and of employable age. There are also refugees who were holding skilled jobs or were trained in skilled work before leaving their countries as refugees. Further, in comparison to the estimated number of undocumented foreign workers (2.6 m according to Tenaganita) in the country, 100,000 refugees is far smaller in number.

There is no reason why refugees with skills should be kept outside the labour force and prohibited from contributing to the economy of the country where they are seeking some security – even if it may be temporary. In view of the short-term contracts given to other foreign workers, working temporarily in the country should not pose a problem for an employer as the employer can quite easily employ a replacement worker. Better still, if the employer uses the trained refugee-worker to train other workers to replace them before they leave the country to be resettled or voluntarily return to their own countries.

There are many constructive solutions to the labour shortage in Malaysia and to the apparently overwhelming immigration problems Malaysia faces. But the biggest problem faced by the rakyat now is the dismal lack of political will to initiate and institute these constructive solutions for a better Malaysia. Those taking the initiative privately to use the labour and skills available regardless of legal status are deemed to be breaking the law under the Immigration Act. This dilemma leaves a pool of ready labour being un-utilised and apparently ‘punished’ for being victims of unjust persecution in their home countries – while leaving employers and local businesses uncertain of their future survival.

This entrapment ruse by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the immigration authorities is purposeless, unjustified and is of no benefit to the economy, the foreign migrants, refugees or the country. Politicising immigration and migrants can only be interpreted as emotionalising an apparently sensitive issue to gain political mileage by diverting public attention to unresolved migration problems ahead of Malaysia’s coming general election.

The adhoc and secretive actions of the federal authorities relating to undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia prompt us to ask why, since the 1970s, when refugees first arrived in Malaysia, the government has refrained from developing a better immigration system to cope with new migration trends and problems in the region. The government has also neglected to continuously monitor the effects of its sweeping foreign labour and migration policies, leaving problems to fester until they become unmanageable. Instead, it has used ever increasing numbers of security enforcers like Rela while condoning flagrant human rights abuses as its sole solution.

Angeline Loh is an Aliran executive committee member

Provide mental care for refugees, asylum seekers

By Aliran,

In conjunction with World Mental Health Day on 10 October, Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) has called for greater attention to the mental health needs of refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia.

Their mental distress continues even after arrival - Photo courtesy of Chin Refugees in Malaysia

There are some 15.2 million refugees worldwide and some 88,900 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia as of end June 2010, the majority of whom are from Burma. Malaysia has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a legislative or administrative framework for dealing with refugees.

The World Health Organisation recognises refugees as “one of the most vulnerable groups of today’s world” with special mental health needs.

Mental disorders like depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder are high in prevalence among refugees and asylum seekers because of their forced displacement experiences, including extreme levels of trauma, loss, insecurity, abuse, sexual violence, and torture prior to arriving in Malaysia.

Their mental distress continues even after arrival because of their insecure legal status and inability to engage in paid employment legally.

Poor accessibility to health care further compromises the mental health of refugees and asylum seekers. Refugees in Malaysia experience many difficulties in accessing mental health services and health care in general. Some of the factors that limit accessibility to health care are lack of finance, ongoing security threats of arrest, detention and deportation, lack of recognition of their refugee status, and language barriers.

In line with the World Health Organisation’s position to incorporate the special mental health needs of refugees, and to give due regard for equality and non-discrimination in the development of mental health policy and service provision, Health Equity Initiatives calls on the Malaysian government to:

• provide universal access to mental health care, including for refugees and asylum seekers.
• apply to refugees and asylum seekers the same rates for patient care applicable to Malaysians in state-run health facilities, because they require treatment and do not have the resources
• recognise the status of refugee and allow them to work so that they can finance their health needs and enjoy access to the determinants of health including food, housing, sanitation, and education for their children.

Associate Professor Dr. Xavier V Pereira, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, is director of Health Equity Initiatives

Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) is a Malaysian NGO committed to advancing the right to health of disenfranchised populations. Its programmes include community-based health interventions with refugees and asylum seekers; mental health services; research and advocacy related to monitoring the right to health; and, internships on health and human rights for students of medicine.

For more information contact, Ms. Vizla Kumaresan, Clinical Psychologist and Coordinator of Mental Health Services, Health Equity Initiatives, 26-1A, Jalan Vivekananda, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: +60-3-22724957; Fax: +60-3-2272 4854. Email: health.equity@yahoo.com

Arrest of 33 refugees in Alor Star

By Aliran, on 6 March 2012

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@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

Crackdown on migrants, refugees in Malacca

By Aliran, 

 

Tenaganita has been informed that a “big raid” was carried out in Melaka on 3 March 2012, at about 4.00am. The total number of migrants and refugees detained in that raid is currently unknown. 

A crowded immigration detention camp in Malaysia

The refugee community is currently only aware of two Chin refugee women who were arrested in the 3 March raid. Their families and communities do not know where they have been taken to. As almost all detainees are denied the right to make a phone call, this remains a serious problem.

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 and 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 and whipped.

Key concerns:

• Detention and deportation of refugees, stateless persons, trafficked victims & other vulnerable populations including children;
• Use of violence  by enforcement officers during raids, arrests & 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@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

Media contact: Irene Fernandez (Tenaganita):

irene.f@tenaganita.net
+6-012-316 3011

Crackdown on migrants, refugees in Malaysia

By Aliran

The mass arrests and detentions of migrants, refugees and stateless persons in Malaysia have begun.

Immigration detainees at the Lenggeng Detention Centre, Malaysia, 23 July 2009 - Photo courtesy of Amnesty France Flickr

Immigration officers, police, military and other enforcement agencies, including Rela have been mobilised to search for, arrest, detain and deport any undocumented migrant in Malaysia.

Key concerns:

• Detention and deportation of refugees, stateless persons, victims of human trafficking and other vulnerable people, including children.
• Possible 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 (temporary hotline): 012 339 5350 and 012 335 0512
MSRI (hotline for refugees and asylum seekers): 012 6628483
Suaram: 03 77843525

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

Media contact:
Irene Fernandez (Tenaganita),
email: irene.f[at]tenaganita.net
phone: 012 316 3011

Background

The arrest, detention and deportation of undocumented migrants is the final phase of the Malaysian government’s Illegal Immigrant Comprehensive Settlement Programme (6P Programme, “6P”) In spite of Home Ministry Secretary-General Tan Sri Mahmood Adam’s declaration that the deadline for the 6P has been extended to 10 April 2012, we are already receiving reports of arrests and detention.

On 11 February, we were informed by refugees and members of the public that a raid was conducted in Kuala Lumpur, during which 100-200 migrants and refugees were detained. We are aware that some refugees were taken to detention centres, while the whereabouts of others are currently unknown.

In previous immigration crackdowns (2005; 2008), there was high use of violence against the migrants and migrants were not granted access to a phone call, or to lawyers; we fear that similar (if not worse) rights violations will also take place during this crackdown.

We are also especially concerned for the lives of refugees and stateless persons (who remain ‘illegal’ under Malaysian law) and for victims of trafficking who will be arrested, detained and run the risk of deportation during this crackdown. That we are not aware of any processes in place to protect these populations or the refugees who are still in detention after being arrested on 11 February is a reminder of these real threats.

In order to protect the rights and lives of migrants and refugees, we call on all parties to be vigilant and assist us in monitoring and responding to this crackdown.

Volunteers help to provide basic education for refugee children

By CHERYL POO
star2@thestar.com.my

The children obediently take their places in the kitchen when meals are served. Everyone helps with preparation and cleaning.

Loving charity work: ‘It is a privilege and an honour to serve the refugees,’ says Mink Ong, a volunteer at United Learning Centre (ULC).

Dedicated volunteers rally together to provide basic education for refugee children who do not have access to schools.

MOST children would kick up a fuss when it is time to visit the dentist, but not this Myanmar refugee child who is lying quietly on a wooden table at a refugee community centre in Kuala Lumpur, as a dentist hovers over him with a probe.

Dental treatment is a luxury that five-year-old Van Zaw Nay Oo and his friends have never experienced back in their homeland.

It is a sweltering afternoon and dentist Dr Reuben How, 33, wipes his forehead as his wife, Jasmine, 38, hands him another piece of equipment.

Dr How and Jasmine, a lecturer, are among the new volunteers at United Learning Centre (ULC) who are committed to doing their bit for the community of Myanmarese refugees who are awaiting resettlement in a third country. ULC is one of the many such centres across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor where the refugee children have access to some basic education.

Every Wednesday, Dr How and his wife will be at ULC to provide dental care for the children.

Nestled in a secluded corner in a residential area in Kuala Lumpur, ULC is staffed by Myanmar refugees and supported by NGOs, charitable organisations and volunteers.

Myanmarese pastor Jonathan Tan and his wife, Grace, helm the centre which accommodates 90 children, aged three to 15. It also doubles up as a daycare centre and home for 25 orphans.

Classes run from Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm. In the evenings, the remaining 65 chidren return to their neighbouring homes where they live with their families or relatives.

Volunteer Mink Ong, 51, managing director of a luxury goods company, explains that this current single-storey terrace is “the most luxurious premises the group has had” in the last four years since its inception.

At that time, Tan had just arrived in Malaysia, and Grace, who was his childhood friend, joined him the following year.

They hail from a farming village in Matupi, in Chin State, Myanmar. The Chins are a tribe from western Myanmar who face discrimination from the ruling military junta. Although Tan and his wife are university graduates, they could not find employment back home.

“Tan started looking out for several street kids. The number quickly grew to 50. Imagine having so many kids who are crammed into a small, unpartitioned unit with two filthy toilets,” recalls Ong, who had heard about their plight through her friends.

They badly needed a decent community centre, but Tan and his peers had already emptied their wallets for the dingy unit.

Ong stepped in and got her business contacts and social circle to help out. She was actively involved in raising funds to relocate the children.

She jokingly refers to herself as “chief beggar”. It took three relocations before the group arrived at its current premises last November.

Grace prepares breakfast, lunch and dinner for the children. Her young charges are ever thankful for the love and care they receive, and chip in to help in whatever capacity they can.

The older kids who are above 15, work as cleaners, waiters and promoters in food outlets and shops in the neighbourhood.

“The refugee children learn to communicate well in English, so they have an edge there, which makes it easier for them to secure jobs,” says Ong.

For Tan and his wife, there is no off-day. It is a heavy responsibility being mentor, counsellor and parents to the 25 orphans. Besides tending to the children’s physical needs, the couple have the daunting task of ministering to their emotional needs, too.

Although the children feel safe now, past tragedies continue to haunt them and it is not unusual for some of the children to wake up in the middle of the night crying for their folks.

Shortage of job opportunities in their homeland and the lure of greener pastures in neighbouring countries have contributed to the migration of thousands of Myanmarese, and this has created an opportunity for human traffickers to lure victims to other countries with false promises.

“These poor Myanmarese do not have enough money for the entire family, so they pool their resources to send their children off with hopes of a better future,” explains Ong.

She holds up the picture of an 11-year-old boy who arrived in Malaysia two years ago.

Pastor Jonathan Tan and Grace, with their son, Blessing. The couple serve as mentor and parents to 25 orphans who find a home in ULC.

 

Along with a dozen other children who were herded out of Myanmar, Ong recounts how this boy watched in horror as the trafficker bundled a wailing infant with newspaper and tossed him into the choppy ocean.

Every refugee child has a story to tell, and they remember the horror.

“We often need to distract them from the brutal reality in their lives. We assure them that they are safe now and help them count the blessings that they enjoy here,” says Grace.

Currently there are about a dozen volunteer teachers, both locals and expatriates, who help out at ULC. Their tasks range from cooking to teaching and fundraising.

“These children are intelligent and streetsmart. Their lack of entitlement makes them good, hungry students,” observes volunteer Keith Law, 46, who has been teaching at the centre since last year. Law has devoted his life to community causes and helps out at various charity organisations.

Every year, thousands of Myanmarese refugees flee their homeland in hopes of finding resettlement in recipient countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway. As the immigration process for refugees is a lengthy one, neighbouring countries like Thailand and Malaysia serve as a transitional asylum where they learn to adapt to the modern world before leaving permanently for First World nations.

“It is crucial for the children to understand and speak English so that they can assimilate into their new environment. Otherwise they may be ostracised,” explains Mike Quan, chief coordinator of SIBKL Bless Ministry, the outreach arm of a church in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, that has been pouring voluntary and funding support into ULC.

As of 2011, there are more than 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Malaysia; 15,000 of them are children of school-going age. According to a UNHCR estimate, only 6,000 of these children attend schools which are set up by the various Myanmar community-based groups with the help of NGOs or voluntary organisations.

According to information gathered from these refugee communities, there are about 70 such learning centres around the country. Many of them are denomination-based whereas ULC is open to all Myanmar refugee children regardless of their ethnicity or religion. The children at ULC come from various tribes and they converse among themselves in the common Myanmar language.

As a kid with white markings on his face runs pass, Ong explains that many refugees maintain their cultural practices initially, but after a while, they let go and are ready to move on as they settle down in their new homeland.

Ong is always on the lookout for opportunities to help the children, and has engaged a manicurist to teach the young girls, manicure and pedicure services, once a week. Kind sponsors have donated the necessary kits.

“Manicurists are always in demand around the world,” Ong explains. “It’s a good skill that can help the girls to make a living wherever they go.”

While the road to resettlement is an arduous one, it is heartening to note that many parties have come together to meet the needs of such groups.

“It is an honour and a privilege to serve them,” says Ong.

Funds from kind donors are always appreciated, and volunteers who can teach English are especially welcomed,

“These learning centres give the children a sense of continuity in their lives. Here they are provided with basic needs like food, education and refuge. They find love and solace, and the strength to rise above their circumstance. As you spend more time with the children, they open up to you and welcome you into their lives,” says another volunteer, D. Ross. Ross is a retired investor who teaches at ULC three times a week.

“When a government supports apartheid and practises discrimination, we have a moral obligation to help the weak and oppressed. Every day, we can do our bit to make the world a better place,” adds Ross.

* How you can help

UNITED Learning Centre needs more volunteers to teach the Myanmar refugee children. A structured syllabus and cohesive workbooks will be provided.

Individuals or organisations are welcome to plan outings and events for the children.

School books, stationery sets, classroom equipment and furniture, clothing and children’s storybooks (in good condition) are always welcome.

Well-wishers who wish to contribute in any capacity can contact Mink Ong (mink.business@gmail.com/019-6001733) or Mike Quan (quanmikey01@hotmail.com/016-2912113).