Chin refugees in Malaysia has been there since the late 1990s although they can only approached United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in February 2001. Thousands have since been resettled to third countries from UNHCR office in Malaysia to date. Many questions have been raised related to why the Chin people chose to come to Malaysia as refugees as Chin state is directly bordered with India from Mizoram state where they might go on to approach UNHCR office in New Delhi. Realistically, it’s true that Chin state is directly bordered with India but it’s almost impossible for young people to survive in India for such a long time as there is no even piece works they can rely upon for their daily survival. Furthermore, most Chin refugees are young people who the military regime wrongfully accused them or suspected them as people having connection with underground movement and often arrested, tortured and faced with dire consequences for their life if they are in the hand of the terrorist military regime.
Malaysia is a rapidly developing country where jobs especially piece works are easily found. Some works can even change someone life by getting a regular or full time job like in construction or any service works where they can make more money in a month than they can make one whole year working in Myanmar. Thus, as the Chin people are very tight community, they can help each other very much and that’s another factor encouraging new comers to rely upon their fellow Chin who were already in Malaysia. Although Malaysia is not signatory to UNHCR convention and can arrest any asylum seeker and UNHCR recognized refugee as illegal immigrants, thousands of Burmese refugees are still determined to stay there including Chin refugees given job opportunities compared with other neighbouring countries.
Executive Director Visit To Malaysia (December 2023)
Executive Director of the Chin Community of Canada who is also the founder of Chin refugee centre in Malaysia in 2001 and also the first Chin interpreter helping thousands of Chin refugees when they first approached UNHCR office in 2001 visited Malaysia in November and December 2023 where he met thousands of Chin refugees and also visited immigration detention camps and prisons where several Chin refugees are detained including women and children. He also met with UNHCR officials, NGOs and government officials to discuss the ongoing political situation in Myanmar and explained why suddenly there were thousands of Burmese refugees landed in Malaysia after military coup in Myanmar on February 01, 2021. According to UNHCR, there are 182,000 registered asylum seekers in Malaysia in which more than two third are from Myanmar including 20,000 Chin registered asylum seekers while the other 30,000 Chin asylum seekers are waiting for registration with UNHCR office.
UNHCR is carefully dealing with the increasing influx of refugees from Myanmar after 2021 military coup in Myanmar given the momentum of ever changing government in Malaysia, four different prime ministers in four years since 2018.
Due to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants problems in Malaysia, the public outcry against refugees and their impatience over foreign aliens created unnecessary political game among ruling government and opposition regarding who can deal with the illegal immigrants’ problem and refugees issue in Malaysia. In 2020 – 2022, unity government was very tough upon refugee issues and even restricted UNHCR from visiting detention camps and prisons where refugees were incarcerated. Unity government were even rumoured to be in assent to move UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur back to Jakarta, Indonesia as they considered UNHCR office attracted more illegal immigrants to come to Malaysia. In December 2023, when the executive director visited UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur, he noticed at least five to six hundreds asylum seekers were lining up every day at UNHCR office gate to seek registration with the office although the office encourages any asylum seeker to get registration through online first before they can be accommodated the formal registration with UNHCR office following their online registration serial number.
Detention Camps and Prisons
As mentioned above, since 2020 during and after the pandemic, UNHCR were not allow to visit detention camps and prisons by the government where hundreds of refugees were incarcerated as illegal immigrants. UNHCR inability to visit refugees in detention camps and jails put refugees in limbo since they didn’t know how long they will be detained or when will they be allowed to meet with UNHCR or released. Hundreds of refugees in detention camps spent several months, some spent more than a year in detention camps. Due to the uncertainty inside detention camps and jails regarding how long they will be detained, many refugees in detention camps chose to be deported directly to Myanmar from Malaysia. According to many Chin refugee deportees who were interviewed by our executive director after they can sneak out of Myanmar again to come back to Malaysia, it was very dangerous to be in Yangon, Myanmar where they were deported from Kuala Lumpur. Upon arrival in Yangon, airport officials took their photos, took addresses where they will stay in Yangon and required them to report to block authorities every movement they are anticipated to do especially when they will leave Yangon.
Most of the arrested Chin refugees were detained in Lenggeng immigration camp in Negeri Sembilan state, Semanyih Camp in Selangor state, Machap Umboo camp in Malacca state and Tanah Merah camp in Kelantan state which is bordered with Thailand before they were deported to Myanmar. In the surprise movement, many deportees were not forced or in any circumstances pressured by Malaysia authorities to be deported, it was voluntary that the deportees themselves chose to be deported as they can no longer endure the hardship in detention camp and the uncertainty how long they will be detained.
Deportees Returned To Malaysia
After military coup in Myanmar on February 2021, civilians defence force in Chin state, Magwe and Sagaing fought the fiercest battles against the military regime which caused more than 80,000 homes torched or razed to ground and half a million civilians internally displaced, hundreds killed and thousands injured as the military regime used fighter-jets to bomb every towns and villages targeting hospitals, clinics, churches and monasteries where most civilians were evacuating. Security check points coming from Yangon to go to Chin state were blocked from check gates at Sagaing and Magwe Division which is the only way to enter into Chin state and coming from Chin state to Mandalay and on to Yangon or other parts also were all blocked. That’s another reason any Chin deportee chose not to risk going back to Chin state from Yangon after they were deported from Malaysia. They risked coming back to Malaysia.
Refugee Children in Malaysia
There are approximately between 45,000 to 50,000 Chin refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia by the end of December 2023. According to Chin Refugee Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Chin refugee children under the age of 13 are believed to be between 5,500 t0 6,000 in Malaysia by the end of December 2023.
CCC executive director visited most of Chin refugee children clandestine schools in Kuala Lumpur, some of them run by each community churches, some run by local volunteers and some run by volunteer teachers from Chin refugee centre and Chin student organization. No school is legally allowed to operate and all of them are not funded legally too. Refugee parents have to pay for their children and each dialectical Chin community churches mostly funded to run the volunteer school. It’s true that in humanitarian, we are all brothers and sisters as there are also refugee children from Rohingya, Palestine and Afghan who came to learn and share class together with Chin children at the Chin refugee school. It was very nice and heart-touching to see refugee children from different countries sticks together in one education regardless of different nationality or ethnicity. However, it was also heart-wrenching to know that some children also asked when their parents will be released from detention camps and when will they be able to join with their relatives in third countries and go to actual schools.
Many refugee parents were arrested by immigration during what is called “Operasi” which is usually operation against illegal immigrants in Malaysia. It’s fear that some children may be psychologically effected since they have been separated from their parents who are arrested by Malaysian authorities. Most refugee children who are above 13 have nothing to do or learn after they passed grade 7 in refugee schools as the Chin volunteer teachers can no longer provide the education level they further need to learn. Furthermore, they are not eligible either to enrol in government schools. That’s why it causes a dilemma what to do for Chin refugee children between the age of 13 – 16 since they are not also yet in the age to work and leaving them without education for 2-3 years is dangerous as it can expose them to many unwanted situation or fall victims to social ills.
Chin Community of Canada (CCC) is working in partnership with the Chin Refugee Committee in Malaysia to seek educational assistance to help Chin refugee children who are now really in need of some sort of education but have nowhere to approach for. Finding the ambitious local, international and adult refugees volunteer teachers who are educated enough to teach and financial assistance needed for spaces and education materials is no doubt the priority. Anyone interest to cooperate with us can contact us anytime. Humanitarian has no boundary, voice for the voiceless and any kind of your assistance is highly appreciated.
