Migrant Watch

Last month, Malaysian authorities arrested five immigration officers suspected of selling Burmese immigrants to human traffickers, according to China Post on July 22, 2009.  For the first time, Malaysia has found enough evidence to prosecute government officials who were involved in a racket that forced thousands of Burmese into human bondage. For several years well-documented reports by local NGOs and local media including Kaowao have released news on the situation of Burmese migrant workers and refugees with little being done until now.

Burmese migrants have faced the gamut of abuse at the hands of Malaysian authorities who make a profit by condemning the innocent Burmese to a life of misery after rounding them up from the streets or their places of employment, sometimes even those who are legit, confiscating their valuables and then selling them to sexual bondage in brothels or to agents who force them to slave away for months onboard fishing boats or in restaurants.  The host Malay communities have long exploited the Burmese who have no government to back them up, but the local authorities, rather than accepting bribes, soon discovered they could make a higher return by cutting out the middle man entirely and getting directly involved in the slave racket and in the highly lucrative alcohol and drugs entertainment business.

Kaowao released reports and feature stories on the increasing drug abuse among migrant and refugee communities in Malaysia that highlight it as the tip an iceberg related to a sheet of human trafficking.  It has been mostly invisible and silenced. 

“I separated from my husband because he uses drugs every day and hangs out with friends.  I have no money for food to feed our family.  He is very weak and has little energy,” said a Mon woman from Kalang, near Kuala Lumpur.

The drugs are cheap and easily purchased. According to a social worker of Mon community, one set (dose) of drugs costs about 2.5 Malaysia Rangit and they can buy it from the local dealers.  A new user consumes about two sets a day with some addicts using up to 10 sets per day.  One dose is a combination of three tablets.  Normally, a migrant worker in the restaurant earns about 30 Rangit per day, a construction and auto body shop worker earns about 50 Rangit per day.

“This is an ongoing crisis for our migrant workers and refugees. I met three people from my village who were sent back because of mental health issues related to drugs,” said Nai Win from Palean in Ye, Mon State.

“Nearly eighty percent of Mon migrant workers use drugs and alcohol; among them about five percent use heroin, ten percent drink alcohol and the remaining use pills.  The pills they use are a combination of three tablets sleeping pills called s.w-u.p” said Janoel Ong, Vice-Chairperson of Mon Youth Association based in Kuala Lumpur.
Another drug user told a Kaowao reporter that one pill in the morning gives them energy to work long hours and then another is taken at night to help them get some happiness.  When the pill is taken, the user is not hungry but needs a quiet environment.  In addition, they consume a lot caffeine soda pop, especially Coca-Cola or Pepsi, which helps them to get high.

Other sources from the Thai Burma border reported the use of Yaba (crazy medicine in Thai) is also booming along the border areas. The Mon community source from the Three Pagodas Pass estimated that over fifty percent of youth are using the illegal Yaba, a combination of methamphetamine (a powerful and addictive stimulant) and caffeine.

The other concern is the spread of STD and AIDS because of drugs and alcohol.  Many migrant workers have received no education on drug abuse and AIDS in Malaysia.  “When the Cyclone Nargis hit and killed our people in Burma, it was visible and people talked about it. Drugs and alcohol is much worse and killing us softly, but it’s all forgotten,” said Nai Sorn Ong from his tiny, dark and smoky room in Klang.

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