P

Fear
and
Depression
Increasing
Among
Chin
Youth
in
Malaysia

VOCR

June
20,
2009
Kuala
Lumpur

Depression
and
fear
of
arrest
is
increasing
among
Chin
youth
in
Malaysia
as
refugees
face
continued
uncertainties.
As
UNHCR
has
stopped
registering
pregnant
women
since
the
beginning
of
May
2009
and
mobile
registration
has
not
yet
start
in
2009,
feelings
of
hopelessness
and
fear
of
arrest
is
increasing
day-by-day
by
those
who
are
unregistered.
The
Malaysian
authorities
have
paused
deportation
to
the
Thai-Malay
border,
but
now
Chin
detainees
are
facing
prolonged
detention
terms
of
more
than
six
months.
Moreover,
the
global
financial
crisis
is
greatly
affecting
people�s
survival.
Many
companies
have
stopped
hiring
workers,
and
the
unemployment
numbers
among
Chin
refugees
are
increasing.
Without
proper
documents
employers
are
refusing
to
hire
undocumented
Chin
refugees.
As
a
result,
it
is
very
difficult
now
for
Chin
refugees
to
find
jobs
even
with
very
low
pay.
These
uncertain
conditions
have
led
three
young
Chin
men
to
commit
suicide
within
the
last
six
months.
Chin
Woman
Sentenced
to
Nine
Months
for
being
Undocumented

CRC

June
4,
2009
Semenyih

Ms.
Thlia
Vang
from
Don
Village,
Thang
Tlang
Township
was
arrested
by
RELA
on
23
December
2008
for
being
an
undocumented
refugee
in
Malaysia.
She
was
detained
in
Kajang
prison
and
charged
as
an
�illegal�
(Kaw
Sawng)
in
Malaysia.
She
was
taken
to
the
Seminyih
court
three
times
but
refused
to
plead
guilty.
According
to
her
relatives,
she
believed
that
UNHCR

would
come
and
meet
her
in
prison
because
the
only
reason
she
came
to
Malaysia
was
to
escape
persecution
in
Burma.
As
she
is
not
registered
with
UNHCR
as
a
refugee,
UNHCR
is
unable
to
help
her.
Since
her
arrest,
her
community
members
and
relatives
have
informed
UNHCR
and
requested
their
intervention.
4thJune,
2009
was
her
last
court
day.
As
she
could
no
longer
bear
the
cruel
and
harsh
treatment
in
the
detention
facility,
she
finally
pled
guilty
in
the
Semenyih
court.
She
was
sentenced
to
serve
nine
moths
imprisonment
for
illegally
being
in
Malaysia.
As
she
has
been
detained
for
more
than
six
months,
she
is
required
to
serve
another
three
months.
Her
body
number
is
5500.

UNHCR
Registers
Around
50
Burmese
in
Pakananas
Immigration
Camp

VOCR

June
14,
2009
Pakananas,
Jahor
Baru

From
10-11
April
2009,
the
UNHCR
OPI
team
visited
to
Pakananas
immigration
camp
in
Jahor
Baru
State
and
registered
around
50
Burmese
nationals.
During
this
visit,
UNHCR
registered
around
20
Chin
detainees.
According
unconfirmed
information,
some
Bangladeshis
tried
to
pose
as
Rohingya
from
Burma
in
order
to
get
attention
from
UNHCR.
One
Chin
detainee
from
Tedim
Township,
Mr.
Cin
Sian
Thang,
was
detained
for
a
prolonged
period
of
time
and
has
become
emotionally
unstable
in
the
detention
camp
due
to
cruel
and
harsh
treatment.
According
to
immigration
law
section
6(3),
illegal
entry
to
Malaysia
may
result
in
a
penalty
fine
up
to
RM
10,000
or
imprisonment
not
exceeding
5
years
or
both.
Malaysia
is
not
a
party
to
the
1951
UN
Convention
Relating
to
the
Status
of
Refugees
or
its
1967
Protocol.
However,
Malaysia
is
a
member
of
the
United
Nations
and
is
obligated
to
respect
certain
rights
of
refugees.
Most
refugee
cases
in
Malaysia
are
sentenced
six
to
nine
months
imprisonment
or
caning
or
both.
Page
2
VOCR
Weekly
Newsletter
(Vol.
1,
Issue
14)
June
23,
2009

Nine-Year
Old
CSO
Student
Dies
in
Car
Accident

June
17,
2009
VOCR

Duh
Hnin,
son
of
Mr.
Ro
Lain
from
Ral
Pel
village,
Thantlang
Township,
died
on
16
June
2009
at
General
Hospital
Kuala
Lumpur.
He
suffered
a
severe
head
injury
when
he
was
hit
by
a
car
on
15
June
2009
around
7:00
pm
as
he
was
crossing
a
busy
highway
between
Jalan
Imbi
and
Jalan
Pudu.
His
family
has
been
accepted
by
the
US
mission
for
resettlement
and
they
are
waiting
for
a
departure
date.

He
has
one
elder
brother
in
Malaysia
who
released
from
detention
facilities
recently.
His
remained
was
buried
in
Seremban
Christian
Cemetery
and
around
250
chin
refugees
including
his
class
mates
from
Chin
Student
Organization
(CSO)
School
attended
his
last
journey.

Celebration
of
World
Refugee
Day
Held
in
Kuala
Lumpur

VOCR

June
20,
2009

The
United
Nation
General
Assembly
designated
June
20
as
world
refugee
day
to
recognize
and
celebrate
the
contribution
of
refugees
throughout
the
world.
The
�World
Refugee
Day�
celebration
was
held
in
Kuala
Lumpur,
Malaysia,
and
more
than
350
people,
including
representatives
of
every
Burma
refugee
community
and
special
representatives
from
UNHCR
and
NGOs,
participated
in
the
ceremony.
The
celebration
was
hosted
by
the
Coalition
of
Burmese
Ethnic
Migrants
(COBEM),
marking
the
third
year
of
celebrations
in
Malaysia
and
the
tenth
anniversary
of
World
Refugee
Day
as
established
by
the
United
Nations.
The
global

theme
for
this
year�s
World
Refugee
Day
is
�Real
People
and
Real
Needs�
as
designated
by
the
United
Nation
High
Commissioner
for
Refugees
(UNHCR).
Despite
the
efforts
of
many,
the
needs
of
refugees
worldwide
are
far
from
being
met.
Behind
unmet
needs
are
not
just

numbers
but
real
people
with
real
stories.

Mr.
Maan
Sing
Taan
from
the
Malaysia
Karen
Organization
(MKO)
initiated
the
ceremony
with
a
statement
from
the
COBEM.
Firstly,
COBEM
acknowledged
that
they
were
very
appreciative
of
the
kindness
of
UNHCR
and
NGOs
in
Malaysia.
There
is
no
doubt,
without
UNHCR
and
NGOs,
our
lives
would
be
very
uncertain.
By
the
protection
of
UNHCR
and
assistance
of
NGOs,
our
lives
refugee
and
asylum-
seekers
are
much
more
secure
and
safe.
Secondly,
to
fulfill
the
theme
of
this
year's
World
Refugee
Day
(Real
People
and
Real
Needs),
COBEM
called
on
UNHCR:

�
To
shower
their
kind
assistance
over
every
asylum-
seeker
and
refugee
without
leaving
anyone
neglected
or
with
an
unfair
status
determination.
�
To
recognize
that
we
asylum-seekers
and
refugees
are
the
real
people
who
really
need
your
help
in
many
ways,
particularly
as
so
many
are
waiting
for
UN
registration.
Some
are
still
desperately
waiting
for
Refugee
Status
Determination
(RSD),
but
must
wait
many
months
for
an
interview
to
have
their
case
evaluated
as
a
refugee.
Please
understand
how
difficult
our
daily
conditions
are
and
how
our
lives
are
in
danger.
�
To
make
the
most
efforts
to
release
the
many
people
who
are
still
in
the
jails.
Do
not
close
your
eyes;
do
not
be
selective;
whatever
ethnic
groups
they
are
from,
please
help.
Do
not
leave
any
refugee
in
detention.
Try
to
reach
every
jail,
and
save
every
asylum-seeker
and
refugee.
You
will
be
blessed
by
helping
those
who
are
really
in
need
of
your
help.
�
To
expedite
the
resettlement
process.
So
many
people
are
waiting
to
be
resettled
for
so
many
years
and
months,
but
in
your
negligence,
they
remain
while
Page
3
VOCR
Weekly
Newsletter
(Vol.
1,
Issue
14)
June
23,
2009

more
recent
arrivals
pass
over
to
third
countries.

The
COBEM
also
requested
to
UNHCR
to
keep
consistent
work
policies,
to
practice
regular
work
procedures,
and
to
proceed
in
their
work
process
according
to
a
defined
work
schedule
without
any
further
delay.

COBEM
also
called
on
and
requested
the
Government
of
Malaysia
to
stop
the
arrest
of
people
who
hold
UNHCR
documents,
to
be
stop
the
deportation
and
trafficking
of
refugees
to
the
Thai-Malaysia
border,
and
to
release
pregnant
women,
babies,
and
children
who
are
asylum-seekers
and
refugees,
as
well
as
the
physically
and
the
mentally
ill.
According
to
the
representative
from
UNHCR,
there
are
more
than
90,000
refugees
from
Somalia,
Afghanistan,
Sri
Lanka,
Iraq
and
Myanmar
in
Malaysia,
but
approximately
90%
are
Myanmar
refugees.
The
UNHCR
has
registered
more
than
49,000
refugees
in
2009
and
estimated
that
more
than
80%
are
Myanmar
refugees.

After
COBEM
finished
reading
their
statement,
the
special
representatives
from
ACTS,
HAKAM
and
Tenaganita
shared
a
statement
on
Refugee
Day
and
encourage
the
refugees
in
Malaysia.

Baptist
World
Aid
Australia
Visits
ACR
Office
in
Malaysia

ACR

Mr.
Daniel
Norris
from
the
Baptist
World
Aid
Australia
which
supports
the
Alliance
of
Chin
Refugees
(ACR)
School
visited
to
the
ACR
office
in
Malaysia.

According
to
the
ACR
weekly
newsletter,
Mr.
Norris
and
the
ACR
leader
had
a
meeting
last
Sunday
and
they
visited
the
school.
Three
days
later,
Mr.
Norris
donated
funding
for
the
school
for
a
one-year
period.
Mr.
Norris
said
that
the
Baptist
World
Aid
Australia
works
in
18
countries
and
they
support
80
organizations,
but
this
is
the
first
time
they
are
working
with
ACR
in
Malaysia.

"I
am
very
glad
for
the
request
and
I
hope
to
visit
other
schools
located
outside
of
town,"
said
Mr.
Norris.
"I
am
especially
grateful
to
ACR's
leader
who
welcomed
me
and
informed
me
about
the
school.
According
to
our
discussions,
he
has
many
projects
to
do
in
next
year,
and
we
will
make
another
3-day
visit
every
six
months
to

monitor
the
project.�

Mr.
Norris
also
indicated
that
they
will
not
only
donate
to
the
school,
but
they
will
also
consider
supporting
ACR's
clinic
as
well
as
find
lawyers
to
help
refugees
arrested
by
the
authorities
and
deportation
to
the
Thai-Malay
border.

Health
Equity
Initiatives
Provides
Health
Awareness
Training

VOCR

Health
Equity
Initiatives
(HEI)
held
a
training
for
ACR
representatives
focusing
on
mental
disorders
and
depression,
which
is
common
among
refugees.
The
training
was
conducted
by
leaders
of
Burma's
ethnic
groups
and
Ms.
Mary
Chuah
from
the
HEI.
It
was
aimed
at
staff
who
are
well-trained
but
changed
to
another
organization.

Second
Meeting
between
CDU
and
Chin
Sub-ethnic
Refugee
Groups
Held

VOCR

The
second
meeting
between
UNHCR's
Community
Development
Unit
(CDU)
and
the
Chin
sub-ethnic
groups
was
successfully
held
at
the
Chinese
Assembly
Hall
on
the
evening
of
18
June,
2009.
The
meeting
lasted
for
two
hours.
The
main
issues
discussed
were:

(1)
the
relationship
between
UNHCR
and
the
Chin
sub-
ethnic
groups;
and
(2)
the
community
visits
by
the
CDU
to
the
sub-ethnic
groups.

Regarding
the
relationship
between
CDU
and
the
sub-
ethnic
groups,
it
was
agreed
that
only
the
Page
4
VOCR
Weekly
Newsletter
(Vol.
1,
Issue
14)
June
23,
2009

previous
participants
in
the
meetings
should
be
allowed
to
participate
in
the
meetings
in
order
to
avoid
repetitive
discussions.
Otherwise,
the
involvement
of
new
members
may
create
problems
on
the
issues
already
discussed
due
to
a
lack
of
experience.
In
the
meeting
with
CDU,
only
36
groups
could
participate
out
of
56.

With
regard
to
CDU's
community
visits,
Madam
Mimi
stated,
�We
have
visited
28
sub-ethnic
groups.
We
had
discussions
about
the
community
and
a
fundraising
program.
We
cannot
do
anything
concerning
registration."

When
asked
about
the
Outreach
and
Protection
Intervention
(OPI)
Unit
which
does
much
of
the
detention
registration,
Madam
BAF
replied,
�Concerning
detention,
the
names
of
detainees,
jail/camp,
and
body
number
of
the
detainees
cannot
be
reported
to
the
OPI
office
through
mail
or
fax.�

She
also
said
that
they
would
base
registration
off

CRC/ACR
lists
for
new
registration.

GBU,
one
of
the
NGOs
in
Malaysia
that
mainly
focuses
on
women
rights,
also
gave
an
explanation
about
human
rights.
It
was
strongly
advised
that
every
group
should
participate
in
their
trainings
for
the
betterment
of
their
community.
If
interested,
community
representatives
were
encouraged
to
contact:
gbumalaysia@gmail.com.

They
explained
Article
1
of
the
Universal
Declaration
of
Human
Rights,
which
states,
�All
human
beings
are
born
free
and
equal
in
dignity
and
rights,�
and
Article
3,
which
states,
�Everyone
has
the
right
to
life,
liberty
and
security
of
person�
and
Article
4,
�No
one
shall
be
held
in
slavery
or
servitude;
slavery
and
the
slave
trade
shall
be
prohibited
in
all
their
forms.�

CRC/ACR
Cards
Replaced
with
PVC
Cards
VOCR

In
order
to
avoid
fraud
and
fake
cards,
CRC
and
ACR
cards
are
being
replaced
with
a
more
advanced
PVC
card.
The
requested
donation
for
an
ACR
card
is
as
follows:

New
card
:
Rm
30
Renewal
:
Rm
30
Lost/damaged
:
Rm
10
Photo
:Rm5
Replacement
:
Rm
10

The
requested
donation
for
a
CRC
card
is
as
follows:
New
card
:
Rm
30
Renewal
:
Rm
30
Lost/damaged
:
Rm
30
Photo
:Rm5
Replacement
:
Rm
10

Fourteen
Refugees
Arrested
During
Suu
Kyi
Birthday
Celebrations

19
June,
2009

VOCR
(Source:
Malaysian
Insider)

Fourteen
Myanmar
refugees
are
still
in
detention
after
being
picked
up
at
a
local
celebration
of
Burma's
pro-
democracy
leader
Aung
San
Suu
Kyi's
birthday.

Human
rights
group
Suaram
said
five
of
the
14
are
not
registered
as
refugees
with
the
UNHCR.
Police
arrested
16
at
the
Taman
Jaya
park
on
Friday
for
illegal
assembly
but
later
freed
two.

Suu
Kyi
turned
64
on
Friday
in
the
notorious
Insen
jail
in
capital
Yangon
while
facing
a
trial
for
breaking
conditions
of
her
house
arrest
when
an
American
swam
through
a
moat
to
her
house.
She
has
spent
13
of
the
past
20
years
under
house
arrest
and
could
be
jailed
for
up
to
five
years
for
the
latest
offence.
Human
rights
activists
celebrated
her
birthday
around
the
world
to
draw
attention
to
the
Nobel
laureate's
plight,
including
in
Malaysia.

But
police
flooded
Taman
Jaya
to
stop
a
gathering
organised
by
the
Pakatan
Rakyat,
which
rules
Selangor.
Only
the
refugees
were
held,
with
10
currently
detained
at
Kelana
Jaya
Police
Station
while
the
remaining
4
are
detained
at
Damansara
Police
Station.

"We
strongly
urge
the
police
to
release
all
the
individuals
arrested
immediately
and
unconditionally,"
said
Suaram
coordinator
Temme
Lee,
noting
they
have
yet
been
given
access
to
legal
aid.

Suaram
also
demand
that
the
Malaysia
government
recognise
the
refugee�s
status
and
provide
protection
to
them,
while
guaranteeing
the
peoples�
rights
to
assembly
and
to
stop
the
assault
on
freedom
of
expression.

Contact
Us:
VOCR
News
Group

Email:
vocrnews@gmail.com,

Phone:
006012-9044521,
Kuala
Lumpur,
Malaysia

VOCR
weekly
newsletter
is
issued
and
owned
by
VOCR
news
group
which
is
an
independent
and
non-
profit
news
service
focusing
on
the
Chin
refugees
in
Malaysia
in
specific
and
Burma
Political
issues
in
general.