By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia (page 14)
June 30th, 2011
"If anyone comes here, they risk being sent to Malaysia and go to the back of the queue,"
"For every refugee we send there we will take five.
"You spend your money, you get on a boat, you risk your life and you don’t get to stay,"
"You go to Malaysia."
"For every refugee we send there we will take five.
"You spend your money, you get on a boat, you risk your life and you don’t get to stay,"
"You go to Malaysia."
-Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia
I’m not sure about you but when I heard these statements on television, I had chills up my spine. So this is what the Australian government thinks of us? Perhaps rightly so, but who came up with the idea of swapping people anyway?
Pertinent questions arise on why these people would give thugs their savings, leave behind everything and everyone they know, risk their lives on stormy seas in rickety boats, and not to mention being packed like sardines. It’s not one decision that makes them place themselves in that situation; but a series of decisions. Surely one has to wonder how much worse the situation is back home for them to put their lives in such grave danger. Many do not make the journey, and how many reports have there been of capsized boats?
I can only assume it to be as horrible as the escape story from the book Half the Sky, of a young girl smuggled into Malaysia on the pretext of finding her decent work only to be sold into prostitution and housed in crammed spaces in the heart of KL. The situation was so bad that she and a friend used a makeshift clothes hanger, put it over the balcony of two blocks of flats and “tight-rope” walked their escape. At that point, she felt that falling and dying would have been a better option than staying in such a place. Mind you, this is a true story and the only consolation is that it happened years ago before KL was “cleaned-up” and the girl escaped.
That is the kind of wretchedness these people face. What type of desperation do they face each day in detention camps? As Malaysia is not a signatory of the United Nations conventions on refugees and against torture, asylum seekers are not legally recognised and cannot seek employment. There is also no structure for these undocumented people to obtain redress when treated irregularly. The only body in the country that can offer assistance is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees which recognises refugees.
There were 93,000 registered refugees in Malaysia, and the assumed number of refugees not registered is double that. What irks most people is the fact that Malaysia has a poor human rights record. It’s not new news, it’s a fact, but nothing more can be done until the authorities fully accept and fulfill their responsibility.
Imagine being subject to harassment by those in authority, risking beatings and living in overcrowded conditions. When there is little food and no money, what can be traded for a bowl of rice every day? These camps don’t just house men; they are home to women and children – children who should be in school.
There are many sides to this debate; it’s not just about empathy but also how well refugees naturalise, the cost of providing them housing, education and work, and what kind of refugees they are? A burden on government spending for sure, but there has to be a humane solution and what we have to offer is far from that.
The reality, however, is we are getting a bad name overseas because of how we tackle the refugee issue. All the economic growth and conventions overseas showcasing Malaysia’s abilities are tainted with reports of the conditions refugees in our country are subject to. Something civilized needs to be done and done fast. Refugees can’t be told “please go back to where you came from” or risk ending up in Malaysia.
Natalie believes that swapping refugees is a terrible idea and that whoever came up with it should be ashamed.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
