Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
KUALA LUMPUR: The black and white documentary pans into a young face with wide
eyes.
<p>Another quick scene shows a young girl holding a baby and another shot shows
a girl hobbling into the scene.</p>
<p>All of them are migrants from the poor interiors of Kalimantan, coming to work
in the cities of Malaysia — where they have ended up being exploited.</p>
<p>They shared their stories with Yayasan Journal Perempuan in Indonesia that
made the documentary Jual Beli.</p>
<p>This documentary was screened at the National Conference to Stop Trafficking
in Persons, held here last week.</p>
<p>They shared stories of how their lives collided with traffickers, how they
were beaten, given into commercial marriages, abused, unpaid and thrown into
the streets when they became unproductive.</p>
<p>It’s not the story we want our mothers, sisters, daughters and wives to
tell. Or write home about.</p>
<p>But this is the story that happens. Malaysian agents go into the interiors
of Kalimantan to look for unwary and ignorant girls.</p>
<p>Ratna was taken to Kuching and from there, flown to Kuala Lumpur. She slaved
in a factory, terribly overworked and not paid a sen.</p>
<p>"We did not see the sun at all," says Ratna who was held indoors
with 22 others.</p>
<p>The windows were boarded. And then the tortures began. They were monitored
all the time, they were prevented from having conversations and those who disobeyed
were punished — mopping the floor 20 times.</p>
<p>When the torture grew worse, Ratna attempted suicide. She was taken to a hospital
where people there helped her look for shelter. Ratna left Malaysia this year.</p>
<p>The signage announcing the event was clear and a star- studded cast, including
the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, was in attendance at the
trafficking conference.</p>
<p>But most participants and some presenters seemed to think it only referred
to sex workers.</p>
<p>What trafficking is, is migration gone wrong.</p>
<p>It is not uncommon to hear of migrants being trafficked into the flesh trade,
but there are other categories of migrants, whether refugees or asylum seekers,
who are exploited in poor working conditions.</p>
<p>The US Department of State figures estimate in 2006, that 600,000 to 800,000
humans are trafficked across international borders each year.</p>
<p>Of these 80 per cent are women.</p>
<p>Immigration Department’s enforcement director, Datuk Ishak Mohamed, notes
that while there are women being trafficked into the flesh trade, there are
other forms of trafficking.</p>
<p>"Which is why the existing immigration laws are inadequate.</p>
<p>"The laws that we use — the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Amended 2002)
and the Passport Act 1966 (Amended 1996) — are really meant for people
overstaying, not having proper documents.</p>
<p>"There is no word such as ‘trafficking’ used in the Act."</p>
<p>Expressing that their hands were tied, he noted how a new anti-trafficking
law as proposed by the IGP would close the gap.</p>
<p>Tenaganita director Dr Irene Fernandez says most Malaysians are unaware that
trafficking in persons is prevalent in the country.</p>
<p>"It does not necessarily involve the same criminal networks profiting
from transnational trafficking for sexual exploitation," says Fernandez.</p>
<p>"More often, individuals are guilty of, for example, enslaving one domestic
servant or hundreds of unpaid, forced workers in a factory."</p>
<p>There is a lack of awareness on the issues involved in trafficking, say aid
workers.</p>
<p>"The media and enforcement agencies merely see it as women carrying out
immoral activities or as illegals in the country," says Fernandez who jointly
organised the conference with the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation.</p>
<p>With human trafficking said to constitute the third most lucrative illicit
trade after drugs and arms smuggling and netting an estimated US$7 billion (RM25.78
billion) to US$12 billion (International Labour Organisation figures) annually,
it is alarming that Malaysians have a poor understanding of it.</p>
<p>"The international human trafficking numbers, however, reflect only profits
from the initial sale of persons," says Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive
director of the United Nations Population Fund.</p>
<p>"The ILO estimates that once victims are in the destination country, criminal
syndicates rake in an additional US$32 billion a year — half generated
in industrialised nations and a third in Asia."</p>
<p>Anthony Rogers from the National Office of Human Development in Kuala Lumpur
says, "It is not just about sex workers.</p>
<p>"There are cases of domestic workers being trafficked, working under poor
conditions against their will or not being paid, exploited, which means they
are being trafficked.</p>
<p>"Sex workers are not the only category of people who get trafficked."</p>
<p>The region, especially the Mekong region, is a hot region for trafficking of
persons.</p>
<p>"South East Asia and South Asia are home to the largest numbers of internationally
trafficked persons at an estimated 225,000 and 150,000 respectively," reveals
the 2006 UN Population fund report.</p>
<p>Malaysia, surrounded by the hot spots, has become a popular transit country.</p>
<p>Kamala Pillai from the Malaysian human rights commission, Suhakam, shares how
five girls from Pontianak, Indonesia were brought here.</p>
<p>Not only were they handed from agent to agent for a variety of jobs, including
a stint at a construction site, but they were also not paid and were arrested
and sent to the Semenyih detention camp.</p>
<p>"We are the largest receiving country for migrant labour," says Fernandez.</p>
<p>" We have over 360,000 domestic workers who are not recognised, and not
protected under our laws.</p>
<p>"Their passports are held by employers. They do not have days off and
are confined in homes where they remain isolated and vulnerable.</p>
<p>"Out of the 90 domestic workers rescued by us and the 1,000 sheltered
at the Indonesian embassy, almost all of them did not get their wages and they
were abused.</p>
<p>"These women are bonded labourers."</p>
<p>Often, the issue of being trafficked is clouded by other issues, such as being
undocumented, being illiterate, ignorant of their rights or they are fearful
of speaking out.</p>
<p>Pillai adds that the key concerns in trafficking are the lack of data on the
issue itself, lack of dissemination of information, insufficient preventive
measures and difficulty in identifying those trafficked.</p>
<p>"Undeniably, trafficking is on the rise in the Asian region, including
Malaysia. Insufficient attention is being paid by the authorities for preventive
measures and information."</p>
<p>The most vulnerable set of trafficked persons is refugees. The ones who are
said to be vulnerable, according to a United Nations Population Fund report,
are certain groups of women such as "those who head households, ex-combatants,
the elderly, the disabled, widows, young mothers and unaccompanied adolescent
girls — they are vulnerable and require protection."</p>
<p>In Malaysia, the figures for refugees registered with UNHCR as of May 2006
total 46,000.</p>
<p>Besides being familiar with the aspects of trafficking, an area of concern
that was equally emphasised by participants was protection, care and reintegration.</p>
<p>"Trafficked victims need safety, support and care while undergoing social
and economic reintegration once their ordeal has ended," says Obaid.</p>
<p>Tenaganita’s programme co-ordinator Aegile Fernandez says fear of corruption
hampers trafficked victims from approaching state-based agencies. They also
fear arrest.</p>
<p>"We need to get rid of corruption, we need access to information and enforcement
agencies must work with civil societies to stop trafficking".
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