Assalamualaikum!
I've been busy, busy, busy with many, many, many things. That's explained why I seldom blogging lately. Actually there are many things in my mind that I love to pour out here, but time envy me. I have very little time to spend on jotting down my thoughts and opinions.
Well, yesterday, my husband told me that his colleague is the son to one Malaysian activist. When I found out who is his mother, it flashed automatically on her report about refugees in Malaysia and on how they been treated by local authorities.
I believe everybody has soft spot for refugees. They have to leave their country, without their belongings, walk for thousands miles into other's country, hoping people to accept them. Many countries in the world open their border for refugees, e.g Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, France, Malaysia, Indonesia and many others. Many countries open opportunity for resettlement program like the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.
Many stories reported that host countries ill treated those refugees. I take Malaysia, my country, for example. Reports by activists that Malaysians and the local authorities give poor treatment to the refugees been spread throughout the world. Malaysia, a country that is full of immigrants from many countries, like China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines; just naming a few. And yet Malaysia plays a role as host countries to asylum seekers from Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Pakistan, India; to name a few.
Being a host country is not easy as it sounds like. It is noble, but not easy. Take example that people come and stay at your house. You have your own rules and not people have their own way that sometimes isn't tally with your way. The refugees that come to other countries, bring along their way of lifestyle, which most of the time doesn't fit in the local society. For example, it is normal for some refugees parents to let their kids play freely at outside. But to the host country, it is a dangerous move to let the kids play alone as the kidnap, rape and murder cases are uprising. With that, it adds the problem to the host country to curb the cross culture issue.
The refugees as well, that illegally enter the host country, will quietly try to blend with local community. With this, it meant that they will be a part of the host country's economy growth by taking up job. This will increase the competition with the local workers. This also will bring unhealthy competition as most of the refugees are unskilled workers but they are the chosen ones because the labor cost is cheaper than the local who are semi-skilled worker. This issue will create another problem; low quality end result.
Refugees normally come from poor or undeveloped countries. They are also been neglected by their ruled government. Mostly they are not vaccinated and largely they enter the host country with diseases. This will increase the host country's medical expenditure. The refugees who need medical assistance should be treated because if fail it will spread to local citizens. The refugees in Malaysia also practice poor hygiene and have not much knowledge hygiene and diseases. I experienced a family who came for interview for resettlement program where two of the family members were having chicken pox. They were happy sipping soda drinks outside of my room and acted as if nothing unusual happened. When I questioned the head of the family member, he didn't know what happen to his daughters and I had to become the doctor, explaining about chicken pox to the family, and that the daughters shouldn't go out publicly as they might spread the disease to others.
No country loves to have prison. Common sense tells us that having prison and detention center bring nothing but a burden to the country. We will be wasting tax payers money by supporting the inmates expenses on food and lodging, the maintenance of the facilities and human resource mobilization. However, in my home country, Malaysia, we have several immigrant detention center. Who is in there? Some of them are refugees. But why are they there? Because they offend the host country's home rules. It is an ideal situation if the refugees stay rationally in the host country. However, we can't deny that they are human like us, too. And they have the ability to make mistake like local citizens that validate them to be place in local detention center or prison. But what made them stay in the detention center longer than they should be? Many factors lead to this; for example, the language barrier. I used to work with translator when I interviewed the refugees. I have no idea why don't they try to learn to speak in local language or at least English. Perhaps because they live among their community in host country. The refugees also always tend to be detained longer than they should because of their capability in committing crime. The refugees mostly come from torn country where crime and violence are common scene in their daily life. So, when they come to their host country, they tend to bring in their previous lifestyle. And the locals take advantage by hiring them to commit crime and it traps the refugees. Who to be blame? the refugees who commit crime or locals who take advantage on them? But most of activist will blame the local authorities for detaining them.
I read an article written by local activist on the detention camp in Malaysia; on how the authorities treat the refugees and the condition of the detention camp. I believe the above explained the situation and we should stop blaming one or another, but we should work together to make our country a better place to live.
1. I believe most local authorities will put their integrity at the highest place when they carry out their duty.
2. I believe the host country citizens have sympathy on the refugees. Not many, but some enjoy taking advantage on other's weaknesses and this is what happening to the refugees.
3. Although it is an unfortunate event to what happen to the refugees, but they have full responsible towards themselves. To are many organisations and agencies that protect them and guide them to blend with local. The refugees are urge to drop the 'old' lifestyle and adopt a new way according to the host country culture, to make your transition easier.
4. To the activists, stop pointing fingers to your local authorities or local people, but work more on how to help the refugees to blend in our society.
5. I believe everybody welcome guests with open hand, as long as the guests wouldn't bite their host's hand.