Gratitude – and advice – to Malaysia from a Rohingya refugee
Published by ASIA TIMES
I am a Rohingya refugee in Malaysia. In October 2014, human traffickers kidnapped me from outside the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. They covered my face and tied my hands and beat me before putting me on a boat from which I was sold to other traffickers in Thailand. I was held captive in a trafficking camp for 13 days in southern Thailand. I was not given food for five days.
I
obtained freedom when Thai police rescued 134 Rohingya people in
Ranong province. I was kept by the police in an immigration detention
center (IDC). After I was declared a victim of human trafficking, I
was sent to an IDC shelter in Songkhla, Thailand.
I escaped from that facility because there was a Rohingya boy who was beaten by shelter officers. After a month, however, I was arrested again and sold again to traffickers. I was kept in a human-trafficking camp in Penang, Malaysia, until I managed to run away.
Finally,
in Malaysia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) granted me a refugee card. However, even with a UN
refugee card, I cannot work in Malaysia legally and still face many
problems. Refugees like myself are at great risk of exploitation in
Malaysia including arrest, police harassment, labor abuses, and lack
of access to education, medical treatment, and legal protections.
My
family fled Myanmar because of the military attacks and decades-long
genocidal campaigns against my people.
In
Myanmar, my father was taken by the military and forced to work for
no pay. He was beaten by soldiers. Rohingya like myself are denied
equal access to citizenship rights in Myanmar.
My
mother is still in a refugee camp in Bangladesh.
Rohingya
like myself have found safety in Malaysia. For this reason, Malaysia
should continue to accept Rohingya refugees. Malaysia’s new
government has committed in its Pakatan Harapan manifesto to address
transnational human trafficking in Promise 58 and to lead efforts to
resolve the Rohingya crisis in Promise 59.
I have been proud of the Malaysian government for standing up for the
Rohingya and calling for justice and citizenship rights for my
people. Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah told reporters, “Malaysia
is of the view that the United Nations Security Council should also
refer the Rohingya issue to the international judicial process,
including the setting up of an international tribunal with a special
mandate.”
Further,
on November 13, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that
Aung San Suu Kyi’s response toward the Rohingya community was
“indefensible.” He went on to say that he was “very
disappointed” by Suu Kyi’s failure to address and protect the
Rohingya.
Malaysia
is leading the way in Southeast Asia, but there are areas in which it
can continue to work in protecting Rohingya in Myanmar and refugees
domestically.
First,
Malaysia should protect refugee rights domestically. The new
government should work with the UNHCR and find solutions for our
community, including legal status.
Malaysia
should ratify the United Nations Refugee Convention.
Second,
Malaysia should protect and support survivors of human trafficking.
In 2015, Malaysian authorities discovered mass graves of Rohingya
victims in human-trafficking camps. I was kept in some of the same
camps – they were inhuman places. Malaysia should hold
perpetrators of human trafficking of the Rohingya accountable.
Third,
Malaysia should continue to support the international community to
hold the Myanmar military accountable for genocide against the
Rohingya. This could include pushing other governments in Southeast
Asia to call for accountability and justice for the crimes against my
people.
Today,
I am still unsure about how long I will be in a state of limbo as a
refugee in Malaysia. However, Malaysia should continue to provide
access to protections, education, and work until the day we Rohingya
can return, have justice, and restored citizenship rights in our
homeland of Rakhine state,
Myanmar.
http://www.atimes.com/gratitude-and-advice-to-malaysia-from-a-rohingya-refugee/
http://www.atimes.com/gratitude-and-advice-to-malaysia-from-a-rohingya-refugee/
