KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 4 (UNHCR) - Doing
housework on a weekend is a dreaded chore at best. Why then would
someone spend their day off cleaning up after others?
Ask
Thomas, a refugee leader who on a recent weekend led some 50 refugees
from Myanmar to Kuala Lumpur's Wangsa Permai area. Wearing bright green
vests that proclaimed "Refugees Care for Malaysia," they walked with
brooms, rakes and garbage bags in the back lanes of a housing area.
Undeterred by the scorching heat, they cleaned gutters, cleared garbage
and pulled out weeds.
They were part of a neighbourhood
clean-up initiative funded by the UN refugee agency and aimed at
changing the perception of the local community towards refugees.
"Malaysians
complained that refugees are littering, spitting betel nut juice on the
pavements, and are noisy and disorderly when they get drunk," said
Thomas. "The local people were getting very upset, and there was a lot
of tension between refugees and the locals. We did not want the
situation to become worse."
There are some 100,000
refugee men, women, and children registered with UNHCR in Malaysia,
living in towns and cities across the country, in close proximity to
Malaysian communities.
Since 2011, UNHCR through its
Social Protection Fund (SPF) has worked with various refugee communities
on peaceful co-existence projects, like the neighbourhood clean-up, to
help address friction between local communities and refugees living
close together.
One source of friction was the
misconception that refugees were littering and destroying public
property. "In areas where locals, refugees, and immigrants live close to
each other, local communities commonly blame foreigners for problems in
the neighbourhood," said Letchimi Doraisamy, the UNHCR officer in
charge of the SPF.
"The neighbourhood clean-up projects
show that refugees care about Malaysia and the neighbourhoods they live
in. Regardless of who caused the problems, they want to be part of the
solution in making these neighbourhoods pleasant to live in."
Since
it began, dozens of refugee communities in the greater Kuala Lumpur
area have participated in neighbourhood clean-ups. Some communities have
taken it further by establishing night watches to curb the drunken and
disorderly behaviour of some refugees which locals perceived as
threatening.
The first community clean-up was held by the Myanmar refugees of the Chin ethnicity in the Loke Yew area of Kuala Lumpur.
The
coordinator, Kennedy, said they wanted to demonstrate that refugees
were not a threat to local communities and can contribute to the society
they live in. "Our efforts paid off, because after a few weeks of
clean-up, the locals living here began smiling at us and were
friendlier," said Kennedy.
Joshua is a community leader
of the Myanmar refugees of the Kachin ethnicity living in the Setapak
area of Kuala Lumpur. "We had problems with Malaysian bullies in the
flats where we live. They would ride the elevator with our people and
beat them, rob them or just say bad things," said Joshua. "After we
started the clean-ups, it was easier for us to speak to the residents'
association about the bullying, and we received less harassment."
One clear benefit of the initiative is when local communities take note of the efforts.
In
the Cheras area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Muhammad Basir resides in a
block of flats where a small community of refugees lives closely to
Malaysians. He said initially there were fights and drunken and
disorderly behaviour when the refugee men got together in the evenings.
"We
understand they were frustrated because they could not work," said
Muhammad. "But since the clean-up and night watches, things have
improved."
Muhammad and a group of a dozen or so locals
support the refugees in the clean-up by giving breakfast, refreshments,
and joining in the clean-up. "Even refugee children help to clean the
neighbourhood. There have not been many locals joining in, let alone
children. We respect refugees for this hard work they put in," said
Muhammad.
Back in Wangsa Permai, Thomas is realistic on
how much more effort is needed. "We know there will be problems because
our culture is different from Malaysians'," he said. "Slowly, we hope
the locals will no longer hold ill-feelings towards us, but embrace us
as members of the neighbourhood. It takes time for people to change, but
we are trying."
By Yante Ismail in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
No comments:
Post a Comment