Statement from the Bangkok Conference on the Rohingyas of Myanmar

By Dr. Habib Siddiqui

Bangkok, 22 August, (Asiantribune.com): 

 

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is going through a deep crisis in dealing with ethnic conflicts, especially in its western Rakhine (formerly Arakan) state. To find probable solutions to the existing problems, Arakan Rohingya Organization - Japan (JARO) and Rohingya National Organization in Thailand (RNOT) jointly sponsored an International Rohingya Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.

The theme of the conference was “Contemplating Burma’s Rohingya People’s Future in Reconciliation and (Democratic) Reform.” 

The conference was held on August 15, 2012 at Thammasat University, Thaprachan, Bangkok. Besides the participants coming from Japan, Canada, USA, Myanmar, Malaysia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Singapore, the members from the local/international media, NGOs, ASEAN countries, and Thai-based foreign embassies attended this conference.

The conference was moderated by Mrs. Chalida Tajaroensuk, Director of People’s Empowerment Foundation and started with an opening speech from Mr. Salim Ullah, President of JARO. I was invited as the keynote speaker. The other speakers included Professor Abid Bahar (author of the book - Burma's Missing Dots) from Canada and Mr. Azmi Abdul Hamid (Secretary General of MAPIM and a human rights activist) from Malaysia.

At the end of the conference the following declaration was made.

The international conference duly notes the followings:

1. The on-going violence against the Rohingya people of Myanmar (Burma) is part of a very sinister and calculated national project towards ethnically cleansing them that is orchestrated by the Myanmar government and widely supported and promoted at the central and local levels by the ultra-racist elements within the government and civilian population of the Rakhine (formerly Arakan) state.

2. The latest pogrom, which started on June 3 with the gruesome murder of ten Tablighi Burmese Muslims by an organized Rakhine mob, has already resulted in the estimated deaths of tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, and destruction of their villages, townships and schools, madrasas, mosques and business centers. Thousands of Muslim girls and women have also been raped by the armed members of the government security forces and local Buddhist population within the Rakhine state. As a result, nearly a hundred thousand Rohingyas are internally displaced, who are also denied access to food and shelter. Tens of thousands of panicked Rohingya population have been pushed to seek refuge or asylum in any country willing to provide them shelter.

3. The Myanmar government and the Rakhine state administration are guilty of practicing an apartheid policy towards the Rohingya people. They are also guilty of committing crimes against humanity.

4. The Muslim minority community that identifies itself as the "Rohingya" is an indigenous people of the Rakhine (former Arakan) state of Myanmar. They were neither implanted by the British administration since 1826 nor did they intrude into Arakan from Bangladesh after the Union of Burma (Myanmar) achieved her independence in 1948.

5. The 1982 Citizenship Law of Burma, which has effectively declared the Rohingya as "stateless", is inconsistent with the United Nations and international laws recognizing inherent dignity, equality and inalienable rights of ALL members of the human family. Through its discriminatory laws and practices against the Rohingya people, the Myanmar government is in violation of each and every Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, making the Rohingya an "endangered" people of the 21st century who need protection of their human rights.

6. The 1982 Citizenship Law has essentially made the Rohingya an endangered people, the most persecuted on earth - as once again clearly demonstrated by the current ethnic cleansing efforts by the Thein Sein government that is enthusiastically aided by ultra-racist and bigoted elements within the Rakhine Buddhist monks and populace.

7. As recently demonstrated by the statement issued from the office of the President, the Thein Sein Government of Myanmar appears not to be serious about resolving the Rohingya problem in a peaceful manner that is consistent with its international obligations.

8. The Rohingyas are victims of neo-Nazi Racism in which they are targeted for marginalization and total elimination from the soil of Myanmar.

9. The statements from the so-called democratic icon Daw Suu Kyi and other leaders (including those of the 8888 student movement) have been deceptive, hypocritical and unacceptable revealing that none of them are serious about democracy and human rights.

10. The Thein Sein government has miserably failed to stop the carnage against and suffering of the Rohingya people, and as such, is guilty of abetting crime against humanity.

11. The Thein Sein government is guilty of evading its responsibility for protecting the lives and properties of the Rohingya people, who are not refugees from outside but are internally displaced because of the government’s apartheid policy.

12. The Myanmar government’s latest announcement of forming a 27-member commission to investigate the current unrest in Arakan, although a welcome gesture, seems self-defeating and inadequate for a transparent, fair and unbiased inquiry process. It is aimed once again to ease mounting pressure on the regime and to block or dodge a much needed UN inquiry. By including members who not too long ago had either organized or encouraged ethnic cleansing of the targeted Rohingya minorities, the commission’s intents and purposes are highly questionable, and appear to produce a document to cover up unfathomable crimes of the Rakhine community and Myanmar government. Regrettably, while the majority Rakhaing community is represented, not a single member of the affected minority Rohingya community is represented in this commission of inquiry. 

Now, therefore, the participants of the Bangkok International Conference calls upon --

(A) The Myanmar Government:

(1) To immediately amend or repeal the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law thereby removing the burdensome standard of proof for attaining citizenship. The government should grant the Rohingya and other minority entities full citizenship and accompanying rights. The Myanmar government should furthermore sign and ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and fulfill its international obligation to prevent statelessness of all affected people.

(2) To address the other fundamental human rights problems which have caused the Rohingya and other minority communities to flee to Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, India and elsewhere. Specifically, it should abolish the practice of forced labor in compliance with the 1930 International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention on Forced Labor, which the Burmese government signed in 1955. Towards this end, as recommended by the ILO, the Myanmar government should amend or repeal the sections of the Village and Towns Acts that legally sanction the conscription of labor.

(3) To protect the rights of the children, in accordance with the government's commitment to children's rights through its ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. In particular, all children born of Rohingya parents (and other "stateless" minorities) should be granted Myanmar nationality, including those born in refugee camps in Bangladesh, Thailand and elsewhere. Children must not be forced to work under any circumstance, and the government should not discriminate against Muslim (and non-Buddhist) children in its provision of education benefits.

(4) To ensure that all refugees are able to exercise their right to return and must guarantee their full reintegration with full respect for their human rights.

(5) To release ALL its political prisoners, dropping all charges against them and their family members.

(6) To exclude certain members (e.g., Dr. Aye Maung, Khin Maung Swe, Zarganar, and Ko Ko Gyi, and others) from the currently announced Commission of Inquiry whose statements during the crisis had been anything but neutral, and had instead contributed to the added misery and suffering of the Rohingya people. For the inquiry commission to be fair, it must ensure equal participation from the affected Rohingya community. It must also ensure absolute accuracy and neutrality of the commission so that truth is not compromised in any way. Once the internal inquiry report identifies the criminals, the government must prosecute and punish the culprits in an open trial (and not make a mockery of the judicial system via a kangaroo court).

(7) To pay due compensation for the loss of lives and properties of the victims of the current pogrom.

(8) To repatriate and rehabilitate each one of the fleeing refugees who had fled or sought refugee status outside.

(9) To allow for an independent international inquiry at the behest of either the ASEAN or the UN to investigate the current crisis and to honor its findings and to take appropriate actions needed to not only punish the criminal elements but also to ensure through reconciliation efforts so that such crimes will never be committed in the future. (The government’s internal inquiry commission is biased and does not guarantee the needed neutrality required for an objective and scrupulous investigation.)

(10) To allow international NGOs and aid agencies to provide material and medical aid to the suffering people.

(11) To allow the presence of international monitors, e.g., human rights groups and journalists, to continuously monitor the restive region so as to provide needed and accurate information on a timely manner.

(12) To open a dialogue with the leaders of the Rohingya community immediately towards reconciliation, inclusion and integrating it within Myanmar without any prejudice.

(13) To understand that citizenship based on ethnicity or race is a feudal concept that has no place in the 21st century, as such, it must do whatever is necessary to amend its constitution to bring it at par with those of the civilized world.

(14) To understand that the protection of minorities against injustice and intolerance is not a matter of compassion or sympathy of the majority. Human rights in a democracy are held to be inalienable – no human being could be deprived of those rights in a democracy by the will of the majority of the sovereign people. As such, the government must correct its age-old xenophobia, hatred and intolerance of the Rohingya people through all means necessary including education and media outlets. By punishing the culprits – both the perpetrators and promoters of hatred, it must make it absolutely clear that there is no place for hatred and intolerance in new Myanmar.

(15) To understand that the failure to resolve the crisis -- by amending or removing the Citizenship Law, which is at the heart of the Rohingya problem -- can result in its leaders being pursued in the International Criminal Court (similar to those faced by the likes of Slobodan Milosevic of former Yugoslavia) for serious violations of international humanitarian laws against the Rohingyas of Myanmar.

(B) The Rohingya brotherly Organizations:

(1) To foster unity and work in their individual capacities at the local, regional and international levels towards promoting the cause of the Rohingya people so that their suffering ends and they live as equals within Myanmar. Any activity that is detrimental to Rohingya interest and unity should be shunned at all costs. Members and leaders should iron out their petty differences and find common grounds to unite and cooperate like organs of a single body.

(C)The Democratic Forces of Myanmar:

(1) To promote and practice true democratic values of inclusion and participation away from curses of racism and xenophobia, which are crimes against humanity. They must also ensure that they have no tolerance for all those hate provocateurs (the likes of Aye Chan and late Aye Kyaw) that have smeared their purported claims, goals and records about genuine democracy and human rights.

(2) To realize that the ideology of the Myanmar regime has been "Myanmarism", which is arrogant, racist, militaristic, feudal, exclusionary and thus, self-defeating. It is a recipe for a 'failed' state, setting off perpetual war within itself, and destabilizing the region. Thus, all the leaders must work towards promoting the spirit of Republicanism.

(3) To realize that the Rohingya rights cannot take a back seat while demands for equality, freedom, democracy and human rights are sought from the quasi-civil-military regime. That is hypocrisy! The dissident leaders must treat Rohingyas as their equal partners and comrades, craving for equity and human rights.

(4) To ensure that the ENC includes representation from the Rohingya community to address and accommodate their legitimate grievances, especially those relating to the 1982 Citizenship Act.

(5) To effectively engage in correcting the old and false notions of exclusionism through education, preaching and reconciliations (much like what has happened in South Africa) so that the general public and government agencies understand that racism and discrimination against any minority community (including the Rohingya) are unacceptable and are in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If Myanmar is to survive as a Federal Union, enough trust-building provisions must be made so that every minority community – religious, ethnic, or otherwise - feels equal with other dominant races and groups. The true spirit of Republicanism, in clear distinction to 'Myanmarism', must be embraced as the only alternative for survival of a future democratic Myanmar.

(6) To understand that there is absolutely no place for neo-Nazi Fascism, racism and bigotry in our time.

(7) To also understand that their willful failure to arresting intolerance and genocidal urges against the Rohingya and other persecuted minorities are tantamount to promoting crimes against humanity for which they can face prosecution in the international courts (much like what has happened with Julius Streicher of the Nazi era in the Nuremburg Trial).

(D)The United Nations Member States:

(1) To press the Myanmar government to immediately repeal its 1982 Citizenship Act that is highly discriminatory and in violations of several international laws and charters of the UN and its member agencies.

(2) To press the Myanmar government to stop its inhuman and degrading treatment of all minorities, esp. the Rohingyas of the Rakhine State.

(3) To stop the ‘push back’ of fleeing refugees from Myanmar against their wishes. And, instead, they should be given shelter with adequate provisions for food, education, job and healthcare. They should not be barred from seeking asylum in a third country.

(4) To improve, through the offices of the UNHCR, the living conditions within the refugee camps, and to ensure that the returning refugees are not mistreated and abused by the Myanmar regime.

(5) To ensure, esp. through the offices of the ASEAN countries, that the legitimate demand for full citizenship rights of the Rohingya and other affected minorities of Myanmar are restored within the current year (2012).

(6) To ensure that none of the UN member states, esp. the ASEAN countries, reward the Thein Sein regime with trade and other benefits unless the citizenship and human rights are fully restored to the Rohingya and other affected minorities.

(7) To immediately demand an independent inquiry into the crisis through its own fact-finding mission.

(E)The United Nations Security Council:

(1) To pass UNSC Resolutions so that the Myanmar government is forced to repeal its highly discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Act, which has epitomized racism, xenophobia, inequality, intolerance and discrimination against minority communities like the Rohingya. The Act has effectively reduced the Rohingya people to be deprived of their fundamental rights to citizenship, movement, education, job, marriage, property and healthcare. The Act must be recognized as challenging the very principle and spirit of the UN. Myanmar's membership to the United Nations must, therefore, be revoked for its monumental crimes against humanity unless the Myanmar government fulfils its international obligations by restoring full citizenship rights of the Rohingyas and other affected minorities of Myanmar.

(2) To ensure that the Myanmar government understands that as per UN Charter – Article 55 (c) and 56, Myanmar being a member of the UN, it is legally obliged to honor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and promote human rights and fundamental freedom for all without distinction as to race, sex, language and religion.

(3) To ensure that the Myanmar government understands that its genocidal actions against the Rohingyas, the Myanmar regime have proven itself to be guilty of crimes against humanity, and as such, deserve serious punitive actions from the UN -- from annulling its membership in the world body to sanctions that force the regime to change its uncivilized and brutal ways.

To ensure that unless, the Myanmar government amends its ways to integrate the Rohingya people as equals within the state, it can face a total ban, cutting it off from the rest of the world, including losing its UN membership.

(4) To ensure that trade and economic bans are not immaturely lifted from the member states without a true change restoring the dignity and human rights of the minorities within Myanmar.

(5) To ensure that the Myanmar government releases all its political prisoners, and allowing them to leave the country voluntarily, if they so choose.

(6) To stop Myanmar government’s crime against its own people.

Reported ByDr. Habib Siddiqui, Director, Arakan-Burma Research Institute, [On behalf of the
Arakan Rohingya Organization-Japan (JARO),
Rohingya National Organization in Thailand (RNOT),
People's Empowerment - Empowering People for a Strong Civil Society, and
ARAKAN-BURMA RESEARCH INSTITUTE (USA)]

The stories of three refugees

A grandmother separated from children, grandchildren

Mia Yee and Hiram

Mia Yee first fled to Thailand some 30 years ago.  She has spent much of her adult life in Mae La camp. About 10 years ago, Mia Yee’s sister in Burma became ill and Mia Yee and her youngest daughter, Moe Moe Kaing, left the camp and returned to Burma to care for her. Mia Yee’s older daughter, Htee Paw, and her husband remained in the camp.

Mia Yee's oldest daughter, Htee Paw, and her son, Timothy, who is 9 months old.

Mia Yee and her younger daughter were in Burma when the last registration for U.S. resettlement took place in 2005.  Mia Yee’s older daughter registered, but her sister and mother, who were away, missed out.  The older daughter, her husband and young daughter resettled to Jacksonville just under two years ago. I met her and her family in Jacksonville not long before my trip. They are doing well.  The husband is working in a printing shop and Htee Paw is at home taking care of her young kids and improving her English.

Showing photos of Jacksonville to refugees who hope to reunite with relatives there.

When Mia Yee’s sister passed away, she and her youngest daughter returned to Mae La, where they remain.  The younger daughter has married, has a little girl, and a baby on the way. They all live with Mia Yee.  Because Mia Yee and her daughter missed the last resettlement registration, they are not on track to resettle in the U.S.  Her daughter in Jacksonville recently had a second child.  I brought Mia Yee a photo of the grandson she had not yet seen. I was hoping for a big smile, but Mia Yee broke into tears. I should have anticipated it.  The separation from her daughter and grandchildren, and not knowing when or even if she will see them again, is very painful.

Hiram with refugees in Mae La camp whose relatives have been resettled in Florida

My meeting with Mia Yee and her family ended on a very positive note, however. I asked the United Nations officers who were with me if there was hope for Mia Yee’s family to reunite in Florida one day.  It turns out there is hope. Apparently the younger daughter’s husband had registered for resettlement in 2005, before the couple married. His registration is valid and thus the whole family can apply for resettlement. Plus, it is likely that registration for U.S. resettlement will take place again later this year, though only for refugees with immediate relatives in the U.S. Since Mia Yee’s daughter is in Florida, they will be eligible through that route also. So in all likelihood, Mia Yee’s family will reunite in Florida within the next couple of years!

Father encourages daughter to go to U.S., pursue her dreams

A 19 year-old young refugee woman I met in Mae La has an even more certain future.  She has already been approved to resettle in Florida, where her uncle and his family already live. But she is sad because her father, with whom she lives in Mae La, will not be going with her.  While he has encouraged her to take up the opportunity of resettlement, he feels that he is too old to make a new start in another country and has decided to remain behind in Mae La.

Timing prohibits man from leaving Mae La

The final refugee whom I met, a man in his 30s who speaks English quite well, has no such positive prospects. He arrived in Mae La after the 2005 registration and though he too has an uncle who has been in Florida for five years, even if there is a new registration later this year he won’t be eligible to register because an uncle is not considered an immediate relative.

Getting a head start on English in case her family can join relatives in Jacksonville

As Mae La enters what may be the final chapter in its 30-year history, the refugee camp’s 47,000 residents, who have been there anywhere from a few years to their entire lives, contemplate the prospects of change in the coming year. For perhaps a few thousand, that change will be a new life in the U.S. or other resettlement country. For most, if recent changes in Burma take hold, repatriation is likely in the coming years. Hopefully they will return to a changed Burma, one where there is peace, greater democracy, and respect for the rights of all its citizens.

myflfamilies.com

Thailand’s largest camp for Burmese refugees

Guest post by Hiram Ruiz, DCF’s Director of Refugee Services. He will be contributing a series of blog posts over the next week detailing his trip to Asia, where he is spending time with refugees.

The drive from Mae Sot town to Mae La refugee camp is about 45 minutes.  The scenery along the way is breathtaking:  shimmering green rice paddies framed by rugged mountains that disappear into the mist.

As we approach Mae La, a dramatic contrast between man and nature emerges.  The rice paddies suddenly give way to row after row of thatched-roofed shacks packed closely together behind barbed wire fences.  Mae La may be a refugee camp, but it is in fact also a large town that is home to some 47,000 Burmese refugees.

Mae La camp

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees arranged my visit to the camp, and two of their staff – one Bosnian and one Thai-Burmese – are accompanying me on the visit.  They show the guards at the gate (all the entrances to the camp are guarded by uniformed Thai military) our permits and we proceed to meet the Camp Commander.

After introductions and coffee, I explain to the Commander that more than 1,000 Burmese refugees have been resettled in Florida – including many from this very camp. I tell him that we are generally able to help the refugees become self-sufficient and many do well, though some do struggle to adapt.  I explain our integration assistance program that provides case management to select families that may face more challenges than others.

I am interested to know what they have heard about the experiences of refugees who have resettled in Florida and also what their hopes and expectations are for when they go to Florida themselves.  He gives the green light for our visit to proceed.

Cultural orientation center, where families are prepared to move to the U.S.

It has been raining every day for a month and the roads in the camp are muddy and slippery.  Our first stop is the building where an American non-profit contracted by the U.S. State Department provides an orientation program for refugees scheduled to resettle in the U.S.  I am pleasantly surprised to see a hut at the center that is fully equipped with a U.S.-style kitchen.  It’s quite strange to see a modern stove, refrigerator and dishwasher in a thatched roof hut on a muddy road in the middle of a refugee camp.  But I’m glad to know refugees from this camp will arrive knowing that the oven is for cooking and not for storing clothes.

Traditional Mae La kitchen. A big difference from the modern U.S.-style kitchen found in the orientation center.

The Bosnian UNHCR officer relates a story of a refugee who resettled in the U.S. who complained to their relatives in the camp that they were provided a television but it had no picture – it was a microwave!  I am not making light of the refugees’ experience, but rather trying to convey just how far removed their world in the camp (or even in their former homes in remote villages in Burma) is from the world they will encounter when they arrive in the U.S.

Our next stop is a day care center run by members of the Karen Women’s Organization.  A large majority of the refugees in Mae La are ethnic Karen and the KWO runs day care centers, provides assistance to elderly and disabled refugees and single mothers, and assists victims of domestic violence (sadly, a too prevalent problem in a place where families live in overcrowded conditions with no work, few distractions and often little hope for the future).

There are dozens of children at the day care center, shy but quick to smile.  The conditions in the center are basic, but the children are well cared for and seem cheerful.  I am glad that I have brought several bags full of crayons, colored pencils, pencil sharpeners, pens and balloons that I will give to the KWO leaders when I meet them.  Yes, I know, balloons are not very practical, but they are fun!  They will certainly add a dash of color to their otherwise rather harsh surroundings.

Burmese Refugee Leaders Talk about Recent Developments in Burma

Guest post by Hiram Ruiz, DCF’s Director of Refugee Services. He will be contributing a series of blog posts over the next week detailing his trip to Asia, where he is spending time with refugees.

 

The Burmese have not had basic human rights for many decades, leading to hundreds of thousands of Burmese fleeing their country. However, in the past few months Burma’s military rulers have taken steps towards democracy and political reform.

They freed revered opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi from her years-long house arrest, permitted elections that elected her to Parliament, and allowed her to leave the country on a trip that included a stop to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.  Suu Kyi also paid a brief but historic visit to Mae La refugee camp in Thailand.

Hiram showing photos of Burmese refugees in Florida to the Mae La camp Refugee Committee Leader.

Burmese refugees in Mae La and other camps are closely following developments in their homeland and wondering what the implications are for them.  Is the change real?  Is the Burmese military really going to permit further democratic reform?  Even if there is real change in Rangoon, the capital, will the Burmese military end its decades-long repression of ethnic minorities?  Or is it all a façade?

The answers to these questions will determine the refugees’ future.  If democracy takes hold in Burma and the government allows ethnic minorities to live freely, the refugees may be able to finally return home.  But what if the apparent change in not genuine?  And what impact will current developments in Burma have on the U.S. and other countries’ plans for future resettlement of Burmese refugees?

Hiram Ruiz meeting with leaders of the Karen Refugee Women's Asociation

Among the refugee leaders I met in Mae La refugee camp and Mae Sot town were the head of the Karen Refugee Committee in Thailand, the head of the Refugee Committee in Mae La camp, and leaders of the Karen Women’s organization.  Their views varied, though all remain wary.

They welcome the recent developments in Burma, but while some think they offer a glimmer of hope, others believe that the Burmese military is unlikely to end its repression in ethnic minority areas.  Many believe, however, that the international community will continue to respond positively to the Burmese government’s moves (U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Burma recently, the first high-level administration official to do so in many years) and that there will start to be pressure for the refugees to be allowed back into their countries.

Burmese refugee students at work in Mae La camp school

With the eventual closure of the camps now on the horizon, some refugees in the camps who had not made up their minds whether to apply for resettlement to the U.S. or other countries are now beginning to decide.  Even the head of the Refugee Committee in Mae La told me he and his family had applied for resettlement to join relatives in North Carolina.

Resettlement is not an option for most, however.  For some time, the U.S. has only offered resettlement to refugees who have been registered in the camps since 2005 and it is likely that future resettlement to the U.S. will be limited to refugees who have immediate family members already in the United States.

Next post:

At Mae La, I met one young woman already accepted for resettlement in Jacksonville, a family of four who have immediate family in Florida and may be eligible for future resettlement, and a man whose uncle lives in Jacksonville but who is unlikely to qualify for resettlement because he arrived in the camps after 2005 and his uncle is not considered an immediate family member.  

http://blog.myflfamilies.com

2 Myanmar nationals murdered in Malaysia

The Malay Mail

TWO Myanmar nationals were found murdered in separate incidents in the city on Saturday night.

In the first incident at 8.15pm, the body of Pa Ram Nana, 27, was discovered in Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz.

His throat was slit.

Initial investigations showed that Pa had met his friends at a nearby cybercafe.

It is learnt he had been in an argument with some of them after they had left the cybercafe.

Pa was a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card holder.

He had also been wanted by the police for his involvement in a drug case.

No weapons were found at the scene.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Ku Chin Wah confirmed the incident.

In another incident, police apprehended two Myanmar nationals who were trying to remove their friend’s body from a house in Taman Midah, Cheras.

Cheras district deputy police chief, Supt Abdul Rahim Hamzah Othman said police received a tip-off at 11.40pm from several neighbours who overheard what appeared to be a heated argument from the house.

“Two police patrol officers were deployed to the scene and when they went to check, they saw two men lifting a lifeless body,” said Abdul Rahim.

Both suspects, in their 30s and 40s, were arrested.

Police found stab wounds on the victim’s chest.

Two knives believed to have been used in the killings were seized.

I’ve Arrived in Thailand

Guest post by Hiram Ruiz, DCF’s Director of Refugee Services. He will be contributing a series of blog posts over the next week detailing his trip to Asia where he will spend time with refugees.

I arrived in Thailand Friday night and today, Monday, am heading to Mae Sot near the Thai-Burmese border area.  While there, I will visit Mae La, the largest camp in Thailand for refugees from Burma (also called Myanmar).

There are more than half a million Burmese refugees in Thailand with about 140,000 living in 10 camps along the border.  Others live in nearby towns and villages.  In recent years, the U.S. Department of State has offered resettlement to the U.S. to thousands of Burmese who had been living in the refugee camps.  Many had been living in the camps for years or even decades and would otherwise have been condemned to a life without hope in the crowded camps, where they are not allowed to work or farm, and with very limited educational opportunities. Since 2007, Florida has become home to more than 1,000 Burmese refugees resettled by the State Department, primarily to Jacksonville and Tampa, though some to Orlando and Clearwater.

Burma is governed by a communist military regime that has for decades suppressed democracy and abused its citizens, particularly ethnic minorities that live in areas near the Thai border.  Most of the refugees in Mae La Camp are “Karen,” one of Burma’s ethnic minorities; many of them are Christian.  Since 1983, the Burmese military has destroyed Karen villages and subjected men, women and children to forced labor, prompting tens of thousands to flee to Burma.

In 1998, widespread support for a Burmese pro-democracy party led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi culminated in more than 80 percent of the population voting in favor of Suu Kyi’s party, but the military junta suppressed the election’s results, placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest, and cracked down on the pro-democracy movement’s supporters, leading to another exodus of refugees to Thailand.

It is only in the past year that the Burmese military has begun to ease its iron-fist rule.  It released Aund San Suu Kyi from her years of house arrest and permitted elections.  Suu Kyi has taken a seat in parliament and the U.S. and other Western countries have begun to improve relations with Burma.  Given what happened in 1998, many – particularly the ethnic minorities and the refugees in Thailand – remain wary of the sincerity of the Burmese military’s intentions.  Time will tell. It is not a good omen, however, that the Burmese military has recently resumed brutal of repression another ethnic minority, Muslim Rohingya who live in western Burma near the Bangladesh border, causing an exodus of tens of thousands more Burmese Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh.

While in Mae La camp, I will meet refugee leaders, camp officials, and United Nations personnel, who will share their thoughts on the future of Burma, the camps, and of the resettlement program.  I will also visit Burmese refugees scheduled to resettle to Florida, as well as relatives of Burmese refugees already in Jacksonville. I am taking one Burmese grandmother in the camp a photo of her newborn grandson, who she has not yet seen!

Club calls on Malaysians to ease plight of Rohingyas

PETALING JAYA: The Putera 1Malaysia Club is calling for contributions from Malaysians for its humanitarian mission to help the Muslim Rohingya refugees affected by sectarian violence in Myanmar.

Club president Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said the club plans to visit

Bangladesh to visit about 40,000 Rohingya refugees who escaped the violence and are now staying in three camps – Kutupalong, Nayapara and Teknas.

“We are asking all Malaysians to give a helping hand to the victims, especially the elderly, the women and children there,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

Riots, believed to have been triggered after 10 Rohingyas were killed following the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman in late May, erupted and a state of emergency was declared on June 10.

Some 1.6 million Rohingyas have fled the country with some 30,000 of them now in Malaysia.

Azeez said the club will pass aid to the other non-governmental organisations there if it was not safe to travel to Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State, where the Rohingyas were situated.

“We will monitor the situation there first.

“If it is really not safe, we will engage with non-governmental organisations there to pass the aid to them as long as it reaches them.

“The Rohingyas need food, medication, clean water, clothing, baby food and baby blankets.

“A five-member advance team will fly there to assess the situation and give us a report.

“The departure date is yet to be confirmed, but it may be before or after Hari Raya,” he added.

Azeez said 10 volunteers and 10 doctors have been identified to go on the mission.

Those who wish to contribute can call the club at 03-2273 6004 or 1-300-88-1113.

Teen writes book after seeing refugees' plight

KUALA LUMPUR - Touched by the plight of refugees in Malaysia, a young girl was inspired to pen her thoughts about their hardships.

The result is the book, When We Take Off, a collection of poems and stories by 16-year-old Melora Shahabudin of Subang Jaya.

Melora said she embarked on the book as part of her school project while she was a student at Fairview International School in 2010. The book was completed a year later.

Her mother, Rozima Ali, did some voluntary work for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and her experiences became the basis for Melora's interest in the displaced groups.

While When We Take Off is a work of fiction, Melora said she got her material from interviews with refugees from Myanmar, Somalia and Afghanistan in refugee centres in the Klang Valley.

Melora also drew inspiration from paper planes her two younger siblings were playing with one day.

"One moment they were playing with the planes and the next, they were immediately discarded when a cartoon came on air. Then it dawned on me that refugees are like paper planes -- they are waiting for people to pick them up and help them fly again. They are also fragile like paper."

Melora had not expected her works to be published.

"It was so far from my mind at the time but my parents convinced me to do it. The most fearful part was that I wouldn't be able to convey the message that these people are on the move, they need help and we need to reach out to them," she said at the launch of her book at the Islamic Arts Museum here yesterday.

http://www.asiaone.com

Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein meets to resolve ethnic conflict

Reuters

YANGON: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi held talks with the country’s president on Sunday in their first official meeting since she took up her role as a member of parliament.

The democracy champion met Myanmar leader Thein Sein in the capital Naypyidaw early Sunday, according to Zaw Htay of the president’s office, who was unable to give details of the subjects under discussion.

He added that Railway Minister Aung Min, a key figure in efforts to resolve the country’s ethnic conflicts, was among those present at the talks.

Recent clashes between Buddhist ethnic Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya have left dozens dead and tens of thousands homeless in Rakhine state in the west of the country. Suu Kyi has disappointed some rights campaigners by not offering stronger support to Myanmar’s estimated 800,000 Rohingya, described by the United Nations as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.

Myanmar has come under international pressure over the conflict, after the United Nations voiced concerns of a crackdown on Muslims and Human Rights Watch issued a report alleging abuses by security forces in the region. The government, which denies the rights group’s claims, has given the go ahead for Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to deliver aid to affected areas after talks last week, the pan-Islamic body said on Saturday. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has ordered $50 million in aid be sent to a Muslim minority in Myanmar which a human rights group said has been targeted by the authorities since sectarian riots in June.

A report on the Saudi state news agency said the Rohingya community had been “exposed to many violations of human rights including ethnic cleansing, murder, rape and forced displacement”. “King Abdullah has ordered that assistance of the amount of $50 million be provided to the Rohingya Muslim citizens in Myanmar,” said the report which was carried by Saudi media on Sunday. It did not say who was to blame for the abuses. reuters

Introduction to Burmese Refugee Situation in Malaysia

BWA General Council

Introduction to Workshop on Burmese Refugee Situation in Malaysia

We are witnessing today a large population of the tribal peoples of Burma fleeing from their ancestral homelands to escape the assault of the military regime which is in power in Burma. 

Burma is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest in Southeast Asia and the 24th most populous nation with over 55 million people.  It is home to some of the major civilizations in SE Asia. Christianity came to Burma through the efforts of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society in the person of Adoniram Judson who arrived in Burma in 1813. 
In its history, Burma fought three wars with the British and was finally annexed in 1886 when it became part of the British Empire as a province of British India.  Burma gained its independence from Britain in 1948 following the Second World War.  Promises of independence and sovereignty had been made by the British to the ethnic tribes before independence but those promises were not kept.  After the British left, the Karen, notably, began a campaign for an independent state. Therefore, since its independence, Burma has been in one of the longest running civil wars between the myriad ethnic groups and the central government which has largely been rooted in the Burman population.  That conflict remains unresolved to this day and is the reason behind the continued exodus of refugees into Thailand, Malaysia, India and China. 

In 1984 over 10,000 Karen refugees fled across the Thai-Burma border to escape the advance of the Burmese army.  Tham Hin, the first refugee camp was established to contain them.  The Burmese regime began a massive relocation plan to break the resistance and has forcibly destroyed over 3600 villages since 1996.  Homes are burned, fields and the villages themselves are mined to prevent their repopulation and rape is used as a form of terrorism by the army against the ethnic women. 

There is a religious dimension to the conflict as well in that the military regime instituted a program of Burmanization which has the pre-eminence of Buddhism as a key element.  Since the tribal groups are the ones who have most embraced Christianity, the military regime’s efforts at Burmanization were targeted at them.  Churches have been burned, crosses have been torn down from the hillsides and Christian pastors have been threatened as the regime has sought to supplant Christianity with Buddhism and to repress the tribal peoples who are predominantly Christian.

There is also a political/economic element as well as the military regime is supported by the Chinese government which has considerable investments in the oil and mineral industries of Burma.

As a result, hundreds of thousands have fled – most to Thailand – but there are also significant populations of Burmese refugees in Malaysia, India (including NE India) and China.  The receiving countries do not acknowledge them as refugees which means they have little if any legal rights and protections within the receiving countries.  They are often subject to economic exploitation and have an uncertain future at best. 

Consequently, they are being resettled predominantly in the US, Canada, Australia and Scandinavia.  They are a people in exile.  They understand fully the sentiments of Psalm 137 which was written of Israel’s exile, “By the rivers of Babylon-- there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion.  On the willows there we hung up our harps.  For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ How could we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?” 

(Psa 137:1-4 NRSV).

Rev. A. Roy Medley
General Secretary, American Baptist Churches USA

The Plight of Burmese Refugees in Malaysia

With three inspirational young Burmese refuges attending the ELS CIEP course at Bukit Bintang centre, the students, teachers and staff know well how tough life can be for these natives of the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar. In amazing group effort, the Bukit Bintang students, teachers, staff and corporate ELS management came together to raise funds for United Learning Centre – a volunteer run centre located near Bukit Bintang that provides free daily education and childcare for children of Burmese refugees. Several students and staff visited the centre one rainy afternoon in December and presented the refugees and centre staff with food, toys, sports equipment, educational material and other treats. There were plenty of smiles as the children presented an impromptu art “workshop” for the visitors! 

The shameful truth about Burmese refugees in Malaysia

The Realities of Refugees and Asylum Seekers 
from Burma in Malaysia

Malaysia is currently host to one of the largest refugee and asylum seeker populations in Asia. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are more than 90,000 registered refugees in the country. Both UNHCR and the refugee communities estimate that the actual number of refugees is much higher, given that thousands have yet to be registered. 92% are Burmese who escaped persecution in Burma, where political turmoil and ruthless military domination have persisted for decades. However, Malaysia has continued to refuse to recognise them as refugees.

Malaysia has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention nor the 1967 Protocol. Under the Malaysian Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155), refugees and asylum seekers are designated as “illegal migrants” and may be subject to arrest, detention, punishment (including whipping), and deportation. Historically, the focus has been on reducing the number of irregular persons through large-scale (and often violent) ‘crackdowns,' where the aim is to arrest, detain and deport undocumented migrants and refugees. Arrested refugees are often unable to understand the charges read to them and secure appropriate legal assistance.

Life for refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia is extremely difficult. Unable to work legally in the country, and with limited access to basic services (health care, education or legal services), they are vulnerable to poverty, exploitation and health problems. Refugees and asylum seekers scrape by on earnings from work in low paying, unskilled and often part-time/casual jobs in the plantation, construction, manufacturing, or service sectors. Even amongst those who are employed, poverty and indebtedness are endemic. Many earn far less than the government-determined poverty-line income (PLI) of RM800 per household per month.

Forced labor and human trafficking are serious concerns for this community. Moreover, without the protection that legal status provides, refugees and asylum seekers are afraid to come forward to authorities because they fear arrest and detention. At one time, Malaysian immigration officials were even implicated in such activities: it was found that they had trafficked refugees from Burma up to the Malaysia-Thai border where they were handed over to human smugglers/traffickers who held them for ransom. Those who could not pay were sold to Thai fishermen, brothels or private owners.

Refugees’ and asylum seekers’ dire living circumstances, coupled with aggressive, punitive approaches by the state as well as everyday experiences of discrimination by non-state actors, creates an extremely poor environment for refugees in Malaysia. Furthermore, these adverse life events, combined with the persecution they faced in Burma, increase their vulnerability to a number of health problems, including infectious diseases, psychological problems and under-management of chronic conditions.

Refugee Health

Mental health problems among refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia are a serious concern. Health Equity Initiatives’ (HEI) analysis of the scores of 578 refugees and asylum seekers who were screened in April and May 2011 using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales 21 (DASS21) indicated that 19.9% experienced either moderate, severe or extremely severe Stress. Almost half (48%) experienced either moderate, severe or extremely severe Anxiety, and 38% experienced either moderate, severe or extremely severe Depression. An earlier analysis of HEI’s mental health clients showed that 22% presented with symptoms that required psychiatric care. A separate study conducted by HEI revealed that, among those with a high level of need for psychosocial services, 77.1% reported they could not afford the services.

In principle, government hospitals in Malaysia are open and available to refugees and asylum seekers, but evidence collected by HEI shows that refugees and asylum seekers experience substantial barriers accessing health care in Malaysia.

The cost of health care is unaffordable for many. This is particularly the case if treatment costs are high and the individual is an asylum seeker (asylum seekers cannot take advantage of the 50% discount off the foreigner rate that registered UNHCR refugees receive). Concerns around arrest and detention are another problem, as refugees and asylum seekers are afraid to travel to seek medical services. Many refugees live outside the city, some in jungle sites, so transportation and security concerns are significant.

Language differences and a lack of information about health services also impact refugees’ ability to access services. Refugees have also cited the poor quality of treatment and discrimination they experience at both public and private health facilities as reasons for not seeking medical treatment when needed. Evidence also showed that refugees delayed seeking medical treatment until the situation became serious, thereby risking their health and increasing their need for hospitalization.

Forced Labor

Forced labor is a situation currently affecting 12.3 million people worldwide. It is defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.” Simply put, there are two elements to forced labor: 1) the work or service must be exacted under menace of a penalty; and 2) it is undertaken involuntarily.
By making the public aware of research on forced labor in Malaysia, HEI wishes to highlight its prevalence. Although almost 9.5 million people are trapped in forced labor in the Asia-Pacific region, the phenomenon of forced labor is not well understood in our societies. Frequently, forced labor operates in a manner closely connected with local context and is therefore less noticeable for most members of that society. In Malaysia, a combination of shortcomings in both immigration and labor laws has created dangerous circumstances, exposing this vulnerable population to forced labor.

HEI’s research on Burmese refugees and asylum seekers in the Klang Valley revealed that one third of the research sample population has experienced forced labor. Playing into their fear of authorities because of the lack of documentation, employers and agents have used the threat of reports to the police and/or immigration as a way to force them into underpaid and exploitative labor. The negative impact on their well-being is demonstrated by more than 60% of the sample population who display symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. This is more than twice the rate of the general population.

The graveness of the situation cannot be underemphasized. In Malaysia, practices of forced labor can last for years without being detected. Survivors rarely report their experience for a variety of reasons: they don’t know where to go; they are too afraid to speak out; they fear deportation or imprisonment; or they are simply resigned to accept forced labor as a norm rather than a violation of their fundamental human rights. One man HEI interviewed said simply, “I can’t sit around waiting for the good one. I don’t want to wait for the job.” Basic survival - the need for food and shelter for themselves and their families - has left them with little choice but to take up dismal jobs, often entering into situations of forced labor fully aware of the risks and dangers.

Through our campaign we are seeking to shed light on their experience, and to understand their plight as persons - not just as faceless workers. Our ignorance of forced labor situations has undoubtedly contributed to the continuation of these practices. This is why public awareness is essential. We hope that the witness accounts will show that allowing refugees and asylum seekers to work legally will protect them, improve their well-being, and demonstrate that the recognition of their status as refugees will make a whole world of difference.