Myanmar Refugees for sale, at Malaysia-Thai border

Myanmar Refugees for sale,

at Malaysia-Thai border 

Burmese refugees in Malaysia want the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to protect them more effectively against exploitation.

(NOTE: Because authorities are in a denial mode like the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in the recent case of atrocities of Thai Navy abandoning more than 1,000 Rohingya boat people in international waters in December 2008 alone. Curiously as if there is no more true Muslim leader left in the whole world, there is a deafening silence.)

All Burma Democratic Front spokesperson Mohd Sadek Ali Hussin said one area that needs immediate attention is the ‘refugees for sale’ scam, saying it has resurfaced in recent months.

“There have been instances in which the UNHCR could have helped, but did not,” alleged Mohd Sadek, a former translator for the refugee agency’s office in Kuala Lumpur. 

He claimed to know of the case of a 15-year-old Burmese refugee – Salimullah Fazal Ahmad – who was arrested in Penang last year. He was detained and deported after UNHCR officials told police that the number on his refugee card was fake.

“The number on his card was real. But because they did not want to intervene at that moment, that boy had to stay in jail for three weeks before he was deported,” claimed Mohd Sadek.

He further alleged that Salimullah’s ordeal did not end there, as he was sold to traffickers for about RM500 by the immigration officials escorting him to the border with Thailand.

The traffickers then called his brother Kalimullah in Ampang, Selangor, demanding RM2,500 in return for Salimullah’s freedom. 

“Otherwise, he would have been sold either to a fishing boat or a plantation,” said Mohd Sadek, who added that female refugees are often sold to bars in Thailand if their friends or family-members are unable to buy their freedom.

If was only after Kalimullah had collected enough funds from friends and relatives and banked in the amount that Salimullah was sent back to Malaysia, said Mohd Sadek.

“The whole episode could have been avoided if UNHCR had been more alert to our situation,” he added.

The UN refugee agency has yet to comment on his allegations, after being contacted today. 

Mohd Sadek has previously made a number of allegations relating to discrimination by UNHCR against Rohingya and other Muslim Burmese refugees, which it had dismissed.

‘Refugees also involved’

Another Burmese activist, Kaladan Press Network editor Tin Soe, also claimed that refugees and other undocumented migrants of many ethnic groups and nationalities have been victims of the ‘refugees for sale’ scam.

Tin, who is based in Chittagong, Bangladesh, said he knows of four people – Rohingya and non-Rohingya – who had been arrested, deported, and sold by immigration officers to traffickers.

Among those involved in the racket, said Tin, are Rohingya themselves who act as middlemen between the immigration officers and the traffickers.

“Sometimes, these Rohingya are the ones talking to the families or friends of the refugees deported, to demand money on behalf of the traffickers,” he alleged, when contacted.     

The government’s investigations into the scam – first brought to light by private television station Ntv7 - has found that immigration officials are ‘not involved’.

UNHCR records as at last December show that there are 45,400 registered refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia. Of these, 40,000 are from Burma, comprising 15,200 Chin, 14,300 Rohingya and 3,400 Muslims, while the rest are from other ethnic minorities.

 

Fauwaz Abdul Aziz in MALAYSIAKINI