Baptist World Aid visits ACR office in Malaysia

ACR

Mr. Daniel Norris from the Baptist World Aid Australia which supports the Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR) School visited to the ACR office in Malaysia. According to the ACR weekly newsletter, Mr. Norris and the ACR leader had a meeting last Sunday and they visited the school. 

Three days later, Mr. Norris donated funding for the school for a one-year period. Mr. Norris said that the Baptist World Aid Australia works in 18 countries and they support 80 organizations, but this is the first time they are working with ACR in Malaysia. "I am very glad for the request and I hope to visit other schools located outside of town," said Mr. Norris. 

"I am especially grateful to ACR's leader who welcomed me and informed me about the school. According to our discussions, he has many projects to do in next year, and we will make another 3-day visit every six months to monitor the project.”

Mr. Norris also indicated that they will not only donate to the school, but they will also consider supporting ACR's clinic as well as find lawyers to help refugees arrested by the authorities and deportation to the Thai-Malay border.

Celebration of World Refugee Day Held in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur
VOCR
June 20, 2009

The United Nation General Assembly designated June 20 as world refugee day to recognize and celebrate the contribution of refugees throughout the world. The “World Refugee Day” celebration was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and more than 350 people, including representatives of every Burma refugee community and special representatives from UNHCR and NGOs, participated in the ceremony. The celebration was hosted by the Coalition of Burmese Ethnic Migrants (COBEM), marking the third year of celebrations in Malaysia and the tenth anniversary of World Refugee Day as established by the United Nations. 

The COBEM also requested to UNHCR to keep consistent work policies, to practice regular work procedures, and to proceed in their work process according to a defined work schedule without any further delay. COBEM also called on and requested the Government of Malaysia to stop the arrest of people who hold UNHCR documents, to be stop the deportation and trafficking of refugees to the Thai-Malaysia border, and to release pregnant women, babies, and children who are asylum-seekers and refugees, as well as the physically and the mentally ill.

According to the representative from UNHCR, there are more than 90,000 refugees from Somalia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq and Myanmar in Malaysia, but approximately 90% are Myanmar refugees. The UNHCR has registered more than 49,000 refugees in 2009 and estimated that more than 80% are Myanmar refugees. After COBEM finished reading their statement, the special representatives from ACTS, HAKAM and Tenaganita shared a statement on Refugee Day and encourage the refugees in Malaysia.

Fear and Depression Increasing Among Chin Youth in Malaysia

VOCR
June 20, 2009
Kuala Lumpur

Depression and fear of arrest is increasing among Chin youth in Malaysia as refugees face continued uncertainties. As UNHCR has stopped registering pregnant women since the beginning of May 2009 and mobile registration has not yet start in 2009, feelings of hopelessness and fear of arrest is increasing day-by-day by those who are unregistered.

The Malaysian authorities have paused deportation to the Thai-Malay border, but now Chin detainees are facing prolonged detention terms of more than six months. Moreover, the global financial crisis is greatly affecting people’s survival. Many companies have stopped hiring workers, and the unemployment numbers among Chin refugees are increasing. Without proper documents employers are refusing to hire undocumented Chin refugees.

As a result, it is very difficult now for Chin refugees to find jobs even with very low pay. These uncertain conditions have led three young Chin men to commit suicide within the last six months.

Fourteen Refugees Arrested During Aung San Suu Kyi Birthday Celebrations

19 June, 2009
VOCR (Source: Malaysian Insider)

Fourteen Myanmar refugees are still in detention after being picked up at a local celebration of Burma's prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday. Human rights group Suaram said five of the 14 are not registered as refugees with the UNHCR. Police arrested 16 at the Taman Jaya park on Friday for illegal assembly but later freed two. 

Suu Kyi turned 64 on Friday in the notorious Insen jail in capital Yangon while facing a trial for breaking conditions of her house arrest when an American swam through a moat to her house. 

She has spent 13 of the past 20 years under house arrest and could be jailed for up to five years for the latest offence.Human rights activists celebrated her birthday around the world to draw attention to the Nobel laureate's plight, including in Malaysia.

But police flooded Taman Jaya to stop a gathering organised by the Pakatan Rakyat, which rules Selangor. Only the refugees were held, with 10 currently detained at Kelana Jaya Police Station while the remaining 4 are detained at Damansara Police Station. "We strongly urge the police to release all the individuals arrested immediately and unconditionally," said Suaram
coordinator Temme Lee, noting they have yet been given access to legal aid. 

Suaram also demand that the Malaysia government recognise the refugee’s status and provide protection to them, while guaranteeing the peoples’ rights to assembly and to stop the assault on freedom of expression.a

Second Meeting between CDU and Chin Sub-ethnic Refugee Group Held

ACR

The second meeting between UNHCR's Community Development Unit (CDU) and the Chin sub-ethnic groups was successfully held at the Chinese Assembly Hall on the evening of 18 June, 2009. The meeting lasted for two hours. The main issues discussed were:

(1) the relationship between UNHCR and the Chin subethnic groups; and (2) the community visits by the CDU to the sub-ethnic groups. Regarding the relationship between CDU and the subethnic groups, it was agreed that only the previous participants in the meetings should be allowed to participate in the meetings in order to avoid repetitive discussions. Otherwise, the involvement of new members may create problems on the issues already discussed due to a lack of experience.

In the meeting with CDU, only 36 groups could participate out of 56. With regard to CDU's community visits, Madam Mimi stated, “We have visited 28 sub-ethnic groups. We had discussions about the community and a fundraising program. We cannot do anything concerning registration."

When asked about the Outreach and Protection Intervention (OPI) Unit which does much of the detention registration, Madam BAF replied, “Concerning detention, the names of detainees, jail/camp, and body number of the detainees cannot be reported to the OPI office through mail or fax.” She also said that they would base registration off CRC/ACR lists for new registration. GBU, one of the NGOs in Malaysia that mainly focuses on women rights, also gave an explanation about human rights. It was strongly advised that every group should participate in their trainings for the betterment of their community. If interested, community representatives were encouraged to contact: gbvmalaysia@gmail.com.

They explained Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” and Article 3, which states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” and Article 4, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”

Nine Years Old CSO Student Dies Car Accident

VOCR

Duh Hnin, son of Mr. Ro Lain from Ral Pel village, Thantlang Township, died on 16 June 2009 at General Hospital Kuala Lumpur. He suffered a severe head injury when he was hit by a car on 15 June 2009 around 7:00 pm as he was crossing a busy highway between Jalan Imbi and Jalan Pudu. His family has been accepted by the US mission for resettlement and they are waiting for a departure date.

He has one elder brother in Malaysia who released from detention facilities recently. His remained was buried in Seremban Christian Cemetery and around 250 chin refugees including his class mates from Chin Student Organization (CSO) School attended his last journey.

UNHCR Registers Around 50 Burmese in Pakananas Immigration Camp

VOCR
June 14, 2009
Pakananas, Jahor Baru

From 10-11 April 2009, the UNHCR OPI team visited to Pakananas immigration camp in Jahor Baru State and registered around 50 Burmese nationals. During this visit, UNHCR registered around 20 Chin detainees.

According unconfirmed information, some Bangladeshis tried to pose as Rohingya from Burma in order to get attention from UNHCR. One Chin detainee from Tedim Township, Mr. Cin Sian Thang, was detained for a prolonged period of time and has become emotionally unstable in the detention camp due to cruel and harsh treatment. According to immigration law section 6(3), illegal entry to Malaysia may result in a penalty fine up toRM 10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or both.

Malaysia is not a party to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. However, Malaysia is a member of the United Nations and is obligated to respect certain rights of refugees. Most refugee cases in Malaysia are sentenced six to nine months imprisonment or caning or both.

Chin Women Sentenced to Nine Months for being Undocumented

CRC
June 4, 2009
Semenyih

Ms. Thlia Vang from Don Village, Thang Tlang Township was arrested by RELA on 23 December 2008 for being an undocumented refugee in Malaysia. She was detained in Kajang prison and charged as an “illegal” (Kaw Sawng) in Malaysia. She was taken to the Seminyih court three times but refused to plead guilty.

According to her relatives, she believed that UNHCR would come and meet her in prison because the only reason she came to Malaysia was to escape persecution in Burma. As she is not registered with UNHCR as a refugee, UNHCR is unable to help her. Since her arrest, her community members and relatives have informed UNHCR and requested their intervention. 4th June, 2009 was her last court day. 

As she could no longer bear the cruel and harsh treatment in the detention facility, she finally pled guilty in the Semenyih court. She was sentenced to serve nine months imprisonment for illegally being in Malaysia. As she has been detained for more than six months, she is required to serve another three months. Her body number is 5500.