I met 40 over refugees from Myanmar hiding in the shop lot after the Malaysian military and authorities who treats them as illegal immigrants and are forcefully arresting them for deportation.
“How long have you been living here as a refugee?”
“Now for about one year.”
“Where were you before this?”
“I was in India, I did religious studies there for about 7 years.”
“Also as a Myanmar refugee?”
“Yes.”
“So what do you do here now?”
“I work in a farm here in Cameron Highlands, I take care of the plantations but now I hide here as the police are arresting all illegal immigrants here.”
“You are known as an illegal here?”
“Yeah, Malaysia doesn’t recognise my Myanmar refugee status from UNHCR, so I have to hide, I’m afraid to be caught.”
“So, can you tell me how you got here?”
“I walked.”
“What? You walked from Myanmar?”
“Yes, I walked for about thirty days and the rest of the trip from the Malaysian border they put me in a car with 14 others. I have heard that some don’t make it as they get sick or die.”
“Wow, what happen to your house here when the military came?”
“They tore down everything, my home, my things, the fridge and tv, I lost everything, they smashed everything, even my radio. A friend of mine was caught, but when he showed them his UNHCR card, they threw it away and still arrested him as an illegal. The Malaysian military are violent.”
(Myanmar Refugee, Cameron Highlands, Pahang – Malaysia)
