Migrant worker exploitation in Malaysia
Thousands of Burmese children's futures are being put at risk as a result of harsh treatment they and their families face in Malaysia.
That's part of the conclusions of a new report from Amnesty International, Trapped: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia, which documents widespread abuses against migrant workers in Malaysia.
Drawn by promises of jobs and a better life, tens of thousands of Burmese refugees and other migrants from across Asia flock to Malaysia. Many, such as the Burmese Chin, have escaped repression and torture in their homeland.
Increased militarisation of Chin State has resulted in widespread human rights violations and devastating poverty. What they find when they flee to countries such as Malaysia, however, is far from a promised land.
Ripped off by 'agents' and left high-and-dry with massive debts, they live as 'illegals' and have to seek poorly-paid work sometimes as bonded (forced) labour whilst subject to harassment – verbal, physical and sexual.
Children on the Edge works with over 500 children of these impoverished and 'trapped' Chin families, supporting them in so-called informal 'apartment schools'.
Aside from these lucky few, many Burmese children in Malaysia have no access to any formal education. Denied citizenship, many live in cramped and overcrowded conditions, facing forcible separation as family members are deported.
'In just one apartment we visited in Kuala Lumpur, there were 36 people living in a two-bedroom apartment with one shower. There were more than 15 children here. Luckily our partner agencies were able to get six of those children into an "apartment school" which we're now supporting,' said Children on the Edge director, Rachel Bentley.
'Despite difficult, cramped conditions and few materials, the teachers are doing extraordinary work,' she added.
The children learn Maths, English, Science and Chin culture and literature. They also study the Bible, enjoy sports days and have outings. Children on the Edge currently supports six such schools, via the Chin Students Organisation, and is lobbying for their legal recognition by the Malaysian government.
Background:
Over 50,000 refugees from Burma are registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia. They include Chin, Mon, Karen, Kachin, Karenni, Shan, Rohinyga, Arakan and Burman.
However, many thousands more asylum seekers are unregistered. They live in terrible conditions, barely surviving in jungle camps or living in overcrowded urban flats. The conditions are cramped with poor sanitation, no health care and little food. They are in constant danger of being arrested, usually by RELA – an armed vigilante force officially sanctioned by the Malaysian authorities to carry out immigration department duties including arresting illegal immigrants (highlighted in a recent episode for Channel 4 'Unreported World).
Overcrowded, open-air detention facilities and caning (of detainees) are frequent. There has been a slight improvement as a result of a critical US Senate report (which criticised the Malaysian authorities) but as Amnesty shows, more needs to be done.
"Amnesty International's report concludes that many workers are victims of human trafficking. The Malaysian government has the responsibility to prevent such abuses and to provide a safe and secure environment, and educational opportunities, for their children," said Rachel Bentley.
SUPPORT OUR WORK WITH BURMA'S HIDDEN REFUGEES
Image from Irrawaddy
