The cool highlands of Malaysia are famous
for growing tea, vegetables, flowers, and other temperate crops. The Chin
Refugee Committee (CRC) estimates that 15,000 Chin, almost all men, have
fled Burma to live and work in Malaysia. About 1,000 of them live in the
highlands, working as day laborers on plantations. Most of the other Chin
are construction workers in the cities, especially in and around Kuala
Lumpur. The Chin are Christian; other refugees from Burma in Malaysia include
Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Mon. Refugees from Burma who are registered
with UNHCR have some degree of protection, but still report that they often
arrested and detained by the police and immigration authorities.
This photo is along the trail as Refugees
International staff and Chin leaders walk to a site to meet with Chin refugees.
The Malaysian government announced a crackdown of undocumented aliens to
begin March 1. Most of the Chin in this area are not registered with UNHCR
and thus are subject to arrest and deportation to Thailand by Malaysian
authorities. The Chin in the highlands are afraid to take the risk and
bear the cost of traveling to Kuala Lumpur to register. The crackdown on
aliens living and working in Malaysia has caused labor shortages on Malaysia's
plantations and in its booming construction industry and revealed that
the country is heavily dependent on foreign workers.
Most of the Chin we met in Kuala Lumpur, the jungle, and the highlands told us that they live in makeshift settlements like this and sleep in the forest to avoid being apprehended by the police. One group of about 40 Chin refugees we met in Kuala Lumpur told us they sleep in parks or the woods around golf courses. About 300 Chin men live in this settlement and are employed irregularly as construction workers. Their huts have been burned down by the police four times in the last few years, but as the Chin own little beyond a few cooking pots, plastic sheeting, and the clothes on their backs they rebuild quickly. The Chin all told us that their primary need is protection from the police; they also cited lack of access to medical care as a major problem.
RI Advocate Larry Thompson talks to a group of Chin refugees who work on a plantation. The Chin and other refugees from Myanmar cited arbitrary arrest by the police and military authorities, forced labor, and torture as reasons for their flight. They also cited religious persecution. Christians are suspect, churches and church leaders are suppressed, and Christians are sometimes offered relief from forced labor if they convert to Buddhism. Chin told us they hire an "agent" to arrange for their escape from Myanmar and the passage to Malaysia through Thailand. Several reported they had been sold to Thai fisherman to work on fishing boats when they didn't have enough money to pay an agent. Most of the Chin we talked to had arrived in Malaysia during the last five years.
RI is meeting with Chin refugees in this makeshift church in the jungle. All of the Chin seen in this picture are registered with UNHCR and have letters or cards stating that they have applied for refugee status. (To protect individuals, RI will not publish photos of unregistered refugees.) Malaysian police visited this camp while RI was present but did not detain any of the Chin. Hopefully, the presence of RI and Chin leaders demonstrated the interest and concern of the international community for the plight of the Chin and other refugees. Among the Chin refugees we met were a sizeable number of unaccompanied minors from 15 to 17 years old who need and deserve special protection, as do the very few women who are among the Chin refugees.
Photo report - to view photos, click here.