Tamil refugees have been left in a “state of fear” after Malaysian authorities deport three Tamil men to Sri Lanka last week and announce investigations into all refugees in the country under the premise of links to terrorism.
“Anything can happen at any time”, a Tamil refugee in Malaysia, Selvan (not his real name), told Tamil Guardian over the phone from Kuala Lumpur.
Over 6,000 Tamil refugees in the country were now living in fear that they too could be deported to Sri Lanka, said Selvan, fearing torture and violence at the hands of the Sri Lankan government on return.
“There are children, elderly, pregnant women, young people among us… The Malaysian government are treating us like illegal immigrants. We are from Mullivaikal, from the final battle [and] we came here injured”, he said, adding that the fear of being sent back to Sri Lanka was lingering over all those that escaped.
“The fear that we didn’t have there, we now have on Malaysian soil… we don’t know what will happen next," Selvan added.
Last week, three Tamils were deported from Malaysia, after the government had accused them of terrorism. No trial had taken place. Instead, the men were forcibly returned to Sri Lanka, where latest reports have revealed that they are in the custody of Sri Lanka’s notorious Terrorist Investigation Division. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the body’s refugee agency, said it was “deeply concerned” that the men were at risk of “serious harm”.
However, the UNHCR has done little to help those Tamils who remain in Malaysia, said Selvan.
“The UNHCR have only given us a pass, nothing else. Only with this pass can we stay in Malaysia. But we can’t work, our children can’t go to school, we can’t get any medicine.”
“I have got a UN refugee pass,” he added. “Only about 2,000 of us have passes, the other 4,000 don’t. Their cases are still pending”.
The passes though, which certify that refugee status has been granted, do not mean that they are safe from being deported to Sri Lanka. Of the three Tamils deported to Sri Lanka last week, 2 of them had refugee passes from the UN, noted Selven. The third was having his claim processed, before he was arrested.
With the threat of deportation looming over them whilst Malaysian authorities were carrying out investigations, the refugees were calling for international organisations to safeguard their rights. Speaking of the UNHCR and the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Selvan said that they could change the actions of the Malaysian government.
“We are appealing to organisations around the world now for help - to give us a voice”.
Also see our earlier posts:
DAP slams 'cruel and inhuman' deportation from Malaysia (30 May 2014)
UN 'deeply concerned' over Malaysian deportations (29 May 2014)
Malaysia has 'colluded with mass murderer' says NGO coalition (28 May 2014)
Malaysia must do 'all it can' to ensure safety of deported refugees – HRW (28 May 2014)