Page 1 VOCR Weekly Newsletter (Vol.
1, Issue 14) June 23, 2009
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.
Chin Woman 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
th
UNHCR and requested their intervention. 4 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 moths 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.
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 to
RM 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.
Page 2 VOCR Weekly Newsletter (Vol. 1, Issue 14)
Nine-Year Old CSO Student Dies in Car
Accident
June 17, 2009
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.
Celebration of World Refugee Day Held in
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 global
June 23, 2009
theme for this year’s World Refugee Day is “Real People
and Real Needs” as designated by the United Nation
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Despite the
efforts of many, the needs of refugees worldwide are far
from being met. Behind unmet needs are not just
numbers but real people with real stories.
Mr. Maan Sing Taan from the Malaysia Karen
Organization (MKO) initiated the ceremony with a
statement from the COBEM. Firstly, COBEM
acknowledged that they were very appreciative of the
kindness of UNHCR and NGOs in Malaysia. There is no
doubt, without UNHCR and NGOs, our lives would be
very uncertain. By the protection of UNHCR and
assistance of NGOs, our lives refugee and asylum-
seekers are much more secure and safe. Secondly, to
fulfill the theme of this year's World Refugee Day (Real
People and Real Needs), COBEM called on UNHCR:
• To shower their kind assistance over every asylum-
seeker and refugee without leaving anyone neglected or
with an unfair status determination.
• To recognize that we asylum-seekers and refugees are
the real people who really need your help in many ways,
particularly as so many are waiting for UN registration.
Some are still desperately waiting for Refugee Status
Determination (RSD), but must wait many months for an
interview to have their case evaluated as a refugee.
Please understand how difficult our daily conditions are
and how our lives are in danger.
• To make the most efforts to release the many people
who are still in the jails. Do not close your eyes; do not
be selective; whatever ethnic groups they are from,
please help. Do not leave any refugee in detention. Try
to reach every jail, and save every asylum-seeker and
refugee. You will be blessed by helping those who are
really in need of your help.
• To expedite the resettlement process. So many people
are waiting to be resettled for so many years and
months, but in your negligence, they remain while
Page 3 VOCR Weekly Newsletter (Vol. 1, Issue 14)
more recent arrivals pass over to third countries.
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.
Baptist World Aid Australia 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.
June 23, 2009
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.
Health Equity Initiatives Provides Health
Awareness Training
VOCR
Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) held a training for ACR
representatives focusing on mental disorders and
depression, which is common among refugees. The
training was conducted by leaders of Burma's ethnic
groups and Ms. Mary Chuah from the HEI. It was aimed
at staff who are well-trained but changed to another
organization.
Second Meeting between CDU and Chin
Sub-ethnic Refugee Groups Held
VOCR
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 sub-
ethnic groups; and (2) the community visits by the CDU
to the sub-ethnic groups.
Regarding the relationship between CDU and the sub-
ethnic groups, it was agreed that only the
Page 4 VOCR Weekly Newsletter (Vol. 1, Issue 14)
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: gbumalaysia@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.”
CRC/ACR Cards Replaced with PVC Cards
VOCR
In order to avoid fraud and fake cards, CRC and ACR
cards are being replaced with a more advanced PVC
card. The requested donation for an ACR card is as
follows:
New card : Rm 30
Renewal : Rm 30
Lost/damaged : Rm 10
Photo : Rm 5
Replacement : Rm 10
June 23, 2009
The requested donation for a CRC card is as follows:
New card : Rm 30
Renewal : Rm 30
Lost/damaged : Rm 30
Photo : Rm 5
Replacement : Rm 10
Fourteen Refugees Arrested During 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 pro-
democracy 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.
Contact Us: VOCR News Group
Email: vocrnews@gmail.com,
Phone: 006012-9044521,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
VOCR weekly newsletter is issued and owned by
VOCR news group which is an independent and non-
profit news service focusing on the Chin refugees in
Malaysia in specific and Burma Political issues in
general.