Asylum Seekers Fear Return To Malaysia. Are We That Cruel?
A GROUP of Burmese asylum seekers detained on Nauru for several months face spending years on the tiny, sweltering island after rejecting an offer to return voluntarily to an uncertain future in Malaysia. In a toughening of the Pacific Solution, the group has been told they will not be resettled in Australia even if they are found to be refugees - and that they could spend a "long time" on Nauru.
Seven of the eight Burmese, who were dropped by Indonesian people smugglers on Ashmore Reef last August, say they cannot return to Malaysia even though it could eventually lead to them being resettled with their families in Australia.
They say their fear of persecution in Malaysia, where they lived after fleeing Burma, and uncertainty about what would eventually be offered in Australia is simply too great.
"We have suffered a great deal in Malaysia and do not want to go back to suffer again," one of the Burmese said in a telephone interview through an interpreter yesterday.
"Only we know the kind of suffering we have gone through."
***** Ouch! Judging by the terrified responses of these asylum seekers, they must have had a very, very hard time in our country. Are Malaysians such heartless people that we treat these poor folks so badly that they would prefer to stay on in a hellhole in Nauru than return here? Or are all those reports about the Gestapo-like behaviour of our enforcement and security personnel unfortunately true?
Read the full report in The Age HERE.
Image - SourceLabels: Cruelty., Moral Issues
posted by The Malaysian. at 2/20/2007 01:11:00 PM
2 Comments:
I had the opportunity to speak to one of the Rohingya community leaders recently here in KL and he told harrowing stories of corruption and exploitation of people who really are stateless and have nowhere else to go. Their children cannot go to school because of their statelessness and so remain uneducated which bodes very badly for their futures. Our people have no idea what it is like to be unable to return to the land of their birth and to be treated as unwelcome aliens everywhere else. And never mind the religious affinity either! That hasn't stopped the exploitation at all. So, am not surprised.Rohingyas are really forgotten people.
i always thought that the rohingyas got the better treatment, compared to the chin refugees, due to the religious affinity. shame on lulu!
are we that cruel? yes we are.
it's really horribe, being stateless, and living in fear of those who are supposed to be the one protecting the innocent ones. the cops stop you at the street, and in spite of having un refugee status, they disregard it, and take you in. your friends have to raise funds to secure your release. you think it's safe in the jungles? forget it. rela comes, raid your place, cart of usable stuff, then burn your home. at least in nauru [wherever it is], they'd leave you in peace.
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