NGO funding opportunity for benefiting Burmese Refugees in Thailand, Malaysia and the East Asia Region

FY 2012 Funding Opportunity Announcement for NGO Programs Benefiting Burmese Refugees in Thailand, Malaysia and the East Asia Region.

Funding Opportunity Announcement

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration

June 8, 2012

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Funding Opportunity Number: PRM-ANE-12-CA-EA-06082012-REGION

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number: 19.511- Overseas Refugee Assistance Programs for East Asia

Announcement issuance date: Friday, June 8, 2012

Proposal submission deadline: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. noon (EDT). Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

ADVISORY: PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal early to allow time to address any difficulties that may arise.

Proposed Program Start Dates: August 1 – September 28, 2012

Duration of Activity:

Program plans for Thailand from 12 to 24 months will be considered. Applicants may submit multi-year proposals with activities and budgets that do not exceed 24 months from the proposed start date. Actual awards will not exceed 12 months in duration. Multi-year proposals selected for funding by PRM will be funded in 12-month increments and must include results-based indictors within the first 12 months. Agreements may be renewable for an additional 12-month period contingent upon available funding, strong performance, and continuing need. Continued funding after the initial 12-month award requires the submission of a noncompeting continuation application as detailed in the "Application Requirements for Proposals for Multi-Year Funding" section below. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receiving awards under these terms will be required to submit continuation applications at least three months in advance of the end of the 12-month period of activities. Please see the "Proposal Content, Formatting, and Templates" section for additional guidance.

Program plans for Malaysia should be no more than 12 months. Applicants must re-compete for PRM funding each year.

For all programs, in funding a project one year, PRM makes no representations that it will continue to fund the project in successive years and encourages applicants to seek a wide array of donors to ensure long-term and diverse funding sources. PRM will prioritize project proposals that demonstrate strong coordination and integration of services with other NGO partners on the Thailand-Burma border.

Current Funding Priorities for Assistance to Burmese Refugees in Thailand:

PRM will accept proposals from NGOs for activities that focus on the following priorities in Mae La camp, and the surrounding districts of Tak province:

a. Improve camp water and sanitation and other environmental infrastructure, including protection and development of the water resource in Mae La and in the surrounding host villages in Tak Province;

b. Improve hygiene practices and control water-born diseases in Mae La and along the Thailand-Burma border;

c. Enhance health and environment-related livelihood opportunities in Mae La that generate income and improve family intake while also contributing to the reduction of negative environmental impact; and

d. Provide training to improve management of watershed natural resources.

Current Funding Priorities for Assistance to Burmese Refugees in Malaysia:

PRM will accept proposals from NGOs for activities that focus on the following priorities in urban sites and in Immigration Detention Centers:

a. Primary healthcare, including, but not limited to; mental health consultations and counseling, stress and trauma-related support, HIV, STI, and TB testing, and prenatal/postnatal care;

b. Provision of nursing facilities and caretakers for refugee patients requiring recuperation and post-hospitalization nursing care; and

c. Health-based training and education focusing on general health care, communicable disease prevention, treatment adherence, reproductive health, and nutrition.

Current Funding Priorities for Assistance to Burmese Rohingya in the Region:

PRM will accept proposals from NGOs for activities that focus on the following priorities for the stateless Rohingya in the East Asia region:

a. Strengthen dialogue between relevant actors in Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and elsewhere in the region on the humanitarian situation facing Rohingya populations;

b. Engage affected governments in the region, either directly or indirectly, and solicit support for Rohingya populations to facilitate the development of a comprehensive regional solution to address the Rohingya plight;

c. Provision of education, including technical support, comparative knowledge and expertise, to concerned parties.

PRM will accept proposals from any NGO working in the above mentioned sectors although, given budgetary constraints, priority will be given to proposals from organizations that can demonstrate:

· A working relationship with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), current UNHCR funding, and/or a letter of support from UNHCR for the proposed activities and/or overall country program (this letter should highlight the gap in services the proposed program is designed to address);

· A proven track record in providing proposed assistance both in the sector and specified location;

· Evidence of coordination with international organizations (IOs) and other NGOs working in the same area or sector as well as – where possible – local authorities;

· A concrete implementation plan with well-conceived objectives and indicators that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and reliable, time-bound and trackable (SMART), have established baselines, and include at least one outcome or impact indicator per objective; objectives should be clearly linked to the sectors in the RFP;

· A budget that is appropriate for meeting the objectives and demonstrates co-funding by non-US government sources;

· Appropriate targeting of beneficiaries in coordination with UNHCR and other relevant organizations. Because of PRM's mandate to provide protection, assistance, and sustainable solutions for refugees and victims of conflict, PRM considers funding only those projects that include a target beneficiary base of at least 50% refugees.

· Adherence to relevant international standards for humanitarian assistance. See PRM's General NGO Guidelines for a complete list of sector-specific standards.

International Organizations (IOs) that are engaged in programs relevant to the assistance addressed by this PRM funding announcement should ensure that these programs are made known to PRM on or before the closing date of this funding announcement so that PRM can evaluate all IO and NGO programs for funding consideration.

As stated in the General NGO Guidelines, PRM looks favorably on cost-sharing efforts and seeks to support projects with a diverse donor base and/or resources from the submitting organization.

Proposal Submission Requirements:

See "How to Apply" (http://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant_faqs.jsp#applying) on Grants.gov for complete details on requirements, and note the following highlights:

· Proposals must be submitted via Grants.gov. Organizations not registered with Grants.gov should register well in advance of the July 10, 2012 deadline as it can take up to two weeks to finalize registration (sometimes longer for non-U.S. based NGOs to get the required registration numbers). To register with Grants.gov, organizations must first receive a DUNS number and register with the Central Contract Registry (CCR) which can take weeks and sometimes months. See "Applicant FAQs" section on Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/help/applicant_faqs.jsp#applying) for complete details on registering.

· If you encounter technical difficulties with Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at support@grants.gov or by calling 1-800-518-4726. Applicants who are unable to submit applications via Grants.gov due to Grants.gov technical difficulties and who have reported the problem(s) to the Grants.gov help desk and received a case number and had a service request opened to research the problem(s), should contact PRM Program Officer Hoa Tran at (202) 453-9289 or TranHT3@state.gov to determine whether an alternative method of submission is appropriate.

· Do not wait until the last minute to submit your application on Grants.gov. Applicants who have done so in the past and experienced technical difficulties were not able to meet the deadline. PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal early to avoid submission delays. We recommend that organizations, particularly first-time applicants, submit applications via Grants.gov no later than one week before the deadline to avoid last-minute technical difficulties that could result in an application not being considered.

· Applications must be submitted under the authority of the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) at the applicant organization. Having proposals submitted by agency headquarters helps to avoid possible technical problems.

· Pursuant to U.S. Code, Title 218, Section 1001, stated on OMB Standard Form 424 (SF-424), Department of State is authorized to consolidate the certifications and assurances required by Federal law or regulations for its federal assistance programs. The list of certifications and assurances can be found at: http://fa.statebuy.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=161&menu_id=68 )

· NGOs that have not received PRM funding prior to the U.S. Government fiscal year ending September 30, 2004 must be prepared to demonstrate that they meet the financial and accounting requirements of the U.S. Government by submitting copies of 1) the most recent external financial audit, 2) including non-profit tax status under IRS 501 (c)(3), as applicable, 3) a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, and 4) an Employer ID (EIN)/Federal Tax Identification number.

Proposal Content, Formatting and Template:

Please refer to the "Proposal Submission and Review Process" section in the General NGO Guidelines. PRM strongly encourages organizations applying for PRM funding to use the PRM recommended proposal and budget templates. Templates can be requested by sending an email to PRM's NGO Coordinator. You must type "PRM NGO Templates" in the subject line to receive an automated reply containing the templates.

In addition to referencing the General NGO Guidelines, applicants for Thailand proposing multi-year programs should adhere to the following guidance:

Applicants may submit proposals that include multi-year strategies presented in 12-month cycles for a period not to exceed 24 months from the proposed start date. Fully developed programs with detailed budgets, objectives and indicators are required for all years of activities. These can be updated yearly upon submission of continuation applications. Applicants should note that they may use PRM's recommended multi-year proposal template, which is different from the single year template. Multi-year funding applicants may also use PRM's standard budget template and should submit a separate budget sheet for each project year. Multi-year proposals using PRM's templates must be no more than 30 pages in length. If the applicant does not use PRM's recommended templates, proposals must not exceed 25 pages in length. For single year programs, if an NGO is using PRM's template, proposals must not be more than 20 pages in length, including instructions. If an NGO is not using the PRM template for single year programs, then proposals must not be more than 15 pages in length. Organizations may choose to attach work plans, activity calendars, and/or logical frameworks as addendums/appendices to the proposal. These attachments do not count toward the page limit total.

PLEASE TAKE SPECIAL NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED IN PRM's NGO GUIDELINES:

This announcement is designed to accompany PRM's General NGO Guidelines, which contain additional administrative information and explain in detail PRM's NGO funding strategy and priorities. Please use both the General NGO Guidelines and this announcement to ensure that the proposed activities are in line with PRM's priorities and that your proposal submission is in full compliance with PRM requirements. Proposal submissions that do not meet all of the requirements outlined in these guidelines will not be considered. PRM recommends using the proposal and budget templates that are available upon email request from PRM's NGO Coordinator. Please send an email, with the phrase "PRM NGO templates" in the subject line, to PRM's NGO Coordinator.

· Proposals should outline how the NGO will acknowledge PRM funding. If an organization believes that publicly acknowledging the receipt of USG funding for a particular PRM-funded project could potentially endanger the lives of the beneficiaries and/or the organization staff, invite suspicion about the organization's motives, or alienate the organization from the population it is trying to help, it must provide a brief explanation in its proposal as to why it should be exempted from this requirement.

· Focus on outcome or impact indicators as much as possible. At a minimum, each objective should have one outcome or impact indicator. Wherever possible, baselines should be established before the start of the project.

· To increase PRM's ability to track the impact of PRM funding, include specific information on locations of projects and beneficiaries. Any project involving the building or maintenance of physical infrastructure must include coordinates of site locations (place name, P-Code, latitude and longitude coordinates).

· Budget must include a specific breakdown of funds being provided by UNHCR, other USG agencies, other donors, and your own organization. PRM strongly encourages multi-lateral support for humanitarian programs.

· Organizations that received PRM funding in FY 2011 for activities that are being proposed for funding under this announcement must include the most recent quarterly progress report against indicators outlined in the cooperative agreement. If an organization's last quarterly report was submitted more than six weeks prior to the submission of a proposal in response to this funding announcement, the organization must include, with its most recent quarterly report, updates that show any significant progress made on objectives since the last report.

Application Requirements for Proposals for Multi-Year Funding

Multi-year applications selected for funding by PRM will be funded in 12 month increments based on the proposals submitted in the competing application and as approved by PRM. Continued funding after the initial 12 month award requires the submission of a noncompeting continuation application as follows:

· Continuation applications must be submitted not later than 90 days before the proposed start date of the award (e.g., if funding the next budget period is to begin on September 1, submit your application by June 1). Late applications will jeopardize continued funding.

· Applications must be signed by the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) at the applicant organization on the submitted SF-424.

· Pursuant to U.S. Code, Title 218, Section 1001, stated on OMB Standard Form 424 (SF-424), Department of State is authorized to consolidate the certifications and assurances required by Federal law or regulations for its federal assistance programs. The list of certifications and assurances can be found at: http://fa.statebuy.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=161&menu_id=68 )

· Proposal Content, Formatting and Templates: Please refer to the guidance contained in PRM's General NGO Guidelines. The total budget should not exceed the amount which is listed on the current Federal Assistance Award. You must submit a complete application including:

o Signed completed SF-424.

o Proposal reflecting objectives and indicators for the continuation period.

o Budget for the continuation period.

o Budget narrative.

o Most recent Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), if applicable.

o Information on the amount of unexpended funds to include a statement of the estimated cumulative total dollar amount taking into consideration the actual expenditures shown on the Financial Status Report. Note that funds are available for expenditure only during the period in which they are awarded.

Reports and Reporting Requirements:

Program reporting: PRM requires quarterly and final program reports describing and analyzing the results of activities undertaken during the validity period of the agreement. It is highly suggested that NGOs receiving PRM funding use the PRM recommended program report template. To request this template, send an email with the phrase "PRM NGO templates" in the subject line to PRM's NGO Coordinator.

Financial Reports: Financial reports are required within thirty (30) days following the end of each calendar year quarter during the validity period of the agreement; a final financial report covering the entire period of the agreement is required within ninety (90) days after the expiration date of the agreement.

For more details regarding PRM's reporting requirements, please see General NGO Guidelines.

Proposal Review Process:

PRM will conduct a formal competitive review of all proposals submitted in response to this funding announcement. A review panel will evaluate submissions based on the above-referenced proposal evaluation criteria and PRM priorities in the context of available funding.

PRM may request revised proposals and/or budgets based on feedback from the panel. PRM will provide formal notifications to NGOs of final decisions taken by Bureau management.

PRM Points of Contact:

Should NGOs have technical questions related to this announcement, they should contact the PRM staff listed below prior to proposal submission. (Note: Responses to technical questions from PRM do not indicate a commitment to fund the program discussed.):

PRM Program Officer Hoa Tran, TranHT3@state.gov, 202-453-9289, Washington, D.C.

Bangkok Regional Refugee Coordinator Andrea Doyle, DoyleAL@state.gov, U.S. Embassy, Refugee and Migration Affairs, Bangkok, Thailand.

Source : http://edwardcampbellmedia.blogspot.com

Burmese refugee angry at asylum cheats

By Lindsay McPhee and Yolanda Zaw, 

The West Australian

 A Burmese refugee who has not seen her children for five years has expressed her heartache and frustration at claims people smugglers have been granted residency in Australia.

Sui Neih Maui, an ethnic Chin who was the first refugee to be settled in WA under the so-called Malaysia deal last year, has not seen her daughters, aged 8, 14 and 16, since she and her husband fled from persecution in Burma in 2007.

As she waits patiently for visas for her children to be approved so they can be reunited, Ms Maui condemned people smugglers and those who posed as refugees to enter Australia.

"Everyone deserves a fair chance and what they are doing is not Sui fair," she said.

"People who take refugees' money and promise them they can come to Australia quicker, they aren't fair, it is not fair because I had to wait and now my daughters have to wait.

"We did everything the right way and we are still waiting for them. I can understand why some people might want to do it the illegal way if they think it will be faster but it is dangerous. Waiting is hard but I know I will see my daughters again soon."

Ms Maui and her husband made the heart-wrenching decision to leave the girls behind with her mother for their own safety when they fled to Malaysia. However, tragically, 12 months after they arrived, Ms Maui's husband was murdered and she lived for years under the threat of violence and in abject poverty in a Kuala Lumpur slum before being relocated to Perth as a refugee.

"It has been very hard being away for such a long time from my family," she said.

 

Source : http://au.news.yahoo.com

New Summer Academic Program Unveiled for Refugee Students in USA

(Photo: BACI)

06 June 2012: A new summer academic research program for area high school students from Burma was unveiled in Indianapolis, Indiana State, USA last Saturday.

The Burmese American Community Institute (BACI) kicked off its Upward College Summer Program at the organization’s one-year anniversary celebration at Winchester Village Elementary School in Indianapolis.

Twenty high school students from Burma were selected from applicants to participate in the program.

Members of families who resettled in Indianapolis, the teens will have an opportunity to engage in action research projects that address issues in the Burmese refugee community.

Students will conduct surveys and interview community members about issues such as employment, healthcare, secondary migration and cultural integration. Teams of students will present their findings at the close of the program on Saturday, July 28.

The organization also honored 23 high school students and 35 adults who marked completion of other institute programs. Students and adults who completed the Upward College Program’s English as a Second Language Course received certificates from the institute and its partner, Central Nine Career Center of Greenwood, Indiana.

A letter from U.S. congressman André Carson congratulated each person who successfully completed the program requirements and the organization for its commitment to the refugee community’s long-term growth and integration into U.S. society.

Biak Sui, one of the high school students who completed the Upward College Program, reflected on her experiences and education.

"Like most of Chin students, I struggle to adjust to the American culture," Sui said. "I am still struggling and still trying to adjust to it.  My school and study has been a special challenge for me. Particularly, learning English language is not easy for me. I am still working so hard to improve my English, and I believe I am improving because I am working hard."

Accepted to Bethel College in nursing studies with a leadership scholarship, Sui acknowledged the institute for motivating students to attend college and to prepare them for higher education.

"We will not be able to repay BACI for what they have done for us, but I think the best way to repay them is to do what they want us to do – that is to be a good student, go to college, receive a degree, and come back to our community to help our younger generation and our community," Sui said. "That is what I am going to do."

More than 100 participants, parents and community leaders attended the event where the institute’s executive director, Elaisa Vahnie, asked community members to assist with resources needed for the education and cultural integration of refugee community from Burma.

Jane A. Gehlhausen, director of international and cultural affairs for the City of Indianapolis, conveyed Mayor Greg Ballard’s continuing commitment to supporting and contributing to sustainable development of the refugee community.

The Burmese American Community Institute was founded in 2011 to build a thriving and self-sufficient, sustaining and integrated Burmese community in Indianapolis through advocacy, education and employment.

Since its inception, BACI has served more than 500 refugees from Burma resettled in Central Indiana.

It is estimated that more than 70 percent of about 9,000 Burmese refugees currently living in Indianapolis are Chin, with the rest being Karen and others.

 

Source :http://www.chinlandguardian.com

Suu Kyi home after ‘very satisfactory’ trip

Aung San Suu Kyi strode through Yangon International Airport on Sunday waving to passengers, ending her six-day trip to neighboring Thailand and told waiting reporters her trip was “very successful.”

“It was a very good visit,” she said, after she was greeted by high-level officials from her party. She will shortly embark on a longer trip to five European cities, taking advantage of her newly acquired freedom to travel outside her country.

Suu Kyi’s trip to Thailand was a whirlwind tour and not without political consequences. While she brought international attention on the plight of Burmese migrant workers and refugees in Thailand, her trip also led to Burmese President Thein Sein’s cancellation of his own scheduled visit to the World Economic Forum, which Suu Kyi addressed. Observers said his government was piqued by the amount of media attention Suu Kyi received.

She used her first trip abroad to draw attention to the plight of her fellow Burmese abroad — visiting migrant communities where she heard stories of hardship and encouraged migrants to work to better their lot. 

Suu Kyi stole the spotlight at the World Economic Forum, delivering her first speech before an international audience since 1988, when she visited Burma to see her ailing mother and became involved in the pro-democracy movement, which leadto her house arrest for 15 of the past 24 years.

During her speech before international investors and diplomats, she cautioned against what she called “reckless optimism” surrounding Burma’s reform process. She said she trusted President Thein Sein's commitment to reforms, but noted the military is still a force “to be reckoned with.”

It was unclear to what extent her trip rankled Thein Sein. Thein Sein had rescheduled his first official visit to Thailand for Monday and Tuesday, but then he abruptly canceled without offering a reason or a new date, a Thai Foreign Ministry said.

On Sunday, following Suu Kyi’s visit to the Mae La refugee camp in Mae Sot, Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported that many Burmese refugee spokesmen urged caution before sending Burmese refugees back to Burma, in spite of the changing political landscape.  They said conditions in the ethnic states, in spite of cease-fires, were still tenuous.

Khin Ohmar of the Burma Partnership said she wanted Suu Kyi to call on the European Union to provide funding to refugees and cross-border aid to internally displaced persons in Kachin State to ease their return in the future.

Refugees should not be repatriated until law and practical measures assured security for those people, she said.

The Mae Sot-based activist also called on the Burmese army to immediately stop military operations, and Thein Sein's government to engage in inclusive dialogue with ethnic groups.

Many minorities, including the Karen and the Shan, have reached peace agreements with the government, but the initial steps in the cease-fires were not fully implemented, most notably in the Kachin area.

Exiles in Bangkok told the Post that officials involved in peace negotiations have no real power, and the military holds on to its control, especially in resources-rich states such as Kachin.

Karen National Union General-Secretary Naw Zipporah Sein said she welcomed Suu Kyi's tour of the Mae La camp in order for her to better understand the urgent need for true peace and development in ethnic states.

“Reaching a stage of political settlement is far from reality, unless a guarantee for security and safety for the displaced can be arranged,” said the general-secretary, who last month met high Burmese officials and Suu Kyi in Rangoon.

In mid-June, Suu Kyi departs on the next leg of her international travels with a five-country tour to Europe that includes stops in Geneva, Dublin, London, Paris and Oslo, Norway, where she will formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991. 

Source : http://www.mizzima.com

Desperate Burmese refugees in Malaysia jump for Australia

By James,

This year, UNHCR attached the "UDHR: Article-14(1)" in its blog but the office has yet to obey it.
During 2007, the office had criticized the demonstration of All Burma Democratic Force led by Mr Sadek called to respect. Instead, some leaders including him were referred to police. Several leaders who staged demonstrations at UNHCR in the end of 2008 and early 2009 were also threatened by police on the basic of UNHCR’s misinforming.

Secondary movement of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia is not an irregular since their safety, security are risked and their rights and dignity are deprived and facing new forms of human rights abuses in these regions. As well as, resettlement opportunity for Rohingya is very rare compare to other refugee groups despite Rohingyans are Burma’s first refugees.
Therefore, hundred of Rohingyans languishing years in Malaysia are heading for Australia through dangerous journey by open risky boats from year 2006. Currently, nearly five hundred Rohingya refugees are mounted on the mid way in Indonesia that included agents’ exploitation, rescued by authority and captured by authority.

No matter how dangerous and risky journey and even Australia-Malaysia swap-deal announced in the mid of last year, the number of Rohingya refugees heading to Australia from Malaysia is dramatically increased from year 2006.
Although the number is very small and just around 1% of total boat people arrivals per each year, it is raised up to two hundred persons for this year from average arrival around hundred persons in the past two years, 42 persons in 2009 and initially 8 persons in 2006.

However, the UNHCR and some selfish Rohingya leaders do not agree with this reality and blaming for these desperate refugees finding safe place and accusing against some honest Rohingya leaders. And at least two Rohingya leaders were interrogated by Malaysian intelligence police based on UNHCR’s referral in early 2010 and 2011.

It’s essential to stop these desperate refugees from risking their lives therefore resettlement countries including Australia must enhance UNHCR offices based in these regions to play its role fairly and treat equally in resettlemnt quota.

Last year, a press statement released by Rohingya political party- NDPHR(exile) stated clearly that Malaysia is not in position to treat refugees with dignity while UNHCR failed to treat equally in resettlement quota.

Similarly, Rohingya people are faced atrocities in the presence of UN organizations in Arakan state. But these organizations never interfered except from exploitation of international aid.

A western scholar, Dr Zarni’s article in Nov 2011 made criticism against Burma’s burmanizing policy and the west’s not backing to form truly democratization in Burma.
Therefore, elite Burmans plus Rakhine people are continuously launched to explore their domination over other ethnic minorities.

Source : http://thesail.wordpress.com

Refugee child's painting tells of horror

By LAURA BASHAM

The story behind the painting is scary, especially for a child.

The painting is one of 30 in the Hope for the Child of War art exhibition at Nelson's Christ Church Cathedral.

Ruth Corlett, director of the Christian aid and development charity Partners Relief and Development NZ, brought them back from Myanmar where she led an art workshop for children as a means for them to tell their stories.

One of those paintings is by Nang Nay.

Mrs Corlett said that as the girl painted she told her what happened.

"This is my village," Nang Nay said timidly, "the day the Burma Army soldiers came, and shot two of the students, then burnt down the school".

"Where are you?" Mrs Corlett asked, thinking of what horrors she may have seen.

"That's me on the other side of the picture, kneeling beside my sick mother. I didn't go to school that day because I was looking after my mother. When the Burma Army came, she was too sick to run away. I am crying."

"What happened next?" Mrs Corlett asked quietly, giving her a mother hug.

"My mother was so frightened that not long after that, she died. The Burma soldiers didn't find me."

"Later the Shan Army came and found me and brought me here to the IDP camp. I feel safe here, but I don't know where my father is."

On Saturday the exhibition opened at Christ Church Cathedral with a gathering of Nelson residents.

Thirteen-year-old Lun Lian Zaw from the Zo Chin community, who has lived in Nelson for five years, said the paintings made her feel sad and sorry for the children who had been through such horrors.

"But I think it is a powerful way to let people know about what happened to them."

The exhibition is an awareness-raising and fundraising event for refugees and displaced people from Myanmar who live along the border with Thailand, and with whom Partners NZ works.

Since 1996, the Burmese military government has displaced more than 1 million people and destroyed more than 3500 villages in the country's northeast.

Ian Faulkner, co-ordinator for Partners in Nelson and a friend of Mrs Corlett, said painting the pictures was a way for the children to release their emotions, as many had been through a lot of trauma.

They were also encouraged to paint a picture of their dream for the future.

Another child, Sai Fa, painted a picture with bright colours of trees laden with fruit, a big house for his whole family to live in, smooth road and cars symbolising the freedom to travel, and his name written in big confident letters in the middle of the page with the message: Please notice me and take care of my dream. 

Source : http://www.stuff.co.nz

Burma's Suu Kyi returns home after 1st trip in 24 years

RANGOON, Burma (AP) – Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi completed her first trip out of Burma in 24 years on Sunday, a six-day visit to Thailand that highlighted the Nobel laureate's new freedom to explore the world — and to return home.

Suu Kyi smiled broadly as she walked through Rangoon's airport, escorted by senior officials from her opposition party. She waved to passengers and energetically told reporters that her trip to neighboring Thailand was "very satisfactory."

"It was a very good visit," she said before getting into a waiting car. "Very successful."

The longtime political prisoner's trip was viewed as proof of her confidence in Burma's new civilian government, whose political reforms contrast starkly with that of the former military junta.

Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years of the last two decades under house arrest, had previously refused to leave the country during brief periods of freedom for fear she would not be allowed to return.

She used her trip to draw attention to the plight of her compatriots abroad — from exploited migrant workers who moved to Thailand in search of jobs to war refugees who fled across the border in search of peace.

Suu Kyi stole the spotlight at the World Economic Forum on East Asia, delivering her first speech before an international audience since becoming Burma's crusader for democracy in 1988.

During her speech before international investors and diplomats, Suu Kyi cautioned against what she called "reckless optimism" in the reform process of Burma, also known as Myanmar. She said she trusted President Thein Sein's commitment to reforms but noted that the military is still a force "to be reckoned with."

It was unclear to what extent her trip rankled Thein Sein, who was due to attend the forum but abruptly canceled when word leaked that Suu Kyi would also be there. Many speculated he did not wish to be upstaged by Suu Kyi.

Thein Sein had rescheduled his first official visit to Thailand for Monday and Tuesday, but then canceled without offering a reason or a new date, the Thai Foreign Ministry said.

In mid-June, Suu Kyi departs on the next leg of her international travels with a five-country tour to Europe that includes stops in Geneva, Dublin, London, Paris and Oslo, Norway, where she will formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991.

Source : http://www.usatoday.com

Myanmar Rohingya Refugees In Malaysia

Tan Sri Harris Mohd Salleh

KOTA KINABALU: Former chief minister Tan Sri Harris Mohd Salleh is ready to appear before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate problems related to illegal immigrants in Sabah.

“In order to relieve pressure from a number of people who are anxiously looking forward to my presence at the inquiry, I confirm that I will attend any time at any place to give evidence and information on the issue of illegals.

“There is no need to serve a subpoena to me. It is hoped that those people will lower their ‘blood pressure’ after reading this statement,” he said yesterday.

Harris said first of all, it must be emphasised and stressed that the power of granting citizenship and issuing identity card is vested with the federal government under the constitution and law, and that such power is now vested with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

“Under the constitution, the federal government can grant citizenship to anyone at anytime even after a few days of arrival, if it deems that person is of national interest. This is very clear and written in ‘black and white’.

“Thus, the most any person can do is to help making an application and make recommendation for those eligible to apply for either a permanent stay or citizenship,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Harris said secondly, it is the policy of the federal government since late sixties or early seventies that anybody who is eligible to become Malaysian citizen would be entertained and granted.

He said this is particularly true to the refugees from Indo-China and later from the Philippines.

According to him, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Malaysia’s first prime minister, had announced publicly and openly, the policy that the federal government would accept and take Muslim refugees from Myanmar and non Muslims could go to Australia, Europe or USA.

Tunku Abdul Rahman made this announcement when there were tens of thousands of Myanmar Rohingya refugees coming to Malaysia, and it is expected that most of them are now citizens, said Harris, citing an article published in The Borneo Post on June 3, 2012.

“Tunku Abdul Rahman said very clearly in no uncertain terms that those refugees who are Muslims can stay in Malaysia and would be granted citizenship.

“This policy is still valid today as the present Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak just a year ago signed an agreement with Australia on refugee swaps — Muslims to Malaysia and non-Muslims to Australia,” he said.

“Thus, over the years out of the few hundred thousand Philippine refugees in Sabah, some were issued with IMM13 to allow them to stay in Malaysia, and they must have been accorded citizenship, thus the number of population increase is a little bit higher than the normal.”

On the issue of the illegal workers in Sabah, Harris said it appears that there is no study being carried out as to why both employers and employees become illegal, knowing full well the punishments are severe, including whipping.

He contended that nobody seems to be interested to find out the truth into the bottom of this issue.

However, as pointed out from time to time there are about 200,000 illegal workers who come legally with passport.

But over time and because of poor treatment by contractors and the high government fees and policies which keep changing all the time, both employers and employees seem to prefer illegal practice.

“It must be noted here that being illegal workers, live is like hell; they cannot travel around as they like and they will be arrested.

“The flow of workers from Indonesia is not going to be forever. The Indonesians and Indonesian government are just ‘sakit hati’ and are waiting for the day when the Indonesian workers will work in their own country.

“This is happening in Hong Kong; 10 years ago, mainland people worked in Hong Kong, now the other way around,” said Harris, adding it is not understood as to why the establishment of RCI has become more and more easy these days.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com

Stop the intimidation: Address governance, rights protection

By Aliran, on 1 June 2012

It is still painfully pitiful that the police may be investigating Irene Fernandez under the Sedition Act for speaking the truth about the abuse of rights and acts of violence experienced by migrants in Malaysia.

Irene Fernandez - Photograph courtesy of themalaysianinsider.com

According to media reports, Kuala Lumpur CID Chief Ku Chin Wah has confirmed that, as a result of police reports made against me as Executive Director of Tenaganita, by Ikatan Rakyat Iman Muslim Malaysia (IRIMM), Dewan Ekonomi dan Social Malaysia and Rela, the police will investigate me, probably under the Sedition Act.

The speediness with which the police have chosen to act in investigating the reports against me is perplexing; we note with utmost regret that the police have not acted with similar enthusiasm for swift justice when over 15 reports have so far been filed this year by Tenaganita on behalf of migrant workers; we also have evidence of over 10 different police reports filed by migrant workers themselves on various rights violations in the Klang valley.

Tenaganita has raised these core issues of abuse of migrant rights directly with high-ranking government officials – at numerous consultations and meetings, in published reports, through media interviews and public events – countless times over the past two decades. It is highly regrettable that taxpayers’ ringgit is instead being spent on questionings by the MACC and investigations by the police into the human rights defender, rather than on the serious human rights concerns raised.

A country that claims to practise good governance would have acted on these issues raised a long time ago. It would act with accountability and dignity to address the feedback provided by Tenaganita, other organisations and individuals, however critical they may be, instead of regularly sweeping them under the carpet and going into denial mode.

On the issue of the safety of foreign workers in Malaysia, the state-controlled media have of late been generous in publishing stories of employers who declare how happy their migrant workers have been with them. Indeed it would be outrageous for anyone to suggest that there aren’t good employers in Malaysia. However it should be noted that it is the personal sense of goodwill and decency of these employers that ensured the protection of basic rights of their workers.

Relying on one’s own sense of goodwill, however, is not a sustainable manner to prevent human rights abuses. Good governance demands a more sustainable approach, whereby the State puts in place laws, regulations, policies and mechanisms to ensure the rights of all persons, including migrants, are protected equally and without discrimination. Cultural and structural changes should also be made to remove obstacles towards these measures.

The question of Malaysia as an unsafe country for migrant workers is really an issue of governance. Good governance requires readiness to accept feedback and criticisms arising from experiences of violations of rights of migrant workers and refugees, from cases filed at various courts and enforcement agencies and from consultations held by civil society with the State. These criticisms and actions should be used to plug the loopholes in the system and strengthen governance.

The threats faced by foreign workers in Malaysia are reflected in the threat to one’s safety and protection of rights faced even by our own citizens. This was clearly demonstrated by the police brutality that was evident at the Bersih 3.0 rally where citizens of this country who, while leaving the city after having peacefully assembled, were viciously attacked, beaten, bruised and battered by groups of police personnel. According to testimonies given, none of the police personnel identified themselves nor did they respond to the question on the reason for their arrest.

The above-mentioned episode provides a fair idea of the arrogance of power with which migrant workers are treated by the police. The threat to our safety and security is real, irrespective of whether we are citizens, migrant workers or refugees.

The situation will only be aggravated if the government of the day continues to condone and deny the violations of rights and police misconduct and brutality. The disregard for such violations is evident in the government’s refusal to establish the IPCMC (Independent Police Commission of Misconduct and Complaints.)

The Sedition Act is an archaic law that has been used to silence dissent, choke discourse and stunt the growth of a democratic, moral and just society. It has also been used in Malaysia to criminalise human rights defenders who have spoken up for marginalised and disenfranchised communities and persons. Therefore, while not necessarily shocking, it is still painfully pitiful that the Royal Malaysian Police may be investigating me under the Sedition Act, for speaking the truth about the abuse of rights and acts of violence experienced by migrants in Malaysia.

The trotting out of this draconian Act and the barrage of statements by high-level government officials in the past few weeks condemning me begs us to ask these questions: Why does the Malaysian government want so desperately to silence human rights defenders in Malaysia? Why does there appear to be a concerted effort to target civil society, instead of collectively and sincerely addressing the problems entrenched in our system that make it unsafe for migrants in Malaysia?

The harassment and intimidation that the police intends to undertake on me as a human rights defender denies a democratic process in good governance. This process of intimidation and harassment leads to the criminalisation of actions taken by human rights defenders. The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders provides that everyone who exercises his or her rights is entitled to full protection by law and in practice against any violence or retaliation.

However, the current regime does not seem to acknowledge this, even though the Malaysian government sits on the United Nations Human Rights Council. When the rights of human rights defenders are violated, all our rights are put in jeopardy and all of us are made less safe.

The road map towards safe migration for all migrant workers to Malaysia should include:

• Thorough and transparent investigations into the cases and issues raised by Tenaganita and an end to attempts to intimidate the Executive Director;
• A comprehensive rights-based policy framework for recruitment, placement and employment of migrant workers (Note: A copy of this framework was sent by Tenaganita, the Malaysian Bar Council and other civil society representatives to the Malaysian government four years ago.);
• Consultations and dialogues with civil society organisations, especially those who directly represent workers and migrants, on any new initiatives being undertaken, for example, the possible Foreign Workers Act.
• The Ministry of Human Resources should be made the lead agency for recruitment, placement and employment of migrant workers, and not the Ministry of Home Affairs as practised now.
• Holding perpetrators of rights violations by State actors against migrant workers accountable.

Tenaganita remains open and ready to work with all State parties to see that we, as a nation, collectively travel down that road map in order to increase the protection of rights for all migrants and workers in Malaysia. Tenaganita will also not be deterred by any threats, nor will we be silenced from speaking the truth.

Irene Fernandez is executive director of Tenaganita

Source : http://aliran.com

Myanmarese illegal migrants caught, deny headed for Australia

By Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post,

Four illegal migrants from Myanmar were reportedly arrested in Medan, the latest such case that further demonstrates the country’s proneness to being used as a transit point by asylum seekers.

Immigration officers at Polonia International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, reported that they detained the four on Wednesday as they were about to leave for Jakarta. Identified as Mohd. Ali bin Hasan, 11, Mohd. Hasyim bin Mohd. Ahmad, 18, Hasan bin Yusuf, 36, and Abdul Mabud bin Abdul Kader, 41, they did not appear to possess any immigration documents.

Agustinus Makabori, the Polonia airport immigration officer in charge of law enforcement, said they were apprehended in the domestic departure terminal at 9:30 a.m. when they were about to board a Lion Air plane headed for Jakarta.

Agustinus said the immigration office had received information from airport security officers about a suspicious group of travelers.

During interrogation, Agustinus said, the four Myanmarese failed to produce immigration papers.

He said they only held United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards, which were issued in Malaysia.

“The four Myanmarese citizens do no possess immigration documents but only UNHCR cards. We will take them into custody for examination and later send them to Belawan [migrant center],” Agustinus said at his office on Wednesday.

One of them, Mohd. Hasyim bin Mohd. Ahmad, acknowledged that they had been in Medan for several days after arriving from Malaysia.

“We have been staying in Malaysia for a year. We only arrived in Medan on transit to Jakarta,” Hasyim said at the immigration office at the airport.

He added that they traveled from Malaysia to Medan by boat via Tanjung Balai Port and were charged RM5,000 (US$1,580) each for the ferry crossing.

Indonesia is often used as a transit point, particularly the south coast of Java Island, by people wanting to seek asylum in Australia. Based on police reports, more than 300 illegal migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Southeast Asian countries, have been arrested since January.

Many of them use the services of local fishermen and the help of security personnel on their trips to Australia.

However, when asked of their intention to visit Jakarta, Hasyim said they wished to work there.

“We want to work in Jakarta,” he said and denied that they intended to transit in Jakarta before heading to Australia.

Hasyim claimed he had friends in Jakarta, but declined to name them.

“The plan is that our friends will pick us up at the airport in Jakarta. We will stay together during our time in Jakarta,” said Hasyim.

Suu Kyi vows to protect migrant workers

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday pledged to better protect the rights of impoverished migrant workers from Burma as she spoke to a crowd of thousands of supporters in central Thailand on her first official trip outside of her homeland in more than 20 years.

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi looks up at supporters as she leaves a Burmese migrant workers' community centre where she met with community representatives and addressed a crowd of migrants in Samut Sakhon on the outskirts of Bangkok on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. It is Suu Kyi's first trip abroad in over two decades, and she told cheering migrants from her country that she would work to improve their lot in Thailand. Photo: AFP

The Nobel laureate spoke in Maha Chai, home to Thailand’s largest population of Burmese immigrants, who fled their country for opportunities abroad after years of economic misrule under the former military junta.

But many of Burma’s migrant workers have been exploited, paid low wages, and even trafficked in Thailand, and Suu Kyi, a longtime advocate of migrant rights, offered words of encouragement to the crowd, which responded with exuberant cheers for the recently elected Member of Parliament.

“Our ultimate goal is to create a situation so that our citizens can come back to our country whenever they want to and without any trouble. We have to work together to get to that goal, not separately or in different ways,” she told her supporters.

She called on the workers to train well and to carry out their work “responsibly” in order to gain the respect of their host country.

But she also said that the migrant community needs to be better educated about its rights as workers and to cooperate in protecting those rights “systematically and peacefully.”

“We don't need to feel sorry for ourselves and to be disheartened. History is something that is changing constantly,” she said.

“Although our countrymen must come and work here at this time, please believe that the condition and status of our countrymen will rise along with the changes in our country.”

She vowed to use her time in Thailand to determine the best way to protect the rights of Burmese workers, but reminded those in attendance that they had a duty to both their homeland and their host country to conduct themselves respectably.

“I want you to know that you are not forgotten,” she told the crowd.

Later, after meeting with worker representatives, Suu Kyi again addressed the crowd, saying that many of the problems facing Burmese migrants in Thailand stem from a combination of mismanagement by employers, a lack of clear policy by the government, and a worker population ignorant of their rights.

“I want to suggest forming a small community—a place to gather where there is a large amount of migrants working—so that you can find a way to go through the right channels whenever you are mistreated,” she said.

“We will try our best to get things done in accordance with the law, but you have to do your job too. You have to know what your rights are and where to file complaints if your rights are violated.”

Migrants targeted

Maha Chai is home to the largest Burmese population per capita in Thailand, which relies heavily on low-cost labor—both legal and trafficked—from its two million foreign workers, of which some 80 percent are from Burma.

Workers who spoke with RFA, most of whom did not have work permits, said that they had been repeatedly targeted by corrupt authorities in the area who solicit payoffs by threatening them with jail or deportation.

"The Thais bully the Burmese and the Thai police are the worst. Since we don't have work permits, they arrest us, and extract money from us for release,” one female migrant worker told RFA, on condition of anonymity.

“If we can't pay after we’re arrested, we are forced to borrow money at high interest rates from someone else,” she said.

Another worker named Khin Swe Oo, who is originally from Moulmein in central Burma, said police would do anything to arrest migrants because they are afforded little protection under Thai laws—even those in possession of the documents required to stay in the country.

“They use [planted] drugs to make a case for arresting us as well, just to get money from us. They often ask for 20,000-30,000 baht (U.S. $625-940),” Khin Swe Oo said.

“Some criminals take our passports … and extort money from us to get our papers back. These criminals are also police officers. They are the same and act as it suits them,” she said.

“We do the necessary paperwork to obtain a legal residence permit, but the police and the Thais know they can bully us and extort money from us … We are not safe here, even though we have our proper papers and passports.”

And a third female migrant, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that she and many of her compatriots simply wanted to return to Burma.

“I just want to go home. Can I get a good job there? We are so repressed at our workplaces, the way they treat us.”

Landmark trip

Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Thailand on Tuesday for a six-day official visit—her first abroad since being released in November 2010 from nearly 15 years of house arrest over the past two decades.

On Saturday, the parliamentarian is expected to travel north near the Thai-Burma border to visit the Mae La refugee camp for those displaced by ethnic fighting in Burma’s borderlands.

Some 150,000 refugees from Burma, mostly ethnic Karen, currently live in camps near the border in Thailand, pushed out by decades of fighting with the Burmese government.

Aung San Suu Kyi has said that ending ethnic conflict would be one of her top priorities in office and has called for a “second Panglong Conference” like the one her father, Burmese independence leader General Aung San, negotiated with ethnic minority groups in 1947.

In nearby Mae Sot, she will meet with leaders from six ethnic groups before returning to Burma on Sunday.

Reported by RFA’s Burmese service. Translated by Khin May Zaw. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. Used with permission.

“You are not forgotten.”-Aung San Suu Kyi to Burmese refugees in Thailand

Aung San Suu Kyi traveled to the Asian nation of Thailand on Tuesday, her first trip outside of Burma (Myanmar) in twenty-four years, according to the New York Times.

Sherry O’Keefe, author of Champion of Freedom: Aung San Suu Kyi, wrote that “Suu Kyi is widely and affectionately known in Burma.” During her trip, Suu Kyi visited Burmese refugees working in Thailand.

The New York Times reported, “When word got out that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi… would visit this gritty town on the Gulf of Thailand, the mood became electric in the massive fish and shrimp processing plants where some Burmese eke out a living and where she is a heroine to many.”

According to the New York Times, one refugee said, “She is hope. We hope our country’s economy gets better and we’ll be able to return.”

O’Keefe wrote, “She remains as determined as ever to see Burma emerge from its isolation and join the family of democratic nations in the world.”

Suu Kyi told the refugee workers:

Please believe that as our country’s situation gets better and develops more, our value as workers will increase, and people’s perspectives on us will also change for the better. I would like to let you know that you are not forgotten….May you prosper with health, wealth and be free from danger. And may you be able to come home soon.

“Through it all, Suu Kyi has never let fear dissuade her from fighting for what she believes is right,” O’Keefe wrote, “‘Freedom and democracy,’ Suu Kyi says, ‘are dreams you never give up.’”

Adrianne Loggins
Associate Editor

For more information about Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma, check out Sherry O’Keefe’s Champion of Freedom: Aung San Suu Kyi (ISBN 9781599351681)

Malaysia hosting 85,000 refugees

By LOOI SUE-CHERN | news@nst.com.my 

CHALLENGE: Efforts made to nab those issuing fake permits

GEORGE TOWN: MALAYSIA, apart from housing millions of legal and illegal foreign workers, is also "hosting" over 96,000 refugees and asylum seekers.

As of November last year, there were 10,778 asylum seekers and 85,371 refugees in the country under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). About two decades ago, there were only about 150.

Penang Immigration Department officer Roslinda Alias said refugees with UNHCR cards could not be deported on humanitarian grounds, but ensuring that they did not break the law had become a major problem.

She described the refugee status as a challenge to the department in cracking down on illegal immigrants in the country, as once the foreigners flashed their UNHCR cards, they could not be detained even if there were complaints against them.

For example, she said there were residential areas on mainland Penang occupied by large numbers of Myanmars, who were beginning to act like they owned the place.

"We raided the place after getting complaints from the locals. We later found some 20 people living in one terrace house.

"However, we could not do anything about it once they flashed their UNHCR cards," Roslinda said at a human trafficking and migrant smuggling seminar co-organised by Universiti Sains Malaysia and the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (Ikmas).

Such cards, she said, were not always real but could be easily detected on closer inspection.

"We have long suspected that there are syndicates behind these forged refugee cards and investigations are ongoing to flush out the crooks."

Another challenge for the department was the government policy that allowed a foreigner to stay and work in the country for up to five years after marrying a Malaysian.

The department had found instances of local women being paid by foreigners to marry them.

Roslinda related the case of a woman, in her 50s, trying to get a spouse visa for her new husband, a foreigner almost half her age.

Myanmar open for business, but not its people

By Gerhard Hoffstaedter

Aung San Suu Kyi is scheduled to leave Myanmar (Burma) for the first time in 24 years to visit Thailand and later Europe to finally personally accept her Nobel Peace Prize.

The recent by-elections in Myanmar, in which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy claimed 43 of the 45 seats available, have awakened hope and a flurry of activity around the world to weaken if not dissolve the Western sanctions regime against the ruling junta.

For now, Suu Kyi will take her seat in a parliament that remains firmly in the hands of the military-backed ruling party.

The by-election follows extensive market reforms, the release from house arrest of Suu Kyi, the re-registration of her party that allowed her to contest the election, the freeing of political prisoners, and the relaxation of media censorship controls.

It seems like Myanmar is coming in from the cold. More than that, Myanmar is open for business and everyone is lining up to enter a large domestic market of 60 million untapped consumers and a largely un- or underdeveloped natural resources sector.

Thailand has a long trading history with Myanmar, dominated by logging and the import of natural gas among other natural resources. It is, however, the access to cheap labour in Myanmar that is seen as a great drawcard for manufacturing industries. Already Thailand is profiting from the cheap labour of Myanmarese refugees in Thailand who work illegally in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, most often on an itinerant basis.

Long the preserve of Thai business interests and cross-border trade, Myanmar is of great geo-strategic importance to the region as a whole, and its other neighbours are entering the fray. Two global players are increasingly overtaking the Thai special relationship: China and India.

At the forefront of this regional engagement is the Dawei Deep Seaport currently under construction in Myanmar's south. It will offer an alternative entrée into the Indian north-east and Chinese southern markets. It will also be the country's first special economic zone as well as the entire region's largest combined port and economic zone.

Thailand stands to gain most from this endeavour. Firstly, as its closest neighbour, long-time investor and main trading partner, Thailand will have direct access to cheap labour, resource abundance and offer itself as a transit point for goods to Cambodia and Vietnam. Already, a Thai construction company is the main contractor for the first phase of the project and further investments in the energy and manufacturing sectors are in the offing. The figures are staggering. The first phase alone of the $US58 billion project is worth $US8.6 billion.

Secondly, Thailand still houses millions of irregular migrants in its borders, most of whom have fled or left Myanmar for Thailand. This massive scheme offers a way to resettle and offer opportunities to, especially, the economic migrants.

Indeed, some have begun to trickle back to Myanmar, including political exiles. The government is wooing them back for their expertise and capacity to support the burgeoning economy.

However, the Myanmarese government has its work cut out to capitalise on these opportunities. On the one hand, China, in particular, will require order and stability in Myanmar to provide safe transport links for their products as a viable alternative to the South China Sea. On the other, the West and some ASEAN members will require Myanmar's rulers to, at least, offer some vestiges of democratic governance (as we are seeing at the moment) and a durable solution to the refugee crisis along the Myanmar/Thai border and wider ethnic tensions.

Some of these tensions have resulted in all-out wars with intermittent ceasefires. The situation in the uplands and ethnic held areas continues to be tense, and despite the recent political changes in the capital, the situation for ethnic minorities has not changed significantly.

Thousands are still fighting insurgencies and vast stretches of the country remain off limits to government troops. These conflicts continue to elicit a steady stream of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing the fighting to Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India and beyond. The diaspora networks of these refugee populations span the globe with small minorities settling in Australia.

Since last June, for example, the army has been in a protracted war in Kachin state, again displacing thousands of civilians. While some ethnic conflicts have calmed and ceasefires have been in place, the Kachin conflict is again causing destruction in the poorest, remotest and most disadvantaged areas of Myanmar.

Asked about the tens of thousands of refugees living in Malaysia recently, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said that it was too early to return to Myanmar as, "They have got to have something to return to."

Indeed, but the situation for them in refugee camps in the region or living as illegal immigrants in places like Malaysia, which does not recognise refugees, is no solution either. Late last year, Malaysia introduced a new registration program for illegal migrants, called the 6P program.

The program was designed to find out how many undocumented workers are currently in Malaysia and whether they can be retrenched into specific sectors that are in need of labour, or repatriated.

The program has been aided by the mass mobilisation of the army, police force, immigration department, and RELA, an auxiliary police force that is undertrained and poorly resourced but ideologically driven.

In addition, the Malaysian home minister proposed an immigration detainee swap program last year, no doubt inspired by the so-called Malaysia-swap agreement between Australia and Malaysia. The deal would see Myanmarese detained in Malaysia 'swapped' for Malaysian nationals detained in Myanmar.

The Malaysian government's attempt to systematically register illegal immigrants living and working in Malaysia is aimed at enabling better law enforcement. However, the final part of the program is 'repatriation', i.e. deportation of those not needed in the Malaysian economy and those deemed unsuitable, e.g. those with criminal convictions. Caught in the midst of all this are the thousands of asylum seekers, political exiles and refugees who have fled Myanmar's enduring conflicts.

It is they who fear 'repatriation' most, as they have no homeland to return to, much less interest in doing so.

Author's note: The people I work with, mostly ethnic refugees from Myanmar, call the country Myanmar because calling it Burma invokes the notion that the country belongs to the Burmese Bamar, the dominant ethnic group. Most Western governments refer to the country as Burma.

Gerhard Hoffstaedter is a lecturer in anthropology in the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland. His first book Modern Muslim Identities: Negotiating Religion and Ethnicity in Malaysia is published by NIAS Press.

Suu-Kyi-in-Myanmar-since-1988-starts-world-tour

JOCELYN GECKER, Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — For 24 years, Aung San Suu Kyi was either under house arrest or too fearful that if she left Myanmar, the government would never let her return.
Now, in a sign of how much life there has changed, the democracy activist and long-time political prisoner is resuming world travels, arriving Tuesday night in neighboring Thailand after an 85-minute flight from her homeland.
With the installation of an elected government last year, and her party's own entrance into parliament this year, she can claim at least partial success for her long fight and feel the freedom to explore the world.
Suu Kyi is to spend several days in Thailand, meeting with poor migrant workers and war refugees from her homeland, as well as international movers and shakers at the World Economic Forum on East Asia.
On arrival at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, she was whisked to a car amid heavy security, bypassing a large crowd of waiting journalists.
She'll return to Myanmar briefly and head to Europe in mid-June, with stops including Geneva and Oslo — to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won 21 years ago.
In Dublin, she'll share a stage with U2 frontman Bono, a staunch Suu Kyi supporter, at a concert in her honor, according to Irish media. In England, she has been given the rare honor of addressing both houses of Parliament. France's Foreign Ministry says she also plans to stop in Paris.
The tour marks Suu Kyi's latest step in a stunning trajectory from housewife to political prisoner to opposition leader in Parliament, as Myanmar opens to the outside world and sheds a half century of military rule, with President Thein Sein getting her back for am ambitious program of reforms. Meetings with world leaders are planned along the way as dignitaries line up to shake Suu Kyi's hand.
Earlier Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with her in Yangon, saying her "life and her struggle, her determination has inspired millions of people all over the world" and inviting her to visit his country.
The trip "signifies a strong vote of confidence on Suu Kyi's part in the seriousness of the reforms underway in the country," said Suzanne DiMaggio, the Asia Society's vice president of Global Policy Programs. "She would not take the risk of the leaving Myanmar if she wasn't absolutely certain she would be allowed to return."
The last time the 66-year-old Nobel laureate flew abroad was a year before the Berlin Wall came down, in April 1988, when she traveled from London to Myanmar to nurse her dying mother.
Until then she had led an international lifestyle, growing up partly in India, where her mother was ambassador. She later attended Oxford, worked for the United Nations in New York and Bhutan and then married British academic Michael Aris and raised their two sons in England.
Suu Kyi returned to Myanmar just as an uprising erupted against the military regime. As daughter of Gen. Aung San, the country's independence hero, she was thrust into the forefront of demonstrations until the military brutally crushed the protests and locked her under house arrest in 1989.
Over the next two decades she became the world's most famous political prisoner. During intermittent periods of freedom, she declined opportunities to go abroad for fear she would not be allowed to re-enter Myanmar.
Suu Kyi's commitment to the cause came at high personal cost. In 1999, she stayed in Myanmar even as her husband was dying of cancer in England. They last saw each other in 1995, after which the junta denied Aris a visa.
After her release from house arrest in November 2010, Suu Kyi had an emotional reunion with her younger son, Kim Aris, when the junta gave him a visa after a decade-long separation.
The English leg of Suu Kyi's trip is bound to include some family time. She will celebrate her 67th birthday on June 19 while in England, where Kim lives.
Suu Kyi's aides have offered few details about her trip aside from the destinations, saying only that she will pack medicine for motion sickness.
"She gets airsick and seasick very easily. She will have to take her pills to prevent airsickness," said Win Htein, a senior official from her National League for Democracy party. He said she was typically stoic ahead of her travels: "She doesn't look too excited about it."
Thailand was not part of the original itinerary but Suu Kyi decided last week to attend the economic forum. She has a Friday speaking slot that is bound to be the event's main attraction.
Suu Kyi's appearance at the conference had threatened to upstage that of Myanmar President Thein Sein, and he canceled over the weekend citing "urgent matters" at home, said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi. He rescheduled his first official visit to Thailand for next week.
Thein Sein took power last year from the military junta following elections that were deemed unfair by international observers. Since then he has surprised much of the world by engineering sweeping reforms, though military leaders still have great control over the country.
Since Suu Kyi's release, many international dignitaries have visited her in Myanmar, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in December and British Prime Minister David Cameron in April. Cameron suggested she visit her "beloved Oxford" in June.
Suu Kyi replied at the time: "Two years ago I would have said 'Thank you for the invitation, but sorry.' But now I am able to say 'Perhaps,' and that's great progress."

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Suu-Kyi-in-Myanmar-since-1988-starts-world-tour-3591272.php#ixzz1wcOfliKV

MALAYSIA : EMPOWER REFUGEES

From The Editor’s Desk

Who are refugees?

“A refugee is a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”

~ 1951 Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees, Article 1(a) (2)
Dear readers,

We are the Social Protection Fund team of the UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur and welcome to our inaugural newsletter. Wait, don’t go away. We are just about to tell you that this newsletter, unlike any other is not selling you anything, only seeking your compassion.

In Malaysia, there are some 96,000 refugee men, women and children who struggle every day to rebuild their lives safely and in dignity. They are mostly Mothers with courage!

Being a refugee and single mother in a foreign land with different language and culture can be a nightmare. UNHCR works with many refugee single mothers from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Somali and Afghanistan living in Malaysia. Most of them live in poverty and it’s extremely difficult to get a decent paid job.

At times they have very young children and it hinders them from any employment. Sometimes, the older children have to sacrifice their education and care for the younger from Myanmar, but there are also refugees from other countries like Sri Lanka, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

They need your help. Refugees work hard every day to support themselves and each other in so many different ways – education, livelihoods, healthcare,
community development and many other areas. What they need is our understanding and support so that they are better able to help themselves.

You can help them to help themselves. Be the one to empower refugees.

siblings while their mother at work.

Some mothers face eviction when they can’t afford to pay their room rent. These mothers often ignore their health until it becomes intolerable!

Throughout the month of March 2012, SPF team met with many such MOMS of various age – despite all these challenges none of them sounded as though they have given up on life!

Instead some of them decided to start Day Care Centers to help other
mothers.

Refugee Community Clean-up activity @ ‘gotong-royong’ in Setapak & Imbi, KL
Peaceful Co-Existence

A smile from a neighbor would make our day, not a grim face or a blank stare!!

Being a refugee, that smile is hard to earn. We found a way….

In October 2011, SPF (UNHCR) team launched a community clean-up competition. Refugee groups from 23 locations in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor took part. The result was gratifying. Smiles from neighbors, policemen, and people on the street. This revealed to us the importance of the co-existence activities for a more harmonious environment.

We took a step forward. Since the year started, we approached:

Refugee communities - to organize such competitions to sustain the good values.

o State assemblymen’s offices in Kota Damansara and Kajang in Selangor,
and Prai in Penang for joint venture projects among refugees and local people – it looks promising.

o Non-profit institutions like VTOC and Soroptimist International for integration projects – they are keen.

o We believe the peaceful co- existence program would enhance the local community’s acceptance of the refugees in Malaysia.

Special Message

In a very real way, the SPF programme places
the decision-making control in the hands of
refugees in determining what works best for
their own communities and what works best in
implementing these ideas. Concrete benefits of
the SPF programme

Capacity building - it enhances skills and
education of the refugee community
regardless of their age, gender and
ethnic. Their quality of life improves.

o Enhance community mobilization and unity through
projects such as community centers, recreational and
support programs.

 

o Peaceful co-existence among the refugee communities and with local communities via various joint activities.

o Be the one to empower refugees….
 

1. Full financial sponsorship of a project 

2. Partial financial sponsorship of a project

3. In kind support for a project

Social Protection Fund, UNHCR

Known as SPF, we started in July 2009. Our aim is to
assist and promote self help and independence among the refugee communities in Malaysia. As of Feb 2012, we have provided grants to 242 community projects that are located in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Johor.

The projects range from income generating projects, skills training (computer, tailoring and handicraft) and community services and development (shelter, youth club and peaceful co-existence). These projects benefit about 35,000 people.

We seek your support to directly sponsor some of the existing projects or new projects either financially or in kind. 

For more information, contact us at:

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Tel: 03-2141 1322 (ext 209 @ 210)
Website: www.unhcr.org.my or
http://spfunhcr.wordpress.com or
www.facebook.com/unhcr.spf