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 ©New
Sunday Times (Used by permission)
by Yong Huey Jiun
Unaccompanied child refugees flee their home country to seek
refuge here only to face a new set of challenges, writes Yong Huey Jiun
IF age were a measure of one's experience, then Tha Thi (not
her real name) would have experienced more than most of us ever would in our
lifetime.
For at 13, the teenager, with only 2,000 kyats (RM10), and others fled Myanmar
and travelled by land and sea over 14 days before reaching Malaysia.
She and her brothers are among the 50 unaccompanied and separated children now
in Malaysia, most of whom are from Myanmar.
(Unaccompanied children, also known as unaccompanied minors, are children under
18 years of age who have been separated from both parents and are not being
cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible to do so.
Separated children are defined as children under 18 years of
age who are separated from both parents or from their previous legal or
customary primary caregiver.)
Globally, although the number of refugees dropped between 2001 and 2005, the
number has risen over the past two years to 11.4 million last year, according to
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
And in Malaysia, although unaccompanied minors make up a small fraction of the
10,000 refugee children, they have special needs and are, therefore, of special
concern.
Tha Thi's story is a stark example of a new migration pattern.
It used to be that violent conflicts spurred families to flee their homes
together. But now, UNHCR associate protection officer Samuel Cheung says, that's
not always the case.
Instead, children are often sent ahead by their parents and relatives.
Cheung says: "In that case, you see many children who are suddenly at risk.
"A child has greater needs than an adult. On top of that, when he is
unaccompanied, he is truly vulnerable under almost every category."
Suhakam commissioner Datuk Dr Raj Karim agrees.
"Even normal children who are separated from their parents suffer from
psychological and emotional trauma. If a child is separated as a refugee in a
foreign country, it's even worse."
Dr Irene Fernandez, director of Tenaganita, a non-government organisation
protecting the rights of women and migrant workers, says: "They should be
registered as special groups of people."
Providing shelter is the No 1 concern for refugee children. With limited space,
refugee community associations such as the Kachin Refugee Centre can only
accommodate them for two or three weeks.
Cheung says: "Ultimately, they need to move somewhere else as more refugee
children turn up at the doorstep.
"Frankly, there's nowhere to put them that could, under our standards, shelter
and fulfil their long-term developmental needs."
Meanwhile, the children are placed under temporary caregivers (usually a refugee
community member) until a solution is found for them.
Education is a distant hope for most of the 6,000 refugee children. Out of this
figure, fewer than 2,000 have access to education.
Cheung says: "A child deprived of education is a child robbed of childhood."
The overcrowded classrooms, some of which accommodate up to 50 to 70 pupils,
make for an undesirable learning environment.
The classes, organised by UNHCR through non-governmental organisations or refu-gee
communities, are taught by voluntary refugee community members and local
teachers who often find themselves having to stretch the limited resources
available to them.
Raj, who is also regional director of the East and South East Asia and Oceania
Region for the International Planned Parenthood Federation, says ignoring the
situation will only allow the problem to fester.
"Uneducated refugee children will create social problems when they grow up.
"If they cannot earn a livelihood, what are they going to do? They are going to
steal, rob and prostitute themselves."
Even though refugees are allowed to use government health facilities, many of
them are unable to pay the medical fees.
UNHCR external relations officer Yante Ismail says: "We partner with
non-governmental organisations to set up mobile clinics near the community."
There is only so much, Cheung says, organisations can do as surrogate guardians
for these children.
"What they most need are mums and dads."
The UNHCR and NGOs do their best to find caregivers, adequate shelter, education
and an environment of security that can nurture the growth of a child, he adds.
The UNHCR's a children-at-risk team prioritises their needs using the "best
interest" determination criteria based on the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
Raj calls for swift identification of refugees and a distinction between them
and economic migrants, arguing that it is unfair for everyone to be "lumped
together into one big pool".
While economic migrants flee their home country to make a better living
elsewhere, refugees are forced to leave for fear of persecution.
Tha Thi says: "The junta often came looking for our sister. They also beat up
our father. Fearing for our safety, our parents told us to flee."
Her stoicism belies a quiet strength and precocity well beyond her years. She
doesn't know why they were searching for her sister.
Till today, she has not been able to contact her parents and does not know if
they are alive.
Like many other refugees, the siblings not only have to deal with the horrors of
their past, but also the grim outlook of their future.
When refugee children arrive at the host country, they are faced with another
set of problems: they are neither recognised nor accepted by the host country
and, hence, they are not accorded legal protection.
Fernandez says: "I would like to see the state giving recognition and
documenting (how many and their status) and having strategies of intervention in
areas of education, healthcare and social development."
Even though Malaysia is not party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees, it has signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, says Raj,
which means it is "obligatory upon us to address the issue of refugee children"
by providing them with education, health care and housing".
"We send peacekeeping troops to ensure a country's safety.
"Why don't we ensure the safety of people who need protection in our country?"
• With additional reporting by Evangeline Majawat
AMID the hullabaloo over political shenanigans, the release of the inaugural
National Integrity Perception Index Report 2007 on July 2 went almost unnoticed.
Published by the Institute of Integrity Malaysia, the report showed a score of
6.97 out of 10. Not bad.
The survey involved 14,967 respondents, including
householders, public servants and executives in economic institutions. Apart
from corruption (score of 6.76 out of 10), it looked at five other sub-groups:
quality of public services (6.60), ethical business practice and social
responsibility (6.90), strength of families and communities (7.38), quality of
life and a peaceful society (7.41), and courtesy (7.07). The report says 53.9
per cent of the respondents perceived the level of corruption to be high, with
58.2 per cent saying anti-corruption measures were effective.
The survey turned out some appalling findings too. For instance, 52.5 per cent
feared there was a lack of control over corruption in politics. Also, 16.7 per
cent of civil servants said they did not consider using their power or position
in public office for their own gain as a corrupt act. Worse, a sizeable 39.5 per
cent of council officers said they did not think it wrong to use office funds
for their own benefit.
But these findings do not diminish the overall perception that things are above
average. Certainly it is not as bad as claimed by those incorrigible naysayers.
Some might even be tempted to exult over the fact that the 6.76 score for
corruption is better than Transparency International's 5.1. But as Integrity
Institute of Malaysia president Datuk Dr Mohd Tap Salleh admits, 6.76 is "not
something to be proud of". But based on the reforms being undertaken by the
government, next year's report should paint a brighter picture. Recent
strategies to reduce graft include turning the Anti-Corruption Agency into a
commission. Last week, ACA director-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan said,
among other innovations, the board of advisers of the commission, comprising
members of the public, would assess information received to see if there was a
basis for investigation. Now, that's transparency.
Clearing the cobwebs of corruption is a Herculean task. It can only succeed if
personal dignity and integrity triumph over the desire for material wealth.
Everyone suffers if corruption is allowed to become endemic. The report should,
therefore, be considered a clarion call to action. Perceptions must be changed,
for, as Mohd Tap so succinctly observes, "At the end of the day, perception is
reality".
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Circular No 304/2008 : Invitation - HR Debate 2008
