You decide to leave your country to escape the risk of death. So, you are crammed into a fishing boat with countless others with not enough space to even lie down.
It may not be comfortable, but it’s your only option. For a week or more, the crew on board treat you and your fellow passengers worse than animals. And then, there’s the temperamental weather that threatens to drown you at any moment.
Arriving on foreign shores, you hope for a better life. Instead, you face further ill-treatment.
That’s the journey of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who flee death in their homeland. Most end up in Thailand, Malaysia, or Indonesia.
Individuals have three options once they are recognised as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR):
- Repatriation to their home country at a later date, when it’s safe
- Integration into their host country
- Resettlement in another country (usually the United States, Canada, New Zealand, or Australia)
“For refugees like the Rohingya, it is very unlikely that they will be repatriated because it’s very unsafe for them there,” said Norliza Nordeen, founder and coordinator of Al-Ikhlas Hope Society (AHS), a non-governmental organisation overseeing the education management of the Al-Ikhlas School for refugee children in Batu Caves, Selangor, and supporting refugees and marginalised communities living nearby.
AHS also provides the fundraising platform and fund coordination support for the Refugee Emergency Fund (REF).
“The chance for integration into Malaysia is also very low. So, resettlement is their best option, usually to a Western country, although it can sometimes take decades. Unless you have a vulnerability, such as a medical problem or were a victim of torture, it will take a while before you get to the front of the queue,” added Norliza.
What happens while they wait to be resettled?
In Malaysia, refugees aren’t allowed to work but still have to somehow pay for housing, food, and schooling for their kids, among other things.
“For healthcare, refugees have to pay ‘foreigner fees’, which can be up to 100 times the fee locals pay,” Norliza said.
According to her, while Malaysians pay RM30 for childbirth in a third-class ward at a government hospital, a refugee pays around RM2,600.
Being a UNHCR card holder cuts hospital fees in half but it’s still quite hefty. Refugees usually rely on non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as REF, to step in to help them survive.
To stand on their own two feet, refugees in Malaysia do whatever informal work they can, according to their abilities. Many do menial tasks.
“Having an education really helps. Those who are educated find it easier to adapt to a foreign environment,” said Norliza.
For example, Mona, a Palestinian chef, sells Palestinian cuisine and has a wide network of customers. She can support herself because of her fluency in English and her use of social media.
Refugees with formal education also use their expertise to assist other refugees, too. Many are recruited by NGOs to assist in engaging with the wider refugee community, as an interpreter, healthcare coordinator, or a community liaison officer.
Most Rohingya refugees have never had an education because the Myanmar government doesn’t accept the Rohingya as citizens of its country, which makes them stateless. Thus, they can only attend schools reserved exclusively for the Rohingya.
In addition, there are many legal restrictions to completing their education. As a result, not many go to school, and those who do, don’t stay long.
Ustaz Arfat Ganumia is one of the few Rohingya refugees who managed to get an education. He completed his studies at an Islamic university in India. When he arrived in Malaysia in 2014, he saw the state of the Rohingya community in Batu Caves, where he lived, and decided to do something to help.
“I saw that they had no education, no Islamic knowledge, and no knowledge of life in Malaysia. Since I had the expertise, I wanted to provide that to them. Since I could communicate with NGOs and government agencies, I could deliver humanitarian aid,” he said.
He founded the Al-Ikhlas School, which is a UNHCR-registered kindergarten and a lower primary-level learning centre serving refugees, mainly the Rohingya, and Myanmar Muslims. Since then, the school has expanded to accommodate more students.
“Seeing my students helping their parents communicate at the market, hospitals, and police stations, as well as read and write, makes me very happy. I don’t aim for them to go to university, but if an NGO or businessman offers money for them to do so, I would support them. That would be better than better,” he added.
Once refugees are resettled in Western countries, higher education is available, but they need to have basic education, which Al-Ikhlas School, as well as other refugee schools, attempt to provide.
“Some locals misunderstand and think refugees come to Malaysia to earn money to send back home. We don’t. Who likes to live being controlled, like in a prison or camp? You can’t do anything without permission.
“Not all locals think like this, of course. It’s been eight years since Al-Ikhlas started. Many schools closed down during Covid-19 because they couldn’t pay rent, but the Malaysian public helped fund Al-Ikhlas to keep us open,” he said.
Refugees are in Malaysia temporarily, just like all of us in this world. As fellow human beings, shouldn’t we show empathy and treat them with kindness?
We should take the opportunity to inform ourselves of their plight and help them. Who knows, we could be in their position.
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