Burmese Abused in Malaysia
Posted on Jul 17th, 2008
by 
Hella D
Hella D
Three Burmese women who went to work legally in Malaysia two years ago are being detained pending deportation after they lodged a complaint with police about sexual harassment and mistreatment in the workplace.
But on June 11, they filed a complaint with their local Brickfields police station that their kitchen supervisor had harassed and threatened them after they refused his sexual advances.
Police detained the women's supervisor on June 14, following the complaint. Local rights groups said they also found the electrical device which they alleged he used to threaten them. But then, the tables were turned once more, campaigners said.
"On the 17th, they revoked their work permits, and the immigration department arrested the women," he said.
Florida Sandanasamy, program coordinator for rights group Tenaganita, called on the government to justify sending the women for deportation.
"This is not against any of the immigration laws. However, not only did the immigration arrest them, they also put them in the immigration prison and are now even arranging for their deportation," Sandanasamy said.
This is taken from this article from Radio Free Asia:
Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia live at the mercy of international human-trafficking gangs who sell them back and forth as slave labor with the full knowledge of Malaysian and Thai immigration officials, according to a series of investigative reports by RFA's Burmese service.
Thousands of Burmese find themselves stuck in a human rights no-man's-land after losing their legal status, often because employers withhold passports or refuse to pay their return airfare.
Reports of mistreatment and substandard living conditions within Malaysia's little-known immigration prisons are rife, as undocumented migrants are detained for indefinite periods.
Conditions in the detention centers have sparked protests, complaints to Malaysia's human rights body, riots and breakouts. Immigration officers often stage raids on suspected illegal immigrants using volunteer security forces who have wide-ranging powers, the right to bear arms, and little professional training.
But on June 11, they filed a complaint with their local Brickfields police station that their kitchen supervisor had harassed and threatened them after they refused his sexual advances.
Police detained the women's supervisor on June 14, following the complaint. Local rights groups said they also found the electrical device which they alleged he used to threaten them. But then, the tables were turned once more, campaigners said.
"On the 17th, they revoked their work permits, and the immigration department arrested the women," he said.
Florida Sandanasamy, program coordinator for rights group Tenaganita, called on the government to justify sending the women for deportation.
"This is not against any of the immigration laws. However, not only did the immigration arrest them, they also put them in the immigration prison and are now even arranging for their deportation," Sandanasamy said.
This is taken from this article from Radio Free Asia:
Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia live at the mercy of international human-trafficking gangs who sell them back and forth as slave labor with the full knowledge of Malaysian and Thai immigration officials, according to a series of investigative reports by RFA's Burmese service.
Thousands of Burmese find themselves stuck in a human rights no-man's-land after losing their legal status, often because employers withhold passports or refuse to pay their return airfare.
Reports of mistreatment and substandard living conditions within Malaysia's little-known immigration prisons are rife, as undocumented migrants are detained for indefinite periods.
Conditions in the detention centers have sparked protests, complaints to Malaysia's human rights body, riots and breakouts. Immigration officers often stage raids on suspected illegal immigrants using volunteer security forces who have wide-ranging powers, the right to bear arms, and little professional training.
Access: Public
abuse
July 2008 