The workshop begun with Joachim Xavier of the DMM welcoming all the participants and introduced the objectives of JUMP and the workshop. He said that he was heartened by the good response to the workshop especially in view of the increasing presence of refugees in Malaysia. Joachim said the needfor services that would benefit refugees are pressing providing immediate impetus for groups and individuals to respond.
After Joachim, Asha Menon the Assistant Protection Officer of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) took the stage and talked about the definition of refugees and why they come to Malaysia in large numbers. Asha made a distinction between asylum seekers and refugees, the former being individuals who have not registered with UNHCR upon arriving in Malaysia while the latter are those who have registered and have with them some UNHCR documentation. She went on to explain the role of UNHCR and the protection efforts the international organisation is involved in including registering asylum seekers, seeking the release of arrested refugees and handling resettlement of refugees to third countries.
Thereafter, Nicholas the programme officer from Tenaganita KL, talked about the issue of trafficking and how refugees are susceptible to being trafficked. The types of trafficking involved includes sex, labour and child trafficking. According to the Anti-Trafficking Act 2007 someone is said to be trafficked if the three elements ofthe trafficking definition is met commonly known as the 3Cs i.e Cheating, Coersion and Confinement. He explained that if a refugee is cheated into coming to Malaysia believing that he would be given a high paying job in Malaysia while waiting to be resettled to a third country, and then confined in a hidden location and coerced to work in sub-standard conditions, that refugee is said to be trafficked. Anyone one can make a police report on behalf of a trafficked person. The police would then mount a rescue operation to free the trafficked person and thereafter would be placed in a Government or NGO-run shelter in a secret location. The victim will be sheltered there until the trafficker is successfully charged and trafficked. Participants were urged to familiarise themselves with the definition of trafficking and how torespond so that if they met refugees or any other person who may have be in a trafficked situation, they would be in a good position to respond. After lunch a video entitled “Running” was screened. The 32 minute video produced by Suaram (a human rights NGO) depicted the actual stories of refugees who have had difficult experiences in Malaysia including arbitrary arrest despite having UNHCR documents. Some refugees have claimed that they have been subject to deportations to the Thai border by Immigration officials only to be handed over to traffickers who 'sell' them into servitude. Recently, several Immigration officials from Johor were arrested for being involved in trafficking activities.
The final session was conducted by Joachim who spoke on the basics of setting up a project for refugees. His presentation include the need for project initiators to seek out refugee community locations, meet them regularly and identify the particular needs of the community which may vary from location to location. Some of the needs that are usually identified are healthcare access, education and protection. Protection includes being able to register quickly with UNHCR or to secure release if wrongfully arrested by the authorities. Where the needs have been identified, resources to meet those needs must be secured and this includes tangible needs (e.g. funding and location) and intangible needs (e.g. technical knowledge).
The project was well received, with a majority of the participants signing to be members of JUMP. The next programme by JUMP would be the MWG-JUMP Advocacy Workshop scheduled from 2 - 4th October 2009. The national level gathering of NGOs and individuals from all over the country will focus on coordinating the national advocacy agenda for 2010.
