In Pictures

Gallery|Human Rights

In Pictures: Malaysia’s unwanted immigrants

Forbidden from working or sending their children to school, many immigrants struggle to survive in society’s shadows.

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Kuala Lumpur hosts one of the highest numbers of people seeking asylum.
By Steve Chao and Liz Gooch
Published On 6 Dec 2014

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – They cannot legally work, nor send their children to school. They are at risk of exploitation, abuse – even caning. They are the 150,000 asylum seekers and refugees who have fled their homeland for Malaysia.

Harassed by police and pushed into the shadows, there are harrowing tales of months spent in detention with little food and water, the threat of violence ever present.

An Al Jazeera investigation into the mistreatment of refugees in Malaysia has sparked a parliamentary debate and an investigation by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The documentary – Malaysia’s Unwanted – exposed allegations of abuse of refugees by Malaysian authorities and claims of corruption within the UNHCR.

101 East filmed exclusive footage inside a Malaysian detention centre, where refugees were chained and handcuffed. Refugees said they had been beaten, starved and exploited by authorities.

“The hardest thing I faced in jail was being forced to take my clothes off and then being beaten, slapped and kicked in front of others,” one former detainee said.

In Malaysia, refugees have no legal protection because the country has not signed the UN Convention recognising refugees. This means they can be arrested at any time and taken to one of the country’s detention centres. Kuala Lumpur has one of the world’s largest urban populations of refugees and asylum seekers, with about 150,000.

The documentary also unearthed claims that UNHCR staff were involved in corrupt dealings. An illegal trade in UNHCR registration cards perpetrated by local UNHCR representatives was discovered. UNHCR said it was investigating the allegations.

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UNHCR said it had long been concerned about allegations of mistreatment of asylum seekers in immigration detention centres. It said these issues were being raised directly with the Malaysian government in bilateral discussions. UNHCR said closer cooperation between the agency and the Malaysian government was needed.

150,000 asylum seekers and refugees have fled their homelands for Malaysia.
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People start lining up at the UNHCR compound in Kuala Lumpur at sunrise, hoping to have their refugee claims assessed.
Malaysia has refused to sign the UN Convention on Refugees, meaning that those who come here must register with the UNHCR and have their claims of asylum certified before they can join long waiting lists to move to another country.
A man surveys the scene below from a dilapidated building in a run-down Kuala Lumpur suburb which is home to many refugees.
Refugees from Myanmar often flee their homeland in search of sanctuary in Malaysia.
A woman from Myanmar sells fish to make ends meet in Kuala Lumpur. Refugees often struggle to get by because they are not legally allowed to work in Malaysia.
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Life is a constant struggle for many refugees, particularly the sick and elderly.
Refugees in Malaysia often live in squalid conditions, with many families crammed into tiny apartments.
Refugees like this young father and his daughter struggle to survive on the margins of society.
Unable to legally work in Malaysia, many refugees take poorly paid jobs where they are vulnerable to exploitation.
With their parents struggling to make ends meet, it is a tough childhood for the youngest refugees.
A young refugee girl looks out from her home in a run-down area of Kuala Lumpur. In Malaysia, refugee children are not allowed to attend school.
Young girls concentrate on their lessons at a school for Chin refugees from Myanmar. With children unable to attend government schools in Malaysia, refugee communities have set up their own informal learning centres.
David Hniang, leader of the Chin Refugee Committee, lives and works on the top floor of this run-down apartment building in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The group provides assistance to Chin refugees from Myanmar.