VOCR

9th August,2010

Kuala Lumpur

The two days consecutive raid triggered shocks over thousand of Chin refugees and deepened anxiety especially among women and children. The raids caused at least 170 Chin refugees arrested and most of them were put in the police station, the chin community reported.

The first raid occurred around 4:00PM on Saturday at Jalan Imbi and more than 100 people with both UNHCR card holders and just community card holders were arrested while the second raid on the next day around the same time of the previous in Jalan Imbi and Jalan Pudu just after the Sunday worship service was over and resulting around 70 people were swept again.

Similarly, on the second raid, at least 70 people including four months pregnant woman were arrested but fortunately she got released through the help of CRC protection team after being detained for a shortwhile.

“At least sixty people have already been onboarded by the time I got on their truck. At a time when we arrived at police station, other ten women arrested from several places were locked-up along with me in the same cell. In fact, I had a high feeling of anxiety over my pregnancy and besides, I am of being undocumented person. I am honestly ecstatic when my name was called to be released”, quoted Mawi Mawi as saying to VOCR.

“Most of the arrestees who hold the UNHCR card are released after checking their cards and fining RM-20 with no exceptional reason. But we cannot rescue those of non-holders of the UNHCR card because they have been directly transferred to Bukit Jalil lock-ups for further investigation. As a matter of fact, we cannot do any interventions until there’s a call from the police officer. However, they used to get us allowing intervening conditionally. And in our part, we’re hopefully waiting for a call from the police officers for their releases; the call is meant a positive result for the arrestees” a community worker said.

It is learnt that the announcement to swipe out illegal foreigners in last year has been resumed as the raid is taking place almost every week in different areas and hundred of refugees have been rounded up in the raids.

The Chin community wearily believes that, according to the recent storming raids, more intensive raids will likely happen especially at factory and construction sites whereas most of illegal workers and refugees are mainly working with the low-paid that the locals are hardly ever seen.