Aung San Suu Kyi calls on Australia to be 'merciful' to refugees

NOBEL Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi says justice must be tempered by mercy when dealing with Australia's asylum seeker policy to separate children from their parents.

Ms Suu Kyi was asked by broadcast journalist Hamish Macdonald if she thought it was appropriate for the Abbott government to remove children from their families who seek asylum in Australia.

"Do you have rule of law in Australia?" she replied to thunderous cheers at a sold-out event at the Sydney Opera House.

"You must sort out these problems within the framework of rule of law but always remembering that justice must be tempered by mercy," Ms Suu Kyi said to another round of deafening applause.

The freedom fighter and Myanmar opposition leader was in Sydney to give a public address as well as collect two honorary degrees: one from the University of Sydney and one which was conferred by the University of

Technology, Sydney in 1997 but which she was unable to accept in person due to travel restrictions placed on her by the military junta.

She will collect a third honorary degree in a week when she accepts an honorary doctorate from Australian National University in Canberra tomorrow.

She said it was up to Australia who it chooses to accept as refugees but that the government of Myanmar had an obligation to protect everybody.

Ms Suu Kyi said there was "a tremendous lack of rule of law" all over Myanmar, which in turn left people feeling insecure.

She said her government had to make sure there was rule of law to give everyone security.

"We cannot have peace without security ... unless our people all feel secure you can't expect them to sit down and sort out their differences.

"People who are afraid of being killed or people who are afraid of having their property attacked are not going to sit down and talk sensibly to one another.

"I do not think that the government has been responsible enough in establishing rule of law," Ms Suu Kyi said.

She said that there was a distinct lack of transpareny and accountablity amongst government departments and "without that we can't have rule of law".

"Without rule of law we can't expect out people to settle their differences peacefully and sensibly," she said.

When asked why she wasn't vocal on certain matters, she said she had always "defended those whose human rights have been attacked" but people wanted condemnation, not defence.

"Particularly they say 'why am I not condemning this group' and it also applies to the military.

"I'm not condemning (them) because I have not found that condemnation brings good results.

"What I want to do is to achieve national reconciliation (and) as long as there's hate and fear there cannot be reconciliation," she said.

Those who believe Myanmar has fully reformed to a democratic nation are mistaken, Ms Suu Kyi says.

In a captivating address at the beginning of the event she highlighted the steps still to be taken to achieve democracy in her home country.

Ms Suu Kyi has evolved from a political prisoner under house arrest for almost two decades to Myanmar's presidential hopeful.

Myanmar has only recently allowed elections and has eased its brutal military regime but Ms Suu Kyi says the constitution is preventing the country from being truly democratic.

"Those of you who think that Burma has successfully taken the path to reform would be mistaken," she said.

"If you want to know why you are mistaken you only have to study the Burmese constitution.

"If you read it carefully you will understand why we can't have genuine democracy under such a constitution."

The leader of the National League for Democracy said a change to Myanmar's constitution required the vote of 75 per cent of the legislature.

Twenty-five per cent of the legislature is represented by the military members, which the non-elected army commander-in-chief appoints, she said.

"How can you call a constitution democratic when it can be amended or not amended in accordance with the will of one man who is an unelected post?" Ms Suu Kyi said.

While she confirmed her ambition to win presidential office at the next election, the constitution requires a president to have military experience.

Myanmar does not allow women in the defence academy.

Despite her lengthy period of detention Ms Suu Kyi believes she didn't have it as bad as those political prisoners - including three of the four people with her on the Australian tour - who were jailed.

But she never thought the sacrifices she made in the pursuit of democracy wouldn't be worth it.

"I always used to think if only one other person remained in Burma who wanted democracy, I would remain," she said.

The speech followed a hero's welcome in Sydney on Wednesday and a meeting with NSW Governor Marie Bashir.

Ms Suu Kyi will also visit Melbourne and Canberra on her five-day tour of Australia.

- See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/aung-san-suu-kyi-calls-on-australia-to-be-merciful-to-refugees/story-e6frg6so-1226770015331#sthash.lbFSnDgH.dpuf

A door has opened for border refugees

The Nation November 26, 2013 1:00 am

Myanmar is making peace after decades of political strife and war - now is the time to give victims living on the Thai border a future
Political turmoil at home should not distract us from a ripe opportunity to join with Myanmar in seeking solutions for the tens of thousands of refugees who live in camps on the border.

In Nay Pyi Taw last week, the 7th Joint Commission meeting on bilateral cooperation between the two countries touched on the issue, but did not go into detail on what to do with the refugees.

An estimated 140,000 refugees have fled decades-long military and political conflict at home in Myanmar to live in camps on the Thai side of the border. Many arrived after the crackdown on the political uprising in 1988, while others have fled armed conflicts between ethnic groups and the government that have been ongoing for decades. As a result, hundreds if not thousands of children born in the camps live a day-to-day existence, not knowing what their future holds.

Over the past 20 years a small number of refugees have been offered the chance to resettle in the United States, Europe and Australia. But the resettlement list is limited in scale, and the majority has little hope of being provided a permanent home anytime soon.

The law forbids the refugees from doing anything but waiting in the camps. They are not permitted to venture outside to earn a living, but instead must remain dependent on the charity of others - mostly non-governmental organisations and volunteers - for donations of food and necessities. Meanwhile children in the camps get only a brief and basic education. The best they can hope for are classes in reading and writing Burmese and Thai.

However, Myanmar's improving political situation means that now is the time to talk about the refugees' future. In 2011, after decades of military rule, the country's leaders committed to democratic reform. As a result, the government under President Thein Sein has been able to reach peace agreements with many of the armed ethnic groups, including those based along the border with Thailand.

Both the government and the armed groups have assumed responsibility for the fate of the refugees by including plans for their resettlement in the peace process. However, the talks have largely excluded the main stakeholders in this matter - the refugees themselves. For their voice to be heard, separate negotiations should be held in parallel between the refugees and the main participants in the peace talks.

Thai authorities and international refugee-assistance agencies must also be involved in the search for solutions to the plight of border-camp residents.

Experience from the Vietnam War has shown that refugees cannot necessarily return home immediately after a conflict has ended. Their homes and livelihoods are often destroyed in war, leaving them nothing to return to. And 20 years spent languishing in a refugee camp is long enough to forget the skills with which they once earned a living.

Everyone concerned with the border camps should now begin preparations to end a decades-long situation of desperation and return the refugees to normal life. The sooner plans are made, the earlier the refugees can go home.

Thailand and Myanmar to forge ahead with bilateral cooperation

The Nation
Nay Pyi Taw November 23, 2013 1:00 am

The Thai-Myanmar joint commission on bilateral cooperation yesterday went ahead with plans to forge closer links between the two countries in areas of border development, capacity building and infrastructure - the first of such meetings in more than a decade.
Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul and his Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin co-chaired the meeting in Nay Pyi Taw.

In addition to political issues and security, the meeting covered a wide range of issues, including capacity building, economic cooperation and social and cultural development, Surapong said.

"We discussed the importance of border development - improving the living standards of people either side - and enhancing bilateral economic development," he told reporters.

Thailand also threw its support behind Myanmar's Asean chairmanship next year and its role as host of the 2013 SEA Games, which kicks off in Nay Pyi Taw next month. After the meeting, Surapong presented a several sports equipment to his counterpart.

The issue of capacity building will focus on training officials in different fields, including public health and welfare - especially in areas along the Thai-Myanmar border. They will also be trained on ways of improving the welfare of refugees who fled fighting in Myanmar and have lived for decades along the Thai border, Surapong said.

Some 100,000 refugees have been sheltered in camps along the border since the late 1980s. Thailand is currently negotiating their repatriation now that the conflict between armed ethnic groups and the Myanmar government has ended. "We have to help them prepare for a safe return and resettlement now that peace and stability has returned to Myanmar," Surapong said.

The meeting also marked 65 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Owing to problems under Myanmar's former military regime, the last joint commission meeting was held 11 years ago. However, with reforms in place and a civilian government in power, both countries hope to forge stronger links, especially in areas of transportation and infrastructure, Damrong Kraikruan, director of the Foreign Ministry's East Asia Department, said.

Over the next three to five years, both countries plan to complete at least two road links - one between Mae Sot in the North to Kawkareik and Mawlamyine in Myanmar and another from Kanchanaburi's Three Pagoda pass to Thanbyuzaya and Mawlamyine, Damrong said.

These roads are expected to substantially boost trade and tourism between the two countries. The existing road linking Myanmar via Mae Sot is already used to transport 65 per cent of goods between the two nations, Damrong said.

A feasibility study of the new transport link is being conducted by Thailand's Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency. The routes are also expected to connect Thailand with Myanmar's Dawei Special Economic Zone. Surapong said the commission also discussed bringing a third party like Japan into the Dawei project. Thailand has already invested in it.

The two countries also plan to upgrade their border checkpoints and open more permanent checkpoints at Kew Pha Wok-Chiang Mai, Huay Ton Noon-Mae Hong Son and Singkorn-Prachuap Khiri Khan borders.

Singkorn would most likely be the first permanent checkpoint, Surapong said.

"The checkpoint on the Myanmar side is ready and we are making preparations on our side. I think it will open very soon," he said.




                                         

Resettle Political Refugees in Third Countries: Rights Group

Bamboo huts with leaf roofs, built by refugees, dot the hills of Mae La Oon camp southwest of Mae Sariang in northern Thailand. (Photo: Dieter Telemans / TBC)

A human rights organization said some Burmese former political prisoners in Thailand should be resettled in third countries, as they do not want to return to Burma.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said ex-prisoners could face serious challenges or potential punishment if they are forced to return to Burma when the camps close in the future.

“The AAPP is urging respective governments of third countries to help resettle former political prisoners who want to go there, as soon as possible,” said Bo Kyi, joint-secretary of the Thailand-based organization, which support Burmese prisoners.

The AAPP also urged Thailand and foreign governments that have supported refugees on the Thai-Burma border to not forcibly repatriate former political prisoners and consult them on their desires for the future.

Burmese refugees escaping their country’s long-running ethnic conflict have lived camps on the border for many years. In the past year, as the prospects for peace in Burma have grown brighter, Thailand and foreign donors have announced plans for the repatriation of the border refugees.

The AAPP has stated that there are 37 former political prisoners in Umpiem Mai camp, nine in Nu Po and about 20 in other refugee camps.

Last month, AAPP secretary Tate Naing met in Rangoon with a United States government official responsible for resettlement of refugees. During their meeting, the US official asked for a list of names of former political prisoners living in refugee camps in Thailand.

Hla Than, a former political prisoner from Umpiem Mai camp, said his health condition had already been affected by many years in prison and therefore his life would be in danger if he was rearrested and imprisoned for any political activity.

He said he does not want to go back to Burma because he is worried that his family will suffer again.

“The government has yet to announce amnesty for Burmese citizens who are outside the country, for various reasons, and who want to return home legally,” Hla Than said, “So I don’t want to go back at all. I will resettle in a third country.”

Bo Kyi stressed that no one could guarantee that the political situation in Burma was irreversible and would continue towards positive changes.

He said former prisoners also face other challenges when returning home, such as a lack of employment opportunities and job skills, and high living costs in cities like Rangoon.

“Since the Burmese government doesn’t provide any assistance to those who want to return home, they may have to decide to resettle in the third countries,” said the AAPP joint secretary. “We understand and are sympathetic with them.”

The US, Canada and European governments annually welcome the resettlement of Burmese refugees in their countries. However, refugees have to be recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as persons of concern (POC) first and then wait for the permission from Thailand in order to leave for any third country.

Some former political prisoners, who came to border areas and arrived in refugee camps after 2006, have yet to be granted the POC status. They are currently under care of relief agencies for food and shelter that support the refugee camps on the border.

You won the lottery when you were born a Canadian

P.A. residents continue humanitarian work in Thailand

By Eric Bell

Prince Albert resident Pat Weir is one of 20 Saskatchewan residents who are heading to Thailand next week to work with Burmese refugees in Mae Sot, a city near the Thailand/Burma border.

The group will be aiding Global Neighbours, an organization started by Prince Albertans David and Heather Heppner.

“We’ve been going since about 2005,” Weir said, noting that this will be her sixth trip. “There’s 1.5 million Burmese refugees and migrants that live on the border or in Thailand, because of the civil war in Burma that’s been going on since the Second World War. It’s still not a great place to live, and particularly if you are not part of the Burmese ethnic group."

Weir says that the ongoing civil war in Burma has displaced generations of Burmese people.

“We visited a refugee camp where there are 50,000 people there, and it’s been there since the Second World War,” Weir said. “So there’s three, four generations of people there who know of nothing more than living in a refugee camp.”

Having so many displaced people in one area causes a multitude of problems.

“There’s also thousands of people living illegally in the area around Mae Sot, since it’s so close to the Burma border,” Weir said. “So there’s a lot of bad things happening, tons of human trafficking and drugs going through that area because there’s so many vulnerable people.”

Global Neighbours has several ongoing projects in Mae Sot to help aid both Burmese and Thai people. They have built an orphanage, schools, and daycares and have several other projects on the go.

“We also have a school that we have built that trains teachers to go back to Burma and help the teachers there,” said Weir, noting that the school includes lodging facilities for the teachers as well. “Last year we built a safe house for girls who were at risk of being trafficked. So, we’ve got 22 young girls living there.”

All of Global Neighbours’ projects are financed through donations, with every penny going towards aiding people in Mae Sot. Global Neighbours is run out of Prince Albert by a small group of people, led by the Heppners.

“There’s no religious connotations to the group, were strictly humanitarian, we build schools for Christians, Muslims, everyone,” Weir said. “We also built a school in Thailand, so were not just helping the Burmese, we’re helping everyone.”

Weir says that she loves working with the Burmese people, and that it makes her truly appreciate all of the things granted to her as a Canadian citizen.

“Once a guy there said to me, ‘have a look at your passport,’” Weir said. “He pointed to it and said ‘that’s your lottery ticket. You won the lottery when you were born a Canadian.’”

Pop-Up Schools Move With Refugees, So They Can Keep Learning

The MOVINGschool project makes easy-to-assemble schools that help Burmese refugees as they are forced to move around from camp to camp.

For decades, Burmese refugees fleeing war have ended up on the Thai border. And though some of the refugees have lived in border camps since the early 1980s--raising kids who have never actually been to Burma--they still don’t have the right to own land in Thailand. Buildings are temporary, so in the past, things like schools have been simple structures. Aid organizations couldn’t invest in lasting infrastructure. But that’s starting to change with a new set of modular schools designed for easy relocation.

The MOVINGschool project began a little unconventionally: David and Louise Cole, a British couple, happened to visit a border camp in the village of Mae Sot while traveling in Thailand. They were struck to see refugee schools made from simple tarpaulin sheets stretched over a mud floor with a few pieces of bamboo. But unlike other tourists who pass through the area, they decided to do something, and managed to launch an international design competition for a mobile school when they returned to the U.K.

“We came up with an idea of a school building that could be taken down and transported with the community, perhaps one day taken back over the border into Burma and starting the regeneration of the countries small rural border towns that have been devastated by decades of civil war,” Louise Cole says. They envisioned something simple to build, so classes could start up again quickly after a move. To raise the money to build the schools, they founded a nonprofit called Building Trust International.

The first school using the winning design, from Bay Area architects Amadeo Bennetta and Daniel LaRossa, was built last fall, and the second and third were just completed.

Each piece of the design was designed to be easy to put together, take apart, and move. Tires filled with gravel form a simple foundation, and a modular steel frame can fit together in different ways based on the location. A UV-resistant fabric roof keeps the space cool, and internal walls can move depending on the size of a class. The walls are covered in a locally made bamboo panels, created by apprentices at a nearby social enterprise called Ironwood Studio.

Though it was made for the unique local conditions, the architects say the school could easily be adapted for other places. BTI is currently reviewing the designs for use in Sierra Leone. “The strength of this type of modular design is that it is really a framework that can be modified, supplemented, reconfigured, and in-filled with appropriate regional materials,” said Benetta. “For instance, BTI did a great job of sourcing local skills and the abundant bamboo crop to create the unique wall paneling. That may not always be the available material but substitutions can easily be found once the local dialogue is started.”

It's also not limited to just being a school, Benetta says. "We also envision these spaces being deployed as housing, relief shelters, activity spaces, or anywhere in which a displaced population needs a community gathering point."

Burmese Migrant Workers Fret Under Malaysian Authorities’ Scrutiny

A ‘mobile police station’ used to carry out passport and work permit checks on migrant workers is pictured near Kuala Lumpur’s Berjaya Times Square. (Photo: Kyaw Hsu Mon / The Irrawaddy)

KUALA LUMPUR — Burmese migrant workers here say local authorities are making a difficult situation worse by rigorously enforcing legal checks on the foreign worker population in Kuala Lumpur, where undocumented migrants face detention and the threat that religious violence in Burma could again spill over into Malaysia lingers.

In Malaysia, clashes between Burmese Buddhists and Muslims took place this year in late May and early June, mostly confined to areas around Kuala Lumpur. At least six Burmese migrant workers were killed and hundreds others, fearing for their safety, were repatriated in the aftermath.

June also saw more than 1,000 Burmese migrant workers detained by Malaysian police who said they were rounded up “to prevent further bloodshed,” and a similar push over the last three months has the Burmese migrant community in Malaysia on edge once again.

“We’re always worried about Malaysian police wherever we go around Kuala Lumpur—even though we hold legal permit documentation and a passport, they check us meticulously at every check point, especially near Chinatown where many Burmese stay,” said Kyi Aung, a 43-year-old Burmese migrant who has been living in Kuala Lumpur for more than 10 years.

“Especially [Burmese nationals who] overstay. Police know who they are, so if they suspect it, they arrest them and let them call their boss to take responsibility for them. Sometimes, police offer overstayers the chance to bribe them, at least 100 ringgit [US$31],” he said.

Kyi Aung, who works for a recruitment company in Kuala Lumpur’s Damansara Township, said that in the course of his 10-year stay in Malaysia, the Selayang neighborhood was often the scene of conflicts between foreigners—most commonly Burmese, Nepalese, Indians, Filipinos and Indonesians—and Malaysians.

“I hear that there is violence almost every day in that area. There is no rule of law in that place, but after media reported on it repeatedly, Burmese people got more notice from both governments. Now we are checked rigorously by the Malaysian government … overstays are more of a concern,” he said.

With Malaysian authorities stepping up a campaign to root out undocumented workers in early September, a second wave of Burmese migrants returning to their home country appears to be underway. On Sept. 13, 170 migrant workers returned to Burma, saying they had chosen to voluntarily leave Malaysia because they feared arrest by authorities. They said this year’s crackdown was particularly thorough and unregistered migrants were living in fear of being apprehended.

Thein Naing, a food shop owner in Kuala Lumpur, said the process of making oneself legal was unclear, with the governments of Burma and Malaysia providing different and sometimes contradictory information on the matter.

“For instance, the Malaysia government said if a worker can show their identity documents approved by the Burmese Embassy, they will issue legal stay cards, but on the embassy’s side, they said if the Malaysian government grants permission [to work in the country], they will confirm a long-stay permit, so people don’t know how to do it. There is no consistency between them,” said Thein Naing, who has lived in Malaysia for more than 20 years.

Malaysian authorities are reportedly targeting about 400,000 unregistered migrant workers in their latest sweep.

“If possible, the Burmese government should help Burmese workers who want to legally stay in Malaysia by issuing the required approval letter. If not, there will be more illegal laborers working in Malaysia,” he said.

Burma’s Labor Minister Aye Myint visited Kuala Lumpur in September to discuss the expulsion of unregistered Burmese workers with the Malaysian government.

Upon his return, he said that unregistered workers would be allowed to come back to Burma without facing fines, even if they had left the country by crossing the border illegally. As his figure, there is about 250,000 Burmese nationals work in Malaysia, more than 110,000 of whom are without proper legal documentation. Some 8,000 Burmese in Malaysia hold UN refugee status in the fellow Asean nation.

However, those numbers may be shrinking. Burmese migrant workers said that following the September crackdown, many of their fellow laborers were returning home, delivering a blow to Malaysian industries heavily reliant on them and nearly forcing the owners of some factories and small and medium enterprises to close shop.

Win Myint, a chef at the Old Town coffee shop in Kuala Lumpur’s Sunway neighborhood, said many Malaysian businessmen valued Burmese migrants’ work ethic and did not want to see them leave the country in the wake of the crackdown.

“Some owners tried to get stay permission for their workers because Burmese workers work hard—they can even work 12 hours a day, which local workers can’t do,” he said.

Even Burmese migrant workers who are not concerned about being harassed by the government are finding it difficult to envision a long-term future in Malaysia, where rising living costs present another challenge.

“I earn 1,500 ringgit [US$500] per month. I can’t save money and can’t send any to my family, but the reason I am still working here is, how can I earn that much money in my country?” Win Myint said. “However, I am considering going back next year.

“We spent more than 3,000 ringgit to come Malaysia, meaning in one year we cannot save money, because some workers in food shops, construction sites and factories only earn less than 1,000 ringgit. They can’t even send money back to their families,” he added.

Burmese workers on the ground in Malaysia agreed that anyone earning 200,000 kyats (US$206) or more per month in Burma would be better off remaining in the country rather than face the hardships of the current migrant labor situation in Malaysia.

“This is not a good time for us migrant workers in Malaysia,” Thein Naing said.

Ne Win’s grandson urges govt to free more prisoners, including convicts

Kyaw Ne Win, center, talks to media along with his two younger brothers, Aye Ne Win, right, and Zwe Ne Win, left, at their residence in Rangoon after Kyaw and Aye were released from Insein prison under a presidential amnesty on Friday, 15 November 2013. (AP PHOTO)

Released on Friday from Insein prison after more than 10 years behind bars, Kyaw Ne Win, the grandson of former military strongman Gen. Ne Win, urged the Burmese government to release not only all the political detainees, but other convicts “who deserve to be free”.

Sixty-nine political prisoners were released from prisons across Burma on Friday after a presidential amnesty was declared on the recommendation of the government-appointed Political Prisoners Assessment Committee.

Among them were Kyaw Ne Win and Aye Ne Win, two grandsons of ex-dictator Ne Win, the military general who ruled Burma with an iron fist from 1962 till 1988.

Shortly before Ne Win’s death in December 2002, his son-in-law, Aye Zaw Win, was implicated in an alleged plot to overthrow the military junta. Along with his wife Sandar Win (well-known at the time as Ne Win’s favoured daughter) and his three sons (Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win), the family were each found guilty of treason and given suspended death sentences.

Anti-mine protestor Naw Ohn Hla were among 69 political prisoners released under a presidential amnesty on 15 November 2013 (Former Political Prisoners Facebook)

Sandar Win was freed in 2008 while Aye Zaw Win and Zwe Ne Win were released in a presidential amnesty in January 2012.

Speaking to the media in Rangoon after his release on Friday, Kyaw Ne Win said that the release of prisoners does not cost money from anyone’s pockets.

“There were many prisoners [I met in prison] who should be set free,” he said. “The president and the parliament are the father of the country. But prisoners are also members of that family.”

In an interview the same day, Kyaw Ne Win toldEleven Media that he had no plans to enter politics, however he said he would do whatever it took to stop foreigners “trespassing on Burmese territory, insulting our sovereignty, and damaging the role of the army,” as well as “protecting the country’s race and religion, and from secessions from the state”.

He reportedly told Eleven Media he regarded himself as a “military dog”.

“If a military commander or an officer offered his hand, I will offer mine,” said Kyaw Ne Win. “If he tells me to bite someone, I will bite.”

Hydrocephalus Over Chin Refugees in Malaysia

Three Chin Refugees are in intensive care as they are suffering from Hydrocephalus disease (water on the brain) in GHKL (General Hospital Kuala Lumpur). They all fell suddenly down and when they rushed to hospital, hospital informed that they need operation. Ms .Nan Don Hau from Tedim Township had been operated on her head on 19-07-2009 and according to her husband she needs to do another operation else on tomorrow evening. Her husband is recognized as refugee but she is still unregistered with UNHCR. She was fallen down and rushed to Putra Jaya hospital but later transferred to GHKL. Doctors from GHKL are still looking for the cause and it is still unclear (no result). The other patient Mr. Ngun Tha Cung was fallen down on 14-07-2009 at his residence Jalan Ipoh. According to hospital authority, he has to pay around RM 2500 for operation and additional RM 500 for the bill. But a nurse told VOCR that, “He will not become normal as half of his body was paralyzed and he needs to do exercise regularly to recover completely”; she continued, “If he can pay his medication bills, he can be discharged from hospital now”. However, as he cannot afford to pay the bills, he is still laying in hospital bed. His poor brother is roaming around and trying to borrow some money from other Chin Refugees in Kuala Lumpur for his elder brother’s bill. Another patient from Mindat Mr. Ngei Thiang Hun is also being treated at GHKL for hydrocephalus in the same ward. He was a worker from plantation field in Cameron Highlands and was admitted to Ipoh hospital for the same disease. According to a nurse, “He is going to have operation this evening and we had already informed his brother who is working in Kuantan,” but, as he arrived recently that he doesn’t know how to come to the hospital. Ngei Thiang Hun got an appointment card from UNHCR office for his interview but the hospital didn’t accept the appointment card for 50 % discount that he is also facing financial problem.

In Malaysia, refugees patient who have UNHCR card get 50% discount for their medical bills but who doesn’t have the UNHCR card cannot get any discount. So, the UNHCR card holders have less hardship than the one who doesn’t have UNHCR card in case of health problem.

Proliferation of foreign workers among causes of rising TB cases

Should it not be the obligation of the employer to determine that a migrant worker satisfies the health requirement before even entering into an employment agreement with the worker in the country of origin? 

A healthy worker who after coming and working in Malaysia who contracts a disease/condition is the responsibility of the Malaysian employer - as this condition is caused by the employers failure to provide proper worker accommodation and/or working environment? If a heathy worker arrives and get TB because the employer housed him/her with persons having TB - justly it is failure of the employer, and the worker deserves justice.

Cancellation of the right of a migrant worker to work in Malaysia by reason of disease/health condition must be same as those that apply to local workers.

Proliferation of foreign workers among causes of rising TB cases

Last updated on 27 October 2013 - 05:25pm

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 27, 2013): The overcrowding of foreign workers is among the causes of tuberculosis (TB) being detected in the country, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam. 

"There were 58 cases per 100,000 in 1995 and it rose to 63 cases in 2008 which is 16,000 cases annually. The disease has also risen to 18,000 cases in 2010. 

"In 2011, there were 20,000 cases reported with 1,600 fatalities and about 12 to 13 per cent of TB patients were foreign workers," he told reporters after opening a seminar on Foreign Workers Medical Examination and Monitoring Agency (Fomema) Medical and X-Ray Examination here today. 

According to Subramaniam, there were 1.3 million foreign workers in the country in 2008, falling to 1.02 million in 2009, 951,943 in 2010, 935,043 in 2011 before increasing to 1.3 million last year following the 6P amnesty programme for illegal workers. 

Subramaniam stressed that any foreign worker wishing to work here had to undergo two health screenings, one in the country of origin and one in Malaysia.

"Some workers who passed the screening in their country of origin but failed the test here will be repatriated. We hope the health screening in their countries of origin could be improved," he said while adding that foreign workers who failed the health checks here were from Indonesia, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. 

Subramaniam said about three to seven per cent of the 1.3 million foreign workers who did not undergo the two health screenings were found to be suffering from TB, Hepatitis B, Syphilis, HIV and leprosy.

– Bernama

Part of my life as Refugee In Malaysia !

KUALA LUMPUR: A group of ethnic Chin ex-seminarians in Malaysia had believed that the Church would not regard them as “refugees.” When they found out that they were wrong in this, they formed a community to care for their people’s spiritual and material needs.

The two-year-old community has since extended aid to any Myanmar refugee who sought its help.

Bernadine Shin Lin Naing, secretary of the K’Cho Catholic Community, says attitudes have changed in the past year or so, and the local Church is giving more emphasis to serving refugees and migrants.

His community tries to respond to the needs of Myanmar refugees by contacting Church organizations and NGOs.

In an interview with the 30-year-old refugee leader on the work his community does and the local Church’s response to refugees.

The K’Cho Chin people originate from the Mindat area of Chin state in western Myanmar. Many are fleeing political and economic persecution in their country.

Malaysia is host to more than 2.2 million foreigners from neighboring countries, who are variously classified as migrant workers, refugees and trafficked people.

How was the K’Cho Catholic Community established?

BERNADINE SHIN LIN NAING: Eight ex-seminarians who came to Malaysia as refugees established the community on Dec. 23, 2007. Now I am the only one left from the original eight. All the others have been resettled in USA. Our community now has around 100 core people and there are 12 committee members. When we arrived in Malaysia, we found that undocumented Myanmar Catholics have many problems.

What were the problems?

We could not receive Baptism in church, and refused the Sacraments of Confirmation and Anointing of the Sick. The sacraments are important for us.

We approached the [local Church authorities] and went to different Catholic churches in the country, but got no result. So I wrote to the US bishops’ conference and ICMC (International Catholic Migration Commission) to tell about our difficulties. They replied that they would try to help us. Some months afterward, they said things would change.

Many changes did take place in the Malaysian Catholic Church starting last year. The archbishop [of Kuala Lumpur] announced there was a new push in the ministry to migrants.

You sought “outside” help rather than persist in engaging the local Church?

The Catholic Church is universal. Our Baptism makes us one family. I am a Catholic wherever I go. I don’t consider myself a refugee before the Church.

Who are the people you serve?

We serve all Myanmar people who are refugees and who need assistance; though most people in our community are ethnic chin. Actually, each ethnic group has its own community to serve its own people. Many Myanmar communities in Malaysia serve a mixture of migrants with proper documentation and refugees.

Nevertheless, they collect membership fees and help only those who are members. We do not accept membership. We help any Myanmar refugee in an indirect way — by contacting and channeling them to Catholic groups and NGOs.

We help them be register with UNHCR and with translation. We do not have the funds to help them directly.

There are around 200,000 Chin people in Malaysia. Most were undocumented. However, starting last year, UNHCR started mobile registrations with them, and now a lot of us are registered.

Now the Malaysian government allows those with a UNHCR card to stay here and do odd jobs. Before, refugees were not allowed to work. If they did, they were arrested and jailed. Now we can work.

For example, I do office work in an engineering company. A priest also has employed me to do part-time cleaning work at a Sunday school. We work to support ourselves.

Even though refugees can now work, they still have many problems. Some of them did not get their salaries for six months. I am still trying to get Catholic lawyers to help them.

For people with medical problems, I wrote to the Catholic Doctors Association. They have been very helpful to us. If there is someone really in need, we can send the person to a clinic of one of the Catholic doctor’s free treatment.

Starting in 2008, the association has provided hundreds of our children with vaccination. The local St. Vincent de Paul Society donated more than RM 8,000 (US$2,400) to us for medical purposes.

What other activities do you do?

We have been running a community school for a year from an apartment. We have 40 students aged 5-16 in two classes. We teach English, science and mathematics using Malaysian-published textbooks.

We hold gatherings in different homes in the Kuala Lumpur area, where we do Bible sharing, say the rosary, and share our problems. It is like a mobile BEC [Basic Ecclesial Community]. Twenty to 30 people attend each week. We try to help them through religion.

Many of us do not go to church on Sundays because we work odd hours in restaurants. We usually do not join the local parish BECs because of language difficulties, even though they started welcoming us from 2009. Local BEC communities have also visited refugee families.

Attitudes among the local Catholics are changing a lot. At first, they said we refugees only beg and cheat. There have been refugees who try to take advantage of the Church. So we try to show our honesty — that we try to help ourselves too. Gradually they see we have real needs and they are willing to help us.

Some Catholics say the Church should help poor Malaysians first before helping refugees.

For me this is fair. Asian people normally love their own communities very much. They try to help their own communities first before thinking about refugees.

What motivates you in your ministry to fellow refugees?

When I first came to Malaysia, I did not think of helping others. One day, someone in our community had an accident and wounded. When we brought him to the hospital, they didn’t want to admit him even though it was an emergency case. I felt very sad. Therefore, I decided to do something to help all Myanmar refugees by contacting NGOs and churches, I can speak English. We are refugees, but we are also humans.

What is your greatest hope while still in Malaysia?

I try to educate my people and get them interested in the Internet. When they get resettled [in a third country], they must be familiar with the computer. For example, you save a lot of money if you make phone calls through the Internet. However, it is very hard to motivate them.

I wish the Catholic Church and the government in Malaysia treated refugees as part of the national family. This is a very nice country and I would be very happy if there’s more respect for human rights here. Muslim refugees are also not treated well.

Courtesy: UCAN

My life in Malaysia was a bad dream but there are a lot of good friends of mine who build my beautiful dreams, I ,deeply in my heart and soul, appreciate them and they are all in my daily prayers. May God see it and rewards to them, blessing and blessing upon them. I miss Malaysia and all my good Malaysian friends. 

No wonder I met one of Holland friends in Malaysia, She was a wonderful lady for my family while we were very stressful Life situation. She is an angle sent to my family. I wish she may read this some days. 

Education To Burmese Refugee Children In Malaysia

5 minute "Opdoc" video about marginalized, excluded refugee children, refugee education and our teacher program in Malaysia!

We are thrilled to release our 6 minute "Opdoc" video of the refugee education situation and our refugee teacher program in Malaysia -- It's one of the first videos that describes how Malaysian government policies excluding refugee children from getting a government education impacts refugee children. We also focus on hope - how refugees and NGO's are taking amazing initiative to educate these marginalized refugee children in Malaysia, along with what our US Department of State Fulbright alumni refugee teacher training program and you can do to help.

Click HERE to see the opdoc video on youtube. It's called an opdoc since the "op" part is "opinion" and the "doc" part is "documentary."

Here it is too:

POOR FOLK Offers A Harrowing Insight Into Lives Of Burmese Refugees

Mi Z's life story lead him from a childhood in civil-war-torn Burma (commonly known as Myanmar) to Taiwan, where he attended university and works as a filmmaker up to this day. During Q&A with the audience the artist described Poor Folk as a film, which on a very personal level refers to his own experiences. He later explained thoroughly how the picture relates specifically to many ubiquitous complications caused by the process of migration and its often-harrowing influence on a person's life. That being the case, it's undeniably true that the director's sophomore feature emerges as an insightful and devastating example of a situation, where such difficult decisions as changing where we live are forced upon us by many different, unpredictable factors.

For those, who might be interested in the origins of the title, which is basically the same as Fyodor Dostoyevsky's accomplished first novel Midi Z explained - he's been an avid reader of Russian literature since the university years and thus it's majorly influenced his work. One of the characters is even seen reading a part of the book at one point in the film.

Poor Folk depicts real-life struggles of Burmese refugees practically living in Thailand but theoretically existing in a strange, irrational void on the border between two countries. The plot centers on two protagonists - A-hong (Wang Shin-hong) and Sun-mei (Wu Ke-xi) - who live on a day-to-day basis, without a clue what the future might bring. Though their viewpoints differ and the ordeals they go through are somewhat disproportionate, both their problems and dreams seem clearly interchangeable. Surprisingly, fate unwillingly places them on two sides of a barricade made of illegal activities and false hopes.

When A-Hong discovers that his sister has just become the latest victim of human trafficking due to their mother's selfishness and greed he decides to look for the fastest way to earn money and buy her back. But it's a little harder than he thinks. Although able to find a job as a bus tour guide in Bangkok at first, a devastating flood leaves him empty-handed once again. A-Hong soon realizes that his only chance for a happy ending is to risk everything. Along with an older, more experienced A-fu (Zhao De-fu) he begins selling strange materials for the production of amphetamine to local criminals, who are either hesitant to deal with the desperate young man or trying to trick him out of his money. The seriousness of those encounters is diminished by the couple's delightfully comical attitude towards all the ruthless gangsters. Their straightforwardness, self-confidence and bravery bring a subtle feel of joy to a film that's nowhere near that.

Sun-mei, on the other hand, apart from working at a brothel in a remote northern town Dagudi, is responsible for carrying out a completely different dirty work - she's entangled in human trafficking business. Her partner in crime is a seemingly protective and good-humored Wu-niang (Lee Su-fang), a sort of mother figure for all the girls in the group. Sun-mei's only real hope for a brighter tomorrow is a Taiwanese passport that she's supposed to get from a gang that's been bossing her around for a long time. Though the protagonist virtually doubts that she will ever see that precious document, she stills fulfills her duties in a proper manner. Shocking truth is revealed in a scene where it becomes obvious that one young girl Sun-mei's about to deliver from Burma to Thailand is A-hong's sister.

Although Poor Folk's sober ambiance and momentous content definitely make it a worthwhile experience, some of the wide shots of characters' motionless conversations feel overly long and languid. Those moments might make the audience lose focus in a very short time just before another revealing and significant sequences appear on screen, sometimes maybe too abruptly considering that the previous few minutes seemed rather uneventful.

However, as stagnant as it might sometimes be, Poor Folk comes as an arresting, memorable and authentic piece. It plays a bit like a gangster film, but due to Midi Z's observant directorial eye, it carries much more realism and noticeable attention to subtleties. After having seen the hardships that all the characters have to cope with in order to survive, in the end it actually feels very right to justify the terrible crimes that they commit in the process.

Malaysia-Qatar cooperation on child refugee issues

Rosmah meets with Sheikh Abdullah at complex ISF in Doha. BERNAMA

DOHA (Nov 13, 2013): Permata Negara will work with the Qatar Foundation to address issues on education and health among child refugees, including those in Malaysia.

Permata Negara patron Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor said this was among matters she discussed with the chairman of the foundation, Sheikha Moza bin Nasser, the driving force behind education and social reforms in Qatar.

Rosmah was speaking to Malaysian journalists after paying a courtesy call to the mother of the new Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, at the foundation's headquarters here on Tuesday.

Rosmah, who is the wife of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, arrived here on Sunday to attend the 4th Qatar International Businesswomen Forum at the St Regis Hotel where she delivered a keynote address titled "The Empowerment of Malaysian Women" on Monday.

Rosmah, who regarded Permata Negara as a strategic partner of Qatar Foundation, said they would also study the effectiveness of alternative medicine, especially those practised in China, to cure various diseases affecting child refugees.

"For that purpose, we plan to visit China," she said.

Rosmah said Permata Negara would prepare a working paper on child refugees in Malaysia to be submitted to Sheikha Moza, who would also be invited to Malaysia to see their condition.

Meanwhile, the new Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani, is expected to visit Malaysia next year to improve bilateral ties.

Drug-resistant Malaria a Threat to Burma

Burmese refugees receive treatment at the Mae Tao Clinic in the Thai border town Mae Sot in this file photo. (Photo: Mae Tao Clinic)

WASHINGTON — US experts are raising the alarm over the spread of drug-resistant malaria in Burma and several Southeast Asian countries, endangering major global gains in fighting the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than 600,000 people annually.

While the communicable disease wreaks its heaviest toll in Africa, it’s in nations along the Mekong River where the most serious threat to treating it has emerged.

The availability of therapies using the drug artemisinin has helped cut global malaria deaths by a quarter in the past decade. But resistance to it emerged on the Thai-Cambodia border in 2003, and has since been confirmed in Vietnam and Burma too. It has also been detected in southwest China and suspected as far away as Guyana and Suriname, according to a new report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

The report warns that could be a health catastrophe in the making, as no alternative anti-malarial drug is on the horizon. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that what seems to be a localized threat could easily get out of control and have serious implications for global health.

“Absent elimination of the malaria parasite in the Mekong, it is only a matter of time before artemisinin resistance becomes the global norm, reversing the recent gains,” writes Dr. Christopher Daniel, former commander of the US Naval Medical Research Center, in the report for a conference at the Washington think tank Tuesday.

Mosquitoes have developed resistance to antimalarial drugs before.

The same happened with the drug chloroquine, which helped eliminate malaria from Europe, North America, the Caribbean and parts of Asia and South-Central America during the 1950s. Resistance first began appearing on the Thai-Cambodia border, and by the early 1990s it was virtually useless as an antimalarial in much of the world.

A Threat to Burma

Nowhere are the challenges in countering the threat to drug-resistance greater than in Burma. Some 70 percent of its 55 million people live in malaria-endemic areas, and as a nation, it accounts for about three-quarters of malaria infections and deaths in the Mekong region, the report says.

Burma’s public health system is ill-equipped to cope, as government spending on health dwindled to the equivalent of just 60 US cents per person under military rule, although it has been increased significantly under the quasi-civilian administration that took power in 2011. In a third of townships, there been virtually no public health presence for years.

It’s an issue of regional concern as Burma has large transient populations in its border regions, including ethnic minorities displaced by fighting and migrant workers who cross borders.

“It is clear that this country with its chronically under-resourced health system needs urgent additional attention,” Daniel said.

Resistance to artemisinin can be driven by various factors: delays in giving treatment, use of counterfeit or substandard drugs, and prescribing artemisinin on its own rather than in combination with another longer-acting drug to ensure that all malaria-carrying parasites in a patient’s bloodstream are killed off.

Cambodia and Laos have banned the use of such monotherapies, and Burma’s military, which manufactures pharmaceuticals, announced in June it would cease production of them by early 2014. That comports with the global push by the United Nations for proper testing, treating and tracking of malaria cases to prevent the disease spreading.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies is advocating greater US involvement and aid for health and fighting malaria in the Mekong region, particularly in Burma, where Washington has been in the vanguard of ramping up international aid, as sanctions have been eased to reward it for democratic reforms.

The centrist think tank argues that can increase America’s profile in Southeast Asia in a way that will benefit needy people and not be viewed as threatening to strategic rival, China.

But securing more funds won’t be easy at a time when Washington is cutting back on programs for its own poor. The United States is already a major contributor to international anti-malaria efforts, and in Burma, is promising US $20 million per year in health assistance under its recently resumed bilateral aid program.

Australia, Indonesia in Talks on Refugee 'Swap'

Australia and Indonesia are discussing a people "swap" deal under which Jakarta would take asylum-seekers from Australia if Canberra agreed to take some of its refugees, an Indonesian government adviser said Tuesday.

Asylum-seekers arriving on unauthorized boats in Australia, often via Indonesia, are a sensitive issue for both sides, and Canberra's military-led Operation Sovereign Borders to clamp down on them has raised concerns in Jakarta.

The issue flared last week when Australia rescued some 60 asylum-seekers from a stricken vessel inside Indonesia's search and rescue zone and Jakarta refused to take them back.

"They are talking about agreements," Dewi Fortuna Anwar told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"If Indonesia were to take them, the costs of the burdens would be borne by Australia and then at the same time Australia will take the same number of people that are already sitting in detention centers in Indonesia and then they would be processed."

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed that talks were underway with the Indonesian government "on a whole range of matters at a whole range of different levels", but would not confirm any people-swap discussions.

"I'm just not going to comment other than to say we are of course talking with the Indonesians, as you would expect, about the best way of handling people who are picked up in their search and rescue zone," he told reporters.

He repeated his suggestion that Indonesia should have taken the latest group -- which were picked up south of Java -- because they were in Indonesia's search and rescue zone.

"Obviously under normal search and rescue rules, people who are picked up in a country's search and rescue zone go to the nearest safe port in that country...we're discussing this with Indonesians," he said.

But Anwar said they were not Jakarta's responsibility.

"Because they're not Indonesians. The 65 people are coming from the Middle East," she said. "Indonesia's on the way to Australia. These people pass through Indonesia.

"(The) Australian Navy intercepted the boat and then expect Indonesia to take these people back? They would be social burdens for Indonesia."

Any deal would be similar to one proposed by Australia's previous Labor government with Malaysia, under which Canberra was to take thousands of registered refugees for resettlement in exchange for the Southeast Asian nation accepting hundreds who arrived in Australia by boat.

The plan never got off the ground after being rejected by the then hung parliament.

Since then, Abbott's conservative government has come to power on a platform which included turning back boats to Indonesia when it was safe to do so -- a policy which rankled with Jakarta.

"We were a bit taken aback, when during his campaign then-candidate Tony Abbott talked about taking unilateral action," Anwar said.

"I think the Indonesian government has made it very clear that we really, really value the close cooperation between Jakarta and Canberra and any policy that one country or the other takes, we should always inform each other about this."

US Budget Crisis Hits Home for Burma-Thai Border Refugees

A Karen refugee child waits patiently for Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi to visit the Mae La refugee Camp north of Mae Sot, Thailand. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Though Washington has sent its federal employees back to work after a 16-day crisis of governance, Burmese refugees in Thailand who were preparing to resettle in the United States are still finding those plans put on hold a day after most US government services resumed.

Vivian Tan, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangkok, confirmed to The Irrawaddy that resettlement flights have been temporarily suspended due to developments in Washington.

“Our partners working in the resettlement program in Thailand have been informing the affected refugees. Everything should resume once the shutdown is resolved,” Tan said on Thursday.

“Should” being the operative word.

As of Friday, an official at the US Embassy in Rangoon said the program for refugees in camps along the Thai border remained on hold, despite the resumption of most federal government services on Thursday.

“We understand that the program will resume, but I don’t have any further details for you at this time,” the official said, when asked by The Irrawaddy if resolution of the US budget impasse meant the resettlement program would resume.

On Thursday, the US Congress passed a bill that raised the federal debt ceiling and reopened the government. “Nonessential” government services, from the United States’ national parks system to its space exploration program, had been suspended since Oct. 1, when US lawmakers could not muster the votes to continue funding the government. The US refugee resettlement program was also on the list of nonessential services.

There are more than 120,000 Burmese refugees living on the Thai-Burma border in nine refugee camps. About 80,000 Burmese refugees have been settled in third countries in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan, with the United States receiving the largest number of resettled Burmese.

Contacted by The Irrawaddy earlier, the US Embassy official said the resettlement program was still operating in a limited capacity.

“The United States has been forced to suspend the majority of refugee arrivals for the duration of the government shutdown. This is because services upon which refugees rely after their arrival are not available in many locations,” the official said on Thursday, adding that the suspension leaves thousands of refugees approved for resettlement sitting in limbo.

“However, we have been able to work with resettlement agencies around the country to continue to bring in the most vulnerable refugees over the coming weeks. State agencies and local communities that are finding ways to assist these refugees despite the shutdown deserve extra recognition for their efforts,” the official added.

Most of the refugees fled Burma due to government army attacks in their home regions. Many of them have been living in refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border for more than two decades.

As reforms have been introduced by the new civilian government of President Thein Sein, foreign donors who have been supporting the refugees for over 20 years have begun to push for their return home.

However, most of the refugees have indicated that they would prefer resettlement to a third country, or to remain in Thailand. According to a survey conducted earlier this month in the largest of the Thai border camps, 90 percent preferred one or both of those options over repatriation, with respondents citing safety and economic concerns, among other worries about starting life anew in Burma.

Recently, The Border Consortium (TBC), an nongovernmental organization that provides food and other services to the refugees, reported that rice rations for many of the refugees would be reduced in the near future due to a reduction in funding for its organization. Under the revised rice rations plan, households are categorized according to their level of need, with four groups: self-reliant, standard, vulnerable and most vulnerable. Self-reliant households will see a cut in rice rations for adults.

The TBC said that the funding for humanitarian work has dropped as donors redirect their funds to programs preparing for the return of refugees to Burma.

A day at the Fugee School: the beginning of new life

One of my greatest highlights whilst interning at the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights was going out and seeing the Fugee School in Gombak. Whilst Gombak would only be considered as the end of the line for many Malaysians, for a group of refugee children from Somali, it is actually the beginning of a whole new life.

As a recent law graduate with a passion for human rights, I wanted to experience so much more with my degree than just sitting in an office and I did find this via my internship with the MCCHR, but I also discovered so much more about the hands on approach to human rights, on this day in Gombak.

Malaysia has over 104,000 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UNHCR, of which 11,000 are of school aged. Unfortunately, a very high percentage of refugee children are not currently receiving an education.


In contrast to Australia, who is a signatory with the Refugee convention, Malaysian refugees fare better in some respects. They still live within the community and are therefore receiving the support of the community. Whilst in Australia, they are placed within detention centres, making the eventual transition into the community harder.

I was given directions to the Fugee School and as I alighted from the train, I was a little bit anxious to be in an area so far from what I’ve known in my life in Australia. The poverty was obvious and as I held my bag a little closer, I found myself in a block of units which had paint peeling from the building, and was dark and smelt rather musty. As security required identification to let me in, I did momentarily wonder whether or not I’d see my Australian licence again when I left the building.

Security informed me where I was to go and this in itself was rather daunting. As someone who obviously lived a rather sheltered life globally, I was a little afraid to walk through the underground car-park, past the lift with an obvious sign informing me that the lift was broken and up a flight of stairs, until I eventually found myself in a dark corridor in front of a door with a padlocked steel gate. As I waited, I thought of the contrasts to my school days at an elite ladies private college in the leafy suburbs of Sydney.

I was met by Shafie Mohamed, one of the principals of the centre, and he showed me around. There wasn’t really much to it. It was a small unit broken into three small classrooms. In one, the tiles on the floor were lifting up and I was advised not to walk on them in the event that I harm myself. Despite the obvious flaws, the room was painted brightly, the children’s work was hung proudly around the room and there was warmth found within.

This was such a contrast to my own schooling which had all the modern conveniences supposedly conducive to attaining an education, but with so much attention drawn to the facades, a child can become lost and find themselves struggling to fit in, as not much attention is given to the individual.

At the Fugee School, to 120 refugee children who have experienced life beyond anything I could comprehend, this is a place where they can learn and become empowered. The children don’t possibly even see the urgent repairs that are required and there are certainly no Parents & Friends Associations squabbling over the size of the decking on the new swimming pool. Everyone at the Fugee School is just grateful for this opportunity to learn and as a result of the transient nature of being a refugee, their schooling caters to the individual. Such a mammoth task!

When Deborah Henry arrived, any thoughts of meeting an indulgent beauty queen were quickly dismissed as she warmly shook my hand. This lady was just as at home in amongst this poverty as she was gracing the stage of Miss Universe in dresses worth thousands, and that truly says something about her character.

Deborah, as her role with World Vision, was introduced to a family of Somali refugees and she was taken aback by the fact that the children weren’t receiving an education. As a university graduate of Political Science and Economics and a daughter of a teacher, she is well versed in the opportunities afforded to someone because of an education.

So, together with her friend, Shikeen Halibullah, they began teaching the children of refugee families and upon meeting up with Shafie, who was also educating refugee children, formed what became known as The Fugee School.

Deborah told me that the second unit they used to have was no longer available to them and she was wondering how they would be able to fit all the children into their downscaled school, but would somehow work out something. Despite many adversities, the principals continued to take a very positive approach. This was never about what they should have, but was always about making the best of what they did have.

Deborah told me that when she started, she gave the children pencils and asked them to draw a picture, but surprisingly, the children didn’t know how to be creative. At that time, having only known refugee camps as a result from fleeing the violence in Somalia, their cognitive abilities didn’t include an imagination. As a mother who has always enjoyed the inherent beauty of a child’s innocence and the creativity that is derived from this, I was shocked and saddened to think that a child didn’t have an imagination.

Unfortunately, the school was still on holidays, so I didn’t get to meet the children, but Deborah showed me some of their work and I was surprised by their high standards of comprehension, their obvious awareness of the environment, and the empathy shown towards others, which surpassed that of any child I’d met in Australia at their same age. As future adults, how the children are treated today will define who they will become and this was at the forefront of my mind as we talked.

Despite the fact that many of the children will only be at the school for a short period of time, the children are embraced and supported to achieve on both an academic and personal level. They are nurtured to believe in themselves and to overcome any adversities they will meet as a result of being a refugee. To most of the children, this may be the very first structured schooling environment they will ever have and Deborah, Shafie and all involved, ensure that they are given an environment which is not only conducive to learning, but will hold them in good stead as they grow.

Despite the obvious structural flaws to the building, the school is still able to give the children what they need. This, in itself, says a lot. To learn, one doesn’t necessarily require the pool and the modern conveniences; a child only requires the chance to learn, coupled with a loving and supportive environment.

I was also very impressed with the creative manner in which they raise funds. Deborah informed me that it wasn’t about putting their hand out asking for funds; it required innovation and consequently enabled a form of empowerment. In the past, the children have made little gifts which were sold, Deborah has teamed up with Hello for a fundraising evening and now, their latest endeavour was an initiative is called ‘Step Out’, which involved teaming up with shoe designer Jon Wong, artiste Mizz Nina and friend, Marion Caunter to design a range of shoes with proceeds going to the school.

 

 

Co-founder Deborah Henry (left) and Fugee School teacher Shafie Mohamed (right). Fugee School educates over 100 refugee children between the ages of 4 and 25 by giving them lessons in core subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science, Art, Computing Skills and Somali (their native language). The school also offers additional classes for youth in Sustainable Development and Business Management.So, situated in an area in which I was initially frightened to visit, a tiny little unit which is in desperate need of repairs, is school to group of 120 Somalia refugees. These children, despite being refugees and having endured adversities incomprehensible to me, are being given so much more than just the ability to read and write. They are being nurtured to overcome everything they have lived through thus far and to become empowered to take on the uncertainties of their future. - November 11, 2013.

Malaysia’s poor performance in upholding human rights – Ganeshwaran Kana

The Malaysian government has always been a vocal voice in international arena, slamming foreign governments for their failures in championing human rights. Malaysia has also stood tall amongst its other “peers” in advocating for a non-aligned, peaceful and moderate world for all.

Malaysia has had its firm stand against the encroachment of the Palestinian territory by the Israeli forces, the United States’ military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq, under the premise of “War on Terror” and even against the Apartheid regime of South Africa prior to the blacks’ disenfranchisement in 1994. Why, the articulate former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad even initiated an international tribunal to prosecute Tony Blair and George Bush Jr. for war crimes.

But, then again, a bigger question arises, is everything in Malaysia as rosy as said?

1) The ultimate doctrine of the nation, the Federal Constitution upholds the rights of individuals in freedom of religion as enshrined in Part II, Article 11. However, in reality, this freedom of religion in Malaysia can end up being a contentious issue. One major factor for such arguments is the recent Court of Appeal’s judgement, prohibiting the usage of the term “Allah” by a weekly called The Herald Catholics. Such judgement has created rift between the Muslims and non-Muslims communities in Malaysia, with many public figures claiming exclusiveness of such term, only for the faithful of Islam. However, the recent press statement of the Honourable Prime Minister, indicating that non-Muslims can continue to use the term and the judgement shall be confined only to The Herald, has created confusion over this contradicting situations.

2) As a further matter, Hindu temples demolition in Malaysia has caused disappointment within the Hindu community of Malaysia. To elaborate, many Hindu temples were built in Malaysia and as the famous Emeritus Professor Khoo Kay Kim puts it, there are more than 16,000 Hindu temples in this country. However, many of these religious buildings were built in rubber estates and even before independence. In the long-run, many of these temples are not registered with the government and are deemed illegal. With more and more developments taking centre stage in Malaysia now, many of these temples fall in the intended development zone and later on, face demolition threats from the developers. The recent incident at the Muniswarar Kaliyaman temple in P.Ramlee Street, Kuala Lumpur where part of the temple structure was demolished by the Kuala Lumpur City Council, was seen as infringement of freedom of religion. Even the Federal Territories Minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan has defended the act, saying the demolition is valid and is done legally as ordered by the court. But, he has failed to produce a copy of the order.

However, earlier prior to the demolition, a court has declared that any attempt of demolition of the Muniswarar temple would be considered void and illegal. And a copy of this judgement has been produced by R. Sivarasa, the MP for Subang. This clearly contradicts with the statement given by the Minister and shows that, the act of demolition by Kuala Lumpur City Council is illegal and against the law.

Not only that, the way of the temple structure was demolished was considered inconsiderate and rude by the masses. This is due to the council workers entering the temple vicinity, wearing boots and the statues were removed not by the priests but by the Muslim council workers. This also contradicts Hinduism’s practice as any deity statues removal needs to be done accordingly through a ritual.

Religious buildings should be respected by everyone, even if it means the authorities. Any rude intrusion as shown by the council workers should be condemned and those responsible should be made to apologise. However, sadly up to this very moment, no actions have been taken, just like what happened to the rest of the temples that were demolished.

3) Freedom of religion does not only limit to different religions but also to different denominations within a religion. In Malaysia, faithful of Islam constitutes the majority population amongst the 28.5 million citizens of Malaysia. Almost all Muslims in Malaysia are called the Sunni Muslims. Yet, there are other denominations such as Shia (a group of Muslims who consider Saidina Ali bin Abu Talib as the last prophet contrary to the belief of Sunni Muslims, where Prophet Muhammad is considered as the last prophet of Islam). Social activists and several politicians have advocated against the persecution of Shia Muslims in Malaysia.

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department, Dato' Seri Jamil Khir bin Baharom who is in charge of Islamic affairs, has previously said that Shia Muslims can continue to practise their belief in Malaysia without any persecution from the government, provided that the teachings of this sect are not spread. However, this clearly contradicts with a 1996 edict by the National Fatwa Council which ruled that Shia is a deviant sect and banned its practice. Not only that, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim, the secretary-general of the Home Ministry announced the growth of the minority Shia population, along with government plans to root out the movement.

The government’s stand in this issue remains ambiguous and confusing. However, taking into consideration the need to honour the right of an individual to practise his or her belief, persecution of the Shia movement should be brought to a rigid full stop. For this, roundtable discussions between the representative of the Sunni and Shia Muslims should be organised to attain a win-win situation. The government needs to understand that forcing an individual to accept a belief that he or she does not subscribe will prove to be futile.

4) Malaysia’s treatment of the registered asylum seekers or refugees from countries in the midst of conflict has also been debated for quite some time. The Malaysian Government is yet to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol under United Nations and has taken less effort to provide welfare to these people seeking refuge. According to official report, there are around 115,819 refugees in Malaysia registered under the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). And the vast majority of them are from Myanmar, which has suffered from decades of brutal military administration.

Although these registered asylum seekers are protected from the tensions in their homeland, they are prohibited from working or getting education in Malaysia. Currently, many refugees are sustaining their lives in Malaysia by doing odd jobs. Children of the refugees have been denied the right for education, limiting them only for informal education.

Asylum seekers are different than illegal foreign immigrants as they are here to seek life protection and not to exploit our economic opportunity. They are allowed to enter Malaysia’s in the interest of humanity. The Malaysian Government needs to ratify the Refugee Convention and establish a proper framework to provide a good protection for the refugees. Once they are registered under UNHCR, they ought to be allowed to enter the workforce and to receive education.

5) Other than that, the government’s inaction against its own politicians and affiliates who produce seditious statements, have showcased the government’s biasness. Anti-race statements made by former Chief Minister of Melaka, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, current Menteri Besar of Kedah, Dato’ Mukhriz Mahathir and the President of PERKASA (a Malay supremacist group), Dato’ Ibrahim Ali who threatened the Holy Bible, fell on deaf ears and were never taken any actions upon. Why, even the current Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister, Dato’ Abdul Rahman Dahlan has defended Ibrahim Ali’s despicable statement!

Contrary to this, many leaders in the opposition pact, Pakatan Rakyat has been brought to justice for their so-called “seditious statements”. These include Batu Member of Parliament, Tian Chua, PAS member Shafor and activists Hariz Fathillah Mohamed Ibrahim, Safwan Anang and Hishamuddin Rais. It is not my intention to defend these Pakatan Rakyat representatives but, if these people can be prosecuted for their statements, BN’s politicians who uttered anti-racial statement should also be brought to court. The Sedition Act is not to be used for political expediency, but for national harmony.

6) Malaysia’s affirmative action which favours the Bumiputera group can also be seen as a threat to human rights. Each and every citizens of Malaysia is entitled to equal rights in a country, regardless of his or her skin complexion or ethnicity. For me, the affirmative action practised by the Barisan Nasional Government in the past four decades has left the elites to reap the most benefits. This is evident through the stark disparity between the rich and the poor within the Bumiputera group. The intra-race Gini coefficient study in 2009 has proved that Gini coefficient for the Bumiputera group is 0.44 and is higher compared to the Chinese and Indian communities.

To the uninitiated, the Gini index ranges from 0 till 1. The closer the index is to 1, the higher the income disparity between the rich and the poor. This particular coefficient has clearly indicated that the Bumiputera group in Malaysia is plagued by the “rich get richer, poor get poorer” syndrome despite the so-called “success” of the New Economic Policy.

What Malaysia needs now is an Equal Rights Commission which was advocated by the National Economic Actions Council (NEAC). Malaysians should be left to stand on an equal and just economy for the betterment of the nation.

However, whenever talks regarding equal rights and affirmative action arise, these are blocked by political interference. In 2008, when the Bar Council has suggested for a national forum on social contract, the then Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Badawi has objected the need for such a forum or discussion. This was again reiterated by a royal statement from the Conference of Rulers.

Should Malaysia aspire to be one of the respected developed countries internationally, all Malaysians should be seen equal and any political or economic marginalisation should be ultimately eradicated.

7) In 2013, Malaysia continued its downward slide in the Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF)’s press freedom index – dropping to 145th position out of 179 countries – Malaysia’s lowest ranking ever yet. In 2007, Malaysia was placed at 124th. Even worse, in 2011, Malaysia was listed under the “Countries under Surveillance” list for its suppression of Internet freedom amongst the Malaysian citizens. This clearly indicates the limitations of freedom of information in Malaysia. Mainstream mass media has for long been seen as pro-ruling government and partisan.

This has to change, as soon as possible. A mature and intellectual Malaysian community can only be realised if free and neutral information is allowed to “roam” in Malaysia’s atmosphere.

8) Detention without trial is an example of infringement of human liberty. As the conventional wisdom goes, “a man is innocent until he is proven otherwise”. Malaysia gained international plaudits when the Prime Minister announced the abolishment of the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) which was passed in 1960, with the intention only to prosecute the communists, back in the old days.

However, the plaudits have now gone to waste with the amendment to the Crime Prevention Act 1959 being passed by the Parliament. This amendment allows for detention without trial up to two years, exactly like ISA. The public realises that the organised crime rate in Malaysia has increased in recent years, especially after the abolishment of the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and ISA in 2011. But, this doesn’t necessarily means that the re-introduction of the detention without trial is justified.

Supposedly, the police force should be able to reinforce their intelligence expertise and enforcement strength, rather than just to nab individuals and lock them up. The Royal Malaysian Police force needs a major overhaul in dealing with such organised crimes and again, detention without trial shall never be the answer.

The Human Rights Council’s (HRC) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for was done on Oct 24, four years after the first in 2009. United Nations member countries urged Malaysia to abolish capital punishment, repeal oppressive laws, and respect the rights of Orang Asli and individual religious practices.

Malaysia is in a serious need to ratify the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination as racial problems are still on-going despite the multi-racial community living together for more than half a century. Besides, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia or SUHAKAM’s annual reports need to be debated in Parliament to scrutinise the human rights’ plaguing problem in Malaysia. It is troubling that despite its establishment in 1999 and SUHAKAM’s success in sending its annual reports to the Parliament, they were never debated. The time has come for the government to pay heed to the recommendations of the SUHAKAM reports for a better administration that upholds human liberty.