Will separation from long-term based communities be the best way to solve the plight of Chin refugees in Malaysia?

Surprising but not amazing, I was shocked when I visited the hospital along with Chin Refugee Committee medical team on last Sunday evening.

The visit perturbed me at a time when I saw that many of Chin patients lying down on the bed and having medical treatment. Yet, the scene made me realized one thing that how the Chin people are ignorant to inform the communities because most of the patients’ conditions had not been heard by the medical team due to lack of providing information to their respective communities by relatives or friends.

During the visit, the Chin Refugee Community could reach only three patients those were admitted to the hospital on last month and encouraging them not to be worried for their future. Truly, it’s so sad that the team could not meet Miss. Lal Hmen Kungi due to the fact that she went for surgery during the visit.

Among them, a woman named Ngun Te, a mother of one child from Ngaleng village, Matupi Township, who just came to Malaysia on 20.04.2010, was suspected to be suffering from Malaria or Dengue and the hospital has already instilled her 25 bottles of glucose. She’s just new arrival and was supposed to add in derivative status system under the husband file in UNHCR office. But it was unfortunately stuck related to her health condition and was unable to walk off to the UNHCR office prior to hospitalization. She will not receive any promotions as she is not registered with the UNHCR while other patients with UNHCR card are given promotions of 50% discount.

"Had the husband or friends earlier informed CRC or ACR, all of the patients would be reached and the communities will never hesitate to help them in any possible ways. This is what they are doing now with lack of wise thinking for what might come about next. To define the dozens of hundreds of the Chin people want to separate from the biggest and most effective communities led by the hypocrites( the ones who know only how to be served but to serve) and wish to become a leader in their own sub-organizations or village movements. As a matter of facts, competing for the leadership position is very popular but many are, at the same time, unaware of what should be done for the effectiveness and betterment of the community which becomes a virus and makes the community weakling and bring about the bad names as a result.

“In a sense, even if their relatives or friends failed to inform us, their respective sub-organizations or village leaders should try us and alarm us so that we will intervene somehow as we are always ready to help,” one of volunteer worker said.

In relation to the statement above, Chin refugees in Malaysia should widely concentrate and need to understand the role and task of community administration and service providing. Many of sub-organizations have been established and sprang up as if a season of mushroom, the future may be doomed due to deny of renewing their membership cards with CRC and ACR, the biggest communities working closely with the UNHCR office. In particular, it’s time to understand what they can’t do anything for the benefit of the community except collecting money for their owned-community membership card fee and social related-affairs.

True but not a funny, a bunch of the newly sub-organizations and small communities are never reliably responsible for the people in terms of rescue from detention centers, admitting to Hospital and contacting with UNHCR which are mainly important to stand. That would be nice if they could energetically conduct such services in the community but so sad they aren’t capable of implementing these trends until now.

The latest surveillance shows that seventy percents of the income has been drastically decreased down and the communities are being sunk into financial crisis in order to run the services provided. It was since most of the Chin people effectively deny renewing their membership cards after mass registration operated by UNHCR. For that reason, the most responsible communities, CRC and ACR have to wisely decide to do the restricted roles in the administration in support of help for community even though they are best serving their own people by all costs.

Obviously, it is unacceptable that many are complaint over the different dialect which is not totally a matter of importance but just an excuse. Both CRC and ACR have adequately volunteers from different dialect to meet the needs of language barriers.

Therefore, will separation from CRC and ACR be the best way to solve the plight of Chin refugees in Malaysia regarding arrest, detentions and health care service which is the must-to-do problem for everyone.

The desire to be boss in any circumstances indicates the exercise of the nepotism and cronyism that is badly inflicting the people and a big epidemic among the society as we are ruled over for more than 2 decades by the military regime. “Failure of learning what the past history is the absence of the qualification to be a reliable leader” said one of Chin society analyst. For Chins, humility is what most requires and very rare like diamond.

If anybody expects better progress among our society through the present patterns of ideological conflicts, they surely need to have the clear understanding towards the building of the bright future. It’s never too late to learn our ailing history from the past.

by Salai C C

Burma Human Right History

Organs of the United Nations and major international human rights organisations have issued repeated and consistent reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations in Burma.

The United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly [1] called on the Burmese Military Junta to respect human rights and in November 2009 the General Assembly adopted a resolution ""strongly condemning the ongoing systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms" and calling on the Burmese Military Regime "to take urgent measures to put an end to violations of international human rights and humanitarian law."[2] International human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch [3] and Amnesty International.

Violations of human rights claimed include claims that there is no independent judiciary in Burma. That the military government restricts Internet access through software-based censorship that limits the material citizens can access on-line.[5][6] That Forced labour , human trafficking , and child labour are common.[7] and the rampant use of sexual violence as an instrument of control, including systematic rapes and taking of sex slaves as porters for the military.

A strong women's pro-democracy movement has formed in exile, largely along the Thai border and in Chiang Mai. There is a growing international movement to defend women's human rights issues.[8]

The Freedom in the World 2004 report by Freedom House notes that "The junta rules by decree, controls the judiciary, suppresses all basic rights, and commits human rights abuses with impunity . Military officers hold all cabinet positions, and active or retired officers hold all top posts in all ministries. Official corruption is reportedly rampant both at the higher and local levels."[9]

Brad Adams, director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, in a 2004 address described the human rights situation in the country as appalling: "Burma is the textbook example of a police state. Government informants and spies are omnipresent. Average Burmese people are afraid to speak to foreigners except in most superficial of manners for fear of being hauled in later for questioning or worse. There is no freedom of speech, assembly or association."[10]

Collected by Salai Sang Hre

CHIN REFUGEES IN INDIA COME UP AGAINST A HARD NUT TO CRACK

Salai Pautu

DELHINew Delhi: A considerable number of Chin refugees being recognised in 2008 and 2009 by New Delhi- UNHCR , come up against a major problem of registering themselves at a New Delhi branch of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office ( FRRO) , that is the government office which registers foreigners in India and applying for Residential Permits in order to stay in India.

India has not ratified either the 1951 Refugees Convention or the 1967 Refugees Protocol. India also does not have its own domestic refugee law... according to HUMAN RIGHT FEATURE.

 

By virtue of his\ her presence in India, every refugee is subject to Indian laws. He \ She should conduct himself \ herself accordingly at all times. As India has no refugee specific law, his \ her entry, stay and departure are regulated under the laws applying to all foreigners in India.One of his \ her primary duties under the laws is to register himself \ herself and his \ her family members at the Foreigners Regional Registeration Office and apply for a Residential Permit in order to stay in India. His \ her failure to do so may result in his \ her arrest, detention and possible deportation according to New Delhi- UNHCR.

 

What the 2008 and 2009 newly recognised Chin refugees being in course of applying for Residential Permits in order to stay in India, started to have been asked for cash payments on their previous presence ( while they were asylum seekers) in India by the FRRO officials is the major problem they encounter these days.

The FRRO officials said that to ask refugees in India for cash payments on their previous presenc in India is a rule. Then, they started doing so from the mid- year of 2008.

The cash payment on each refugee's previous presence in India being asked for is worked out at Rs. 25 each per day starting from his\ her arrival date to his\ her refugee recognition date in the New Delhi - UNHCR office. As a rule, New Delhi- based most Chin asylum seekers become recognised refugees after one year or more of registeration at the UNHCR office.For instance, if an asylum seeker and his\ her detofacto partner acquire their recognition refugees status one year of registeration at the office, they shall have to make paymants of Rs.16000-17000 to the FRRO officers so as to come by the Residential Permits issued by the FRRO office.

Around 1995's and 2005's were the years in which the FRRO officials felt sympathetic towards refugees in India ,so regestering refugees at the FRRO and applying for Residential Permits were somewhat easy just like a childplay according to a source.

However, since the mid - year of 2008, everything different that has come up to all newly recognised Chin refugees in India has brought them all dealing with this major problem. The Chin refugees, especially those who live from hand to mouth,have no approach neck and crop to this problem the FRRO officials created. According to sources, there is disagreement among the FRRO officials --- some of them do not wish to ask refugees for payments on their previous presence in India while others really do.

A Chin refugee family in New Delhi (Photo AFP)

Chin refugees while in the FRRO office faced up to harsh words spoken to them by one of the FRRO officers at the reception desk who asked them a question of what nationalities belong to them.When they replied, " Burmese", he just asked them whether they had brought the payments to be paid to him or not. They replied, " NO" , then he at once said to them, " Go home!" in an angry manner. The Chin refugees felt small confronting this unfriendly situation.

As a matter of concern, those Chin refugees without holding the Residential Permits Certificates have no legal right in India --- to remain in India as well as no Exit Permit---- to leave for any third country. Instead, the consequences of their lack of the Residential Permits Certificates can render them face the things thay fear most. Accordingly, they are all in need of the legal protection and the immediate action to be taken on their problem. No action has been effectively taken on their desperate problem so far.