MALAYSIA
World Report
2001 Entry
World Report
2000 Entry
World
Report 1999 Entry
Malaysia/Burma -- Living in Limbo:
Burmese Rohingyas in Malaysia
After fleeing systematic discrimination, forced labor, and other abuses
in Burma, ethnic Rohingya in Malaysia face a whole new set of abuses in
Malaysia. These include beatings, extortion, and arbitrary detention. The
refugees are forced to live in poverty and constant fear of expulsion from
the country. The 78-page report, "Living in Limbo: Burmese Rohingyas in
Malaysia," details the treatment of Rohingya exiles in Malaysia. Denied
legal recognition as refugees, Rohingya children are often not permitted
to attend school, and many are denied health care. They are also at constant
risk of arrest. Malaysian government officials detain and deport even those
persons the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recognized
as refugees. In Malaysia's immigration detention camps, out of the
eye of domestic and international monitors, detainees have been robbed
and beaten. Former detainees interviewed by Human Rights Watch claimed
that food and medical care is grossly inadequate in some detention centers,
and that some detainees had died as a result. Children have been detained
with unrelated adults, separated from their families, and deported alone
to the Thai border. From the moment of their arrest to their expulsion,
the Rohingya are vulnerable to demands for bribes by government officials.
(C1204), 8/00, 78pp., $7.00
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(C321) Detainees in Sabah, 10/91, 6 pp.,
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