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ASIA / PACIFIC June 1, 2015 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3 Rohingya seek better life in Malaysia, but reality is stark By Eileen Ng The Associated Press UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia has been a sort of promised land for Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The tens of thousands who endured perilous journeys to get to Malaysia find more work opportunities than in Indonesia and a more Muslim-friendly environ- ment than in Thailand. But in the 25 years since Hamid Hussein Abul Khair arrived, that promise has been worn away by the statelessness and poverty that have never left him. Rohingya face a tenuous existence in Malaysia, unable to legally work because the country, like Thailand and Indonesia, doesn’t recognize asylum seekers and refugees and hasn’t signed the U.N. Refugee Convention. They mostly scrape by on dirty or dangerous jobs shunned by Malaysians, live in squalid conditions, and have no access to free healthcare or state-run schools. For many Rohingya, even living on the margins of Malaysian society is a step forward. But those who have been here for years yearn for something better — at least for their children. “God willing, we can make a living here. We are thankful to Malaysia, but what future do we have? My children can’t get citizenship, they have no formal educa- tion, and they can’t get proper jobs,” Hamid, 54, said in his austere apartment on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Denied citizenship by Myanmar and chased off their land in repeated outbreaks of communal violence, the 1.3 million Rohingya there have been identified by the U.N. as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. Some 140,000 have been displaced from their homes, and many live in camps. Myanmar regards them as illegal migrants from Bangladesh, even though many have lived in the country for generations. The desperation of the Rohingya has been highlighted in recent weeks by the boatloads of people from Myanmar and Bangladesh stranded in Malacca Strait waters after their traffickers abandoned them near the end of risky 1,000-mile voyages amid a clampdown by local authorities. Some 3,500 came ashore in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, but many of those now at shelters say their goal was to get to Malaysia. Nearly 46,000 Rohingya in Malaysia have been registered as refugees by the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, and there are an estimated 40,000 more whose status has yet to be assessed. Obtaining a U.N. refugee card generally protects people from arrest. The economic prosperity, Islamic culture, and the large population of Rohingya in Malaysia are all pull factors. “Malaysia is a modern Muslim urban society, with a K ENTRY DENIED. Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong arrives at the Hong Kong airport on May 26, 2015. The teen protest leader, who rose to prominence during last year’s pro-democracy protests in the semiautonomous Chinese region, talked to media after he was prevented from entering Malaysia. Wong said he was heading to Penang to speak at a conference, but immigration officials at the airport stopped him from entering the country. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Malaysia refuses entry to teen leader of Hong Kong protests HONG KONG (AP) — A teenage leader of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests was turned away at the airport when he tried to enter Malaysia, which said he has been blacklisted. Joshua Wong said the immigration officials cited a “government order” when they stopped him at the airport in northern Penang state. Immigration director-general Mustafa Ibrahim said in a statement that Wong is banned from entering Malaysia, but did not explain why. The 18-year-old was scheduled to speak at seminars in four Malaysian cities on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and about the Chinese government’s bloody crackdown on student protesters in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. He wrote on the Facebook page for his student activist group, Scholarism, that when he tried to call the local organizers after he was denied entry, immigration officials grabbed him by the arms. He was then put on a Dragonair flight back to Hong Kong. Wong helped spearhead the student-led protests that gripped Hong Kong for nearly three months last year. At the peak, tens of thousands or more protesters demonstrated against election restrictions in the semiautonomous Chinese region, though the movement ended quietly as the government refused to offer concessions. 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Solution to last week’s puzzle Puzzle #96383 (Easy) All solutions available at <www.sudoku.com>. 5 4 8 1 6 2 7 9 3 7 3 2 8 9 5 1 6 4 9 1 6 4 3 7 8 2 5 6 5 7 3 8 4 2 1 9 4 8 9 6 2 1 3 5 7 3 2 1 7 5 9 4 8 6 8 9 3 2 4 6 5 7 1 Interpretation services available Acrylic Colour Pencil Graphite Oil Pen & Ink Watercolour 1 5 Difficulty level: Medium MEDIUM Portland Housing Bureau SPiLt ink Gallery 2 9 6 Call (503) 501-5719 or visit https://reachcdc.org 5 3 FREE HOME REPAIRS FOR PORTLAND SENIOR & DISABLED HOMEOWNERS Plumbing l Electrical l Carpentry Serving Willamette Valley wine country & more 9 4 1 3 5 booming construction business and economy. As a place of income, it’s many times better than where they come from. In terms of security, although it’s not easy with risks of arrests and exploitation, it’s still significantly better than what they have left behind,” said Richard Towle, the UNHCR representative in Malaysia. Refugees from Myanmar make up the biggest chunk of the more than 150,000 asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia, one of the highest numbers in Asia, according to the UNHCR. The country has no refugee camps, so they live as “urban refugees” in shantytown settlements, cramped low-cost flats, or isolated houses where they work in restaurants, factories, plantations, and con- struction sites. Nurjan Nur Mohamad, an 18-year-old Rohingya woman who arrived in Malaysia two months ago after a dangerous boat journey, said that while she is afraid of getting arrested, she is also extremely relieved to have left behind the threats and violence of Myanmar. “I live in fear of the police here, but there is peace and I get enough food. It’s so much better than in the village,” she said. She hopes she and her new husband can win refugee status from the UNHCR to get some protection. When he first arrived in Malaysia at age 29, Hamid also was constantly afraid of getting caught by police. He took up various odd jobs and then set up a small food stall selling roti canai, a popular Indian flatbread, and potato samosa. Later, his wife joined him in Malaysia and they had four children. Life became more tolerable when they were recognized as refugees by the UNHCR, but the future was — and is — still murky. Continued on page 16 6 8 1 TENUOUS EXISTENCE. Rohingya school kids watch teacher’s day celebrations outside their classroom at a Rohingya Education Center in Klang, Malaysia. With more work opportunities than Indonesia and a more Muslim-friendly environment than Thailand, Malaysia has long been the destination of choice for Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myan- mar, also known as Burma. 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