Chin Refugee Families Under Threat

By Simon

Kuala Lumpur (VOCR) 17 Aug: Members of CDAC (Chin Disciplinary Action Committee), John Lian, 27, married with one child, from Hmunhalh village and Herh Bik, 30, single, from Sialam village both from Thantlang Township, Chin State were bloodily attacked and slashed with weapons by thugs of gang in their residence nearby in Panda Mewah eastern Kuala Lumpur. 

John Lian was several times hit with dagger on his head and back and stitching his entire wounds in more than 15 places and Herh Bik, with being widely slashed in his neck and thought he was dead, was stitched in many places in hospital. With the daring rescue of their good friend who lives very far in different district, they were taken to UKM hospital at midnight from their hideout--the bush. 

According to the victims, in fear of bringing noises to the locals, they, as volunteer leaders for the area, went out intervening their drunken villagers having a fight each other at the football ground nearby at the late night. The two leaders broke up the groups and urged them to immediately go back home and not to have a fight but rather be quiet in the foreign soil. However, thugs of gangs approached them and intentionally beating the two leaders brutally and used daggers and other materials—misunderstanding them [the Two] as the sole causer of the problem.

So much frustrated of seeing the two leaders being attacked brutally, groups of drunken Chin refugees, who were prepared for fight, turned back to responding the local thugs. It was said that two among many of the gangs were heavily wounded, too. Minutes later, all Chin refugees disappeared--leaving their two leaders lay in pool of blood in the bush for their safety when noticed that groups of gangsters were coming along.

Over the whole night, gangsters holding weapons with motor-bikes rounded up the areas where hundreds of Chin refugees and threatening the environment.

The thugs received response from Chin refugees are known as a group those exercise extortion against the refugees, improperly beating those returning back from work and molesting refugee girls in daylight in public.

In addition, Tha Peng alongside his family members, leader of Hriphi Fellowship, was recently often and often times disrupted and attacked by the Indian gangster whom he describes as drug-dealer championing in the area of many Chin refugees' residence in Jalan Ipoh. I am terribly in fearful condition for the family's lives as signals of their activity showing off that some days they would probably attack heavily, quoted him as saying. 

In earlier of this year, there had been once incident occurred that because of the reaction against the thugs, many of Chin refugees mostly from Hriphi Fellowship stranding in Jalan Ipoh had to sacrifice RM-4000 to group of thugs. Failure to comply with the mean asking, there was a threat that many lives will be in danger or some can even be murdered.  

    

The victim explained when asked of reason of incident taken place "when one of the gangsters was caught red-handed while stealing hand-phones and other properties of Chin refugee families and prepared to hand him over to the police, the rest of his gang members came in and strongly attacked group of Chin refugees who did not notice the arrestee was a thug and tracked them down until their community fellowship house that they took a shield".

Our reaction towards the gangs came as it was inevitable but needed to take actions for their protection no matter what happened despite knowing that being risky.

When it comes to issues--gang attack and gangstering activity in Malaysia, according to one of the high ranked officers in OPI department in UNHCR office in Malaysia, it was always sad to say that this kind of thugs have firm links with the authority and getting local supports for taking responsibility in the occupied area in the event of noises and problems came out from other areas of thugs. 

Three of the victims namely mentioned above were brought up to UNHCR office with the help of the health coordinator of CRC(Chin Refugee Committee) in order to report about what the threatening environment going on among the society of Chin refugees. 

It was a crystal clear that UNHCR office is totally disable to sort out such problems in terms of the cruel local gang attack and their raids against the refugees in Malaysia, although having notion that the country not being of a signatory one according to the United Nations Convention in 1951.   

Over the years, reports obtained by The VOCR can highly witness that this kind of gang attack is not newly peculiar things bring about in the society of refugees from Myanmar but it rather be already common for gangsters attacking against the innocent refugees.