No sanctuary for refugees in Malaysia

Malaysiakini opinion by K Shan | Jun 20, 08

Imagine waking up every night to the agony of domestic violence next door. You hear reports of abuses and often witness yourself the bruises suffered by the wife and children every time you walk past the house pondering what you can do to stop the violence.

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One day, as the pressure mounts, the wounded and devastated victims come knocking at your door for refuge and protection. What would you do?

Option A

Give them temporary shelter and food and seek relevant humanitarian and human rights organisation for further assistance and action.

Option B

Organise a joint effort with relevant humanitarian and human rights organisation and other concern parties to provide them with temporary shelter and food, and seek for further assistance and action.

Option C

 

Ignore them and call the police for them to be arrested for trespassing?

Option D

Catch and detain them and send them back to the very place they come from.

In Malaysia, unfortunately Option C and D is the case although many of us Malaysians and others around the world would agree to Option A and B.

Refugees by definition are victims of human rights violations. Article 1(a) (2) of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 defines a ‘refugee’ as: “Any persons who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”

Refugees are ordinary people. Through no fault of their own, they find themselves in extraordinary and dangerous circumstances.

They have fled their country as a result of fear. Initially, that fear may be the immediate one of trying to escape the horrors of war and persecution, the pain of losing homes and loved ones, and the ordeal of flight. The life of a refugee is full of anxiety with constant worry of how to rebuild their lives, either in completely new circumstances, or in the country of origin where they may no longer be welcomed.

The tragedy in Burma

oday, human rights violations and humanitarian tragedy continue to sweep the ailing nation of Burma where thousands made to suffer in their daily lives due to the military junta.

Gross human rights violations like extrajudicial killing, rape and torture were among the serious concerns raised by human rights body like Amnesty International in the past. Arbitrary arrests and detention, sudden disappearances, child labour and portering for the military continue to be widespread. Amnesty International also has recorded cases of villagers who were forcibly relocated with many chased out of their own homes and forced to work for the military while their villages are burned and their crops destroyed.

In August and September 2007, the largest demonstrations in nearly 20 years took place across Burma that saw the military junta responded by violent crackdown on free speech and assembly. According to Amnesty International, more than 100 people were believed to have been killed, and a similar number were the victims of enforced disappearance. Several thousands were detained in deplorable conditions.

The junta also recently began prosecutions under anti-terrorism legislation against many protestors. At least 1,150 additional political prisoners, some arrested decades ago, remained in detention.

On 2 and 3 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Burma, killing tens of thousands of people and affecting over two million more. Tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands lost their homes and livelihoods. Tens of thousands of people continue to face the risk of death, disease, and malnutrition. Of the 2.4 million people seriously affected by Cyclone Nargis, the UN estimated that some 550,000 people resided in temporary settlements.

Amnesty International in a recent report said that the junta continues to deliberately block life-sustaining aid, violating the right of hundreds of thousands of people to life, food, and health, and created a massive human rights disaster on top of the humanitarian crisis.

In past years, Malaysia has protected victims of conflict, including those from Bosnia, Afghanistan, Palestine and even Iraq with the assistance of relevant international bodies such as the United Nations and other agencies.

Support was handed out most comprehensively during the mass exodus of Vietnamese boat people from the late 1970s onwards with the guidance of the 1967 Declaration on Territorial Asylum. The government also has assisted refugees from Aceh in Malaysia with temporary protection in response to the tragic tsunami that devastated Aceh and the region.

Would Malaysia as the most vocal member of Asean on the situation and issues in Burma and being a member of the Human Rights Council of the UN be able to walk the talk on the plight of Burmese refugees’ and their concerns right here in Malaysia?

Islam views refugees as human beings

Furthermore, Malaysia as a country that subscribes to Islamic values should take note of the concept of hijrah that marks one of the fundamental points in the history of Islam.

The hijrah refers to Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Madinah. What does it means? An article titled Religious Human Rights in the Quran written by Riffat Hassan, a professor of religious studies at the University of Louisville, has noted the concept of refugee protection according to the Islamic theology. The following paragraph taken from the article would be self-explanatory of the meaning behind hijrah and refugee. In Riffat’s own words.

“According to Quranic teaching, a Muslim’s ultimate loyalty must be to God and not to any territory. To fulfill his Prophetic mission, the Prophet Muhammad decided to leave his place of birth, Mecca, and emigrated to Medina. This event (‘Hijrah’) has great historical and spiritual significance for Muslims who are called upon to move away from their place of origin if it becomes an abode of evil and oppression where they cannot fulfill their obligations to God or establish justice.

“In a powerful passage in Surah 4: An-Nisa’: 97-100, the Quran states among other: … When angels take the souls of those who die in sin against their souls, they say: “In what (plight) were ye?” They reply: “Weak and oppressed were we in the earth.” They say: “Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to move yourselves away (from evil)?”…

In June 2003, Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, deputy chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states the following:

“Islam urges Muslims to treat refugees kindly, irrespective of whether those refugees are Muslims or not. Islam views refugees as human beings who should be treated with due respect. It stands to reason that Islam lays much emphasis on the rights of refugees. Here, the important point which I’d like to mention is that Islam lends a helping hand to the needy and the oppressed even if they happen to be non-Muslims whom Islam sees nothing wrong in giving them sadaqah if they are really in need of it…”

As a Muslim country and the chair of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, it is unfortunate to learn that these categories of people are often termed as ‘pendatang haram’ and be treated in manner worst then animals. Man, women and children despite of age and conditions are being hunted down and arrested and be subjected to humiliation and abuse and later caged and deported back to the waiting guns and machetes of the oppressors.

The question of Malaysia as a country aspiring to portray itself as subscribing to Islamic principles definitely can do more than keeping a tab on women’s dress code and body snatching activities. Unfortunately, the government that stands up on its Islamic conviction and responsibility in matters related to a dead man and burial procedures can’t see its obligation to others who are still alive.

Asylum for Mugabe?

Forced migration and refugee flow is a global phenomena and a serious concern for the international community in the light of military conflicts and human rights crisis that’s happening around the world.

Conflicts in Afganistan, Iraq, Palestine, Kosovo and Sudan are examples in which saw neighbouring countries despite not being signatory to the refugee convention have provided shelter and protection of millions of refugees who fled their home country with the help of United Nations agencies including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

Refugee protection is not merely a domestic concern but an international concern. Countries that often felt burdened by lack of resources have managed to create multi-party arrangements with various international human rights and humanitarian agencies including the United Nations to address the refugee concerns jointly.

Malaysia is therefore not immune to this global phenomenon as the Southeast Asia region is shrouded with conflict and humanitarian crisis as we continue to witness here in Burma.

It is a sad reality in the age of growing global human rights and humanitarian concerns, governments continue to ignore issues of refugees and international protection mechanism. Countries like Malaysia often go the extra mile to address the concerns of the people in Burma send humanitarian relief and fund to assist a country in turmoil and at the same time remain hostile and inhumane to the people who are fleeing the very same country.

Today, the humanitarian and human rights calls made by Malaysia on Burma remain a mere political sideshow while the real issues of Burmese refugees in Malaysia remain unaddressed.

Recently, we witness former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mahathir expressing concern over the recent elections in Zimbabwe and urged the Malaysian government to provide protection to Robert Mugabe.  If Malaysia could assist and protect the most tyrannical dictator of our time then why not the helpless and innocent Burmese refugees right here in our homeland.

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K SHAN is a human rights activist.