Seeing through others’ eyes

One of the photos in the exhibition

Asylum seekers in Bangkok tell their stories with photos

January 27, 2012
Philip Bader and Joe Torres
Bangkok, Thailand
UCAnews.com (Catholic News)

“I am very happy with this project because I think it is the history of my life. I can take a picture and keep it for a long time for my wife, for my children, when I have a family” - Phea, a former freelance journalist from Cambodia and member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, ran foul of the government after publishing two books about political corruption and human rights abuses in his country.

It was a simple idea, really, but one that would produce unexpected results.

Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific (JRSAP) has for three decades ministered to the needs of a steady stream of refugees from across the region seeking freedom and opportunity denied to them at home.

To cap its commemoration of 30 years of service, JRS enlisted eight asylum seekers from Cambodia, China, Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to participate in a project that would give them an opportunity to tell their stories in their own way and in their own voice.

They were given point-and-shoot cameras, two hours of training and two months to put into pictures a narrative of their lives in the Thai capital.

Molly Mullen, regional communications assistant at JRSAP, spearheaded the project by bringing some cameras donated during a trip home to the United States.

“We want people in Bangkok and in the region to understand that refugees and asylum seekers … are completely capable of telling their own stories,” she said.

Looking at the future of refugees in Thailand: Can they call it 'home'?

Monday, June 28, 2010
MCOT.net (Thailand)

"They took my home but they can't take my future" was the motto for World Refugee Day 2010 on June 20.

A forum was held on that day in the Thai capital with the discussion topic "Looking at the future of refugees in Thailand where they call it home". It was attended by representatives from related agencies, namely a project on developing the quality of life of transnational workers and those with personal status problems under Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), the Lawyers Council of Thailand's Human Rights Sub-Committee on Ethnic Minorities, Stateless, Migrant Workers and Displaced Persons, followed by Friends Without Borders Foundation and Asylum Access- Thailand.

The country's recent several rounds of repatriation of refugees was discussed at the forum, where the repatriation was seen as the government's mistake which has raised questions among the international community. Some believed that the deportation by Thailand was partly to blame for the country being put on the US State Department's human trafficking watch list.

The State Department said that Thailand was a source, destination and transit point for trafficking, with ethnic minorities and citizens of neighbouring countries at particular risk of sexual abuse or forced labour.

Statistics by Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) stated in April that 139,239 registered and unregistered refugees from Myanmar, mostly ethnic minorities, are now housed in Thailand's border camps, while the rest are scattered in border villages or mixed with migrant workers in towns across the country.

During the past few years, the deportation included also that of the ethnic Muslim Rohingyas to Myanmar. Since last year, over 4,000 Hmong in the northern province of Phetchabun have been sent back to Laos, followed by a deportation to Myanmar of Karenni sheltering in the country, a repatriation which Thai officials claimed was voluntary and which finally led to the closing down of both their settlements in the northern province of Tak's Tha Song Yang district.

Acting Chairman Surapong Kongchantuk of the Lawyers' Council of Thailand's Human Rights Sub-Committee on Ethnic Minorities, Stateless, Migrant Workers and Displaced Persons said that according to a survey at the site, Karenni at the two camps in Tha Song Yang district were forcibly returned to Myanmar, where their lives are in danger and they live in fear.

"If Thailand doesn't change its strategy to tackle the repatriation issue, the United States may cut its financial assistance to us, while those sent back to their homelands may return to our country again becoming non-refugees or victims of human trafficking or illegal migrants and transnational workers because they don't have other better choices," said Surapong.

Asylum Access- Thailand's acting director on policy, Promluck Sakpichaimongkol, supported his comment. She said refugees in the country do not receive any privileges from the public sector, no matter whether they came to Thailand legally or illegally from countries such as Africa, Iraq, Pakistan, Cambodia, Laos, China and Vietnam. Some 100,000 ethnic refugees of about 20 countries fled their homes to seek asylum in Thailand, she said. They entered the country with tourist visas and have continued to live here invisibly in groups with their expired documents and without the legal right to make their living.

However, progress was made when, according to Pim Koetsawang from Friends Without Borders Foundation, birth and death registration for refugee children in camps were introduced in late 2009 so that childrens' personal status and identities were recognised in Thailand. Although she said the authorities have not proceeded with such a case in practice, Pim believed it was already a very important step.

Promluck also said in this regard a birth registration will offer children born to refugee parents at least basic human rights.

Pim said that up until now, Thailand theoretically does not accept it has refugees in its territory. Thus, asylum seekers are not allowed to work outside their 'temporary' camps, while their four requisites are provided in their settlements by international humanitarian organisations.

Their status is only that of illegal immigrants awaiting deportation, and once walking outside their camps, they can be arrested immediately and deported. In addition, many refugees are unable to register and that deprives them of basic rights. If a problem occurs outside their settlements, any legal defense is not possible for those displaced persons as their status is not certified.

Pim added that due to having no certified status, refugees cannot earn a living outside their camps, which prevents them from sending their kids to school for basic education. Although related public and private agencies are trying to help cushion the expenses, it is not enough for them to buy school uniforms, and other related-schooling items.

Adisorn Kerdmongkon, manager on the project on developing the quality of life of transnational workers and those with personal status problems under ThaiHealth, said some refugees have been living in Thailand for as long as 10 to 20 years, and others were born here.

Being aware that Thailand is not their motherland, asylum seekers, Adisorn said, seek only a space or a place that they can feel at 'home', for they want to be able to have hope and to expect to have a future like everybody else.

Adisorn added that they said although their real homes [in Myanmar] were taken, no one could take away their hopes, and they dreamed to settle down in a place, to be considered as their safe place, so their future could become real.

"Actually, we should be open-minded about refugees. The most important thing is the Thai government should look at and understand them better in other dimensions. It should also have a clear policy on the issue so that displaced persons can have a 'home' and a future, for they also are human beings," said Adisorn.

As the forum concluded, participants urged the Thai government not to repatriate refugees having fled from their own country with fear of persecution, violence and human rights violations as long as no clear evidence has been given and accepted by all parties that peace has returned and human rights are respected in Myanmar.

A national committee on refugees should be set up in order to study and advise the government on its policies on displaced persons, transnational workers and asylum seekers, and it should equally be partaken by civil society, academics and the public sector.

The forum also recommended that the government seek international cooperation on restoring peace and political stability in Myanmar in order to tackle the root of the problem of the refugee influx to Thailand.

Government must look to the rights of refugees

WEDNESDAY, 23 JUNE 2010
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post

Dear Editor,

In the shadow of World Refugee Day (June 20), I would like to take the opportunity to remember the 20 ethnic Uighurs forcibly returned to China by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in December 2009, despite Cambodia’s signature to the 1951 Convention on Refugees.

There is no information on the whereabouts of the 20 returned individuals who had come to Cambodia seeking refuge following an outbreak of ethnic riots in July 2009. The group had described clearly to the Cambodian authorities the persecution they were escaping in China, and that they feared for the safety of their families, yet they were still repatriated in contravention of the Convention on Refugees. Neither the United Nations nor their families have any record of where the group ended up. As reported by Human Rights Watch in January 2010, there has been no notification of legal charges against the group and no guarantees given by the Chinese government that the group are safe from persecution.

The Cambodian Centre for Human Rights is following the plight of the ethnic Rohingya (another predominantly Muslim minority), fleeing persecution from the Myanmar government. As reported in The Phnom Penh Post on June 21, the group have been in Cambodia since January and have been given no indication by the RGC of their refugee status or right to asylum; they now face food shortages. I strongly urge the RGC to adhere to their obligations under the Convention on Refugees, in ensuring that the group is given access to public assistance, food and healthcare.

With the passing of World Refugee Day, it is important to remind the RGC that we have not forgotten the Uighurs. As a former refugee myself, having spent 4 years in a Thai refugee camp, I – like the countless other Cambodians who have sought refuge in foreign countries in recent decades – understand the plight of these people and would like to take this opportunity to remember all refugees and all those who have worked hard to help them. Moreover, I strongly urge the RGC to ensure that the Rohingyas are treated with the dignity and respect that was denied to the Uighurs.

Ou Virak, President
Cambodian Centre for Human Rights

Khmer Krom: Continue to Lobby Govt For Citizenship, Aid

Khmer Krom asylum seekers in front of the UNHCR office in Phnom Penh (Photo: The Prey Nokor News)

Monday, 04 January 2010
UNPO

A group of 24 ethnic Khmer Krom deported from Thailand in December has resolved to continue seeking government assistance despite being denied refugee status by the UN refugee agency.

Below is an article published by the Phnom Penhn Post

Amid fears that the government may seek to deport 24 ethnic Khmer Krom to Vietnam, a rights group advocating on their behalf said Wednesday.

The group, which has said it fled to Thailand because of persecution and religious repression in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, was deported to Cambodia on December 5. They arrived Monday at the offices of the local office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees seeking refugee status and assistance with food and housing.

A UNHCR spokesman confirmed Wednesday that they were unable to help because of a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on December 17 that made issues related to asylum seekers the sole responsibility of the government.

Ang Chanrith, executive director of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organisation, said the group will continue to write letters to the government and commune chiefs in a bid to garner a response.

“The group now knows the UNHCR’s position,” he said. “They will wait to see if the response letter is negative or positive. If it is positive, they can live [here]. If it is negative, they can take the letter back to the UNHCR and say, ‘Look, we have nowhere to stay.’”

Ang Chanrith added that the NGOs currently providing shelter for the group could not continue to do so indefinitely, but could only do so “for another one to two months”.

Thach Soong, 49, a Khmer Krom representative for the group, said Wednesday that the group still fears being sent back to Vietnam.

“We need safety. I am afraid the government has a secret plan to deport us.”

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Wednesday that no such plan exists.

“They have enough rights,” he said, adding that as ethnic Khmer Krom, they possess the same general rights as anyone of Khmer ethnicity.

“The government cannot find land and shelter for them because many other citizens do not have land or shelter either. The asylum seekers must realise that the right for asylum is no longer under the authority of the UNHCR,” Khieu Sopheak said.

Refugees Are Not Bargaining Chips

January 1, 2010
By BILL FRELICK
Op-Ed Contributor
New York Times

WASHINGTON — A virus is sweeping Asia. The symptoms are heightened xenophobia and amnesia about fundamental refugee rights. Australia and Indonesia succumbed first, in October, when they stopped boats carrying Sri Lankans. Neither country would allow the Sri Lankans to disembark even though they came from a country experiencing massive violence and displacement. Almost three months later, one of the boats, holding more than 250 Sri Lankans, remains moored in the West Javan port of Merak.

Cambodia was next to catch the fever. A small group of Uighur men, women and children fleeing the aftermath of the worst ethnic violence in decades in China sought asylum in Cambodia. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issued “persons of concern” letters on their behalf and moved them into a facility it managed jointly with the Cambodian government. But Cambodia forcibly returned 20 Uighurs on Dec. 19, despite the protests of the U.N. agency, the diplomatic corps and human rights groups. They have not been heard from since.

Now Thailand has gone viral. On Monday, soldiers with truncheons and shields herded more than 4,000 Hmong asylum seekers onto buses back to Laos from the Huay Nam Khao camp in Petchabun Province, where they have lived since 2005. For four years, the Thai Army detained the Hmong in the closed camp, never allowing the U.N. refugee agency to interview them or assess their claims to refugee status. The Thai Army’s own screening process, based on criteria never made public, found that hundreds of the Hmong had legitimate protection concerns, but Thailand never provided any additional protections. The Thai government maintained that the Hmong were “economic migrants” but refused any fair determination process to assess that claim.

When it came, the forced repatriation was conducted in the face of loud international condemnation, from the refugee agency, top levels of the U.S. State Department, and the president of the European Union. Tellingly, a group of 158 Hmong who not only had been recognized as refugees by the U.N. refugee agency but also had been offered resettlement by Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States were also deported. They had been detained separately in abysmal conditions for three years at Nong Khai immigration detention center.

The willingness to flout international refugee law and to ignore the entreaties of refugees not to be sent back to their home countries has become the mark of chummy bilateral relations between Asian states. Thailand sends back Hmong refugees — a group with a history of persecution at the hands of the Lao government dating back to the 1960s — citing a secret bilateral agreement and the Lao government’s assurances of their safe treatment. Cambodia forcibly repatriates Uighurs just as the Chinese vice president, Xi Jinping, arrives on a visit to Phnom Penh to announce a $1.2 billion aid package to Cambodia.

Governments in the region this month have lied outright to the U.N. refugee agency about their intentions to return “people of concern” to their home countries, blocked the agency from interviewing asylum seekers to assess their claims, and simply ignored the agency’s protests. The marginalization of the U.N. agency goes hand in hand with rapid erosion of the bedrock principle of international refugee law — called nonrefoulement, the prohibition on the forcible return of refugees to places where they would be likely to face persecution.

Like biological viruses, this latest strain of refugee mistreatment has its antecedents, in part, because Asia — unlike Africa, the Americas and Europe — has no legal regional framework for refugee protection. Few Asian governments have even signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, ratified by 147 countries, which sets the global standard for the treatment of refugees.

The African refugee convention has a provision that should be particularly instructive for Asian governments: “The grant of asylum to refugees is a peaceful and humanitarian act and shall not be regarded as an unfriendly act by any Member State.”

The spate of refugee returns has the urgency of an impending epidemic that needs to be contained. But the focus of immediate concern now shifts to the home countries to which these unfortunate people have been returned. China and Laos need to give the United Nations and other relevant agencies immediate and continuous access to the returnees in an atmosphere of complete openness and accountability. At the dawn of a new decade, Asian governments should commit themselves not only to the nonrefoulement principle, but also to the idea that granting asylum is a humanitarian act that should be entirely divorced from political relations between states.

Bill Frelick is the refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch.

Hun Sen Blasts UN Office Over Refugees

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
29 February 2008

The UN's office for refugees has used Cambodia as an asylum without the consent of the government, Hun Sen said Thursday.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees had put Afghans, Pakistanis, Nigerians and other Africans in Cambodia, he said.

"There is no Taliban in power. Why are there Afghans coming to request political asylum in Cambodia?" Hun Sen asked. "It's not proper."

In 1992 Cambodia progressively signed a UN convention and refugee protocol, but the stream of Montagnards from Vietnam has tested the country's relationship with the office, a UNHCR Web site says.

Cambodian leader slams UN for giving asylum to refugees without consulting government

Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia's prime minister slammed the U.N.'s refugee agency Thursday for using Cambodian territory to grant political asylum to foreign refugees without first consulting his government.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the Cambodian office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has granted asylum to refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

"What right does it (UNHCR) have to use Cambodian territory to provide foreign nationals with political asylum without seeking permission from the Cambodian authorities," Hun Sen said in a speech at a development conference.

He did not say how many refugees were in Cambodia or how long they had been there. He said he ordered the foreign affairs and interior ministries to look into the issue with the UNHCR.

Toshi Kawauchi, a UNHCR protection officer, declined to comment on the issue, saying in an e-mail his office is "not in a position to discuss the numbers and other details of the refugees."

The relationship between Cambodia and the U.N. agency has been rocky in recent years, especially over the issue of refugees fleeing neighboring Vietnam.

Thousands of Vietnamese hill tribe people known as Montagnards have fled to Cambodia since 2001, when Vietnam's communist government cracked down on protests against land confiscation and restrictions on religious freedom. Many have been resettled in the United States, and a small number have voluntarily returned to Vietnam.