Tamil Justice

We have been trying to do some research into the state of tamil refugees in Thailand and Malaysia….will update as we go along.

A facebook entry by Eashvara Liangam (Co-ordinator – Sri Lanka Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Program) says

According to the UN Refugees Agency (UNHCR) in K.Lumpur there are about 5,000 Sri Lanka Tamils registered as refugees in Malaysia.

However these refugees have no legal status to work here. Their sufferings here are far worse than in Sri Lanka. They have no food, no medical care and no basic education for the children. They are also constantly harassed by the police, Immigration and the RELA and put into prison and forcibly deported inspite of having the UNHCR Refugee Identification Card.

2009

Tamilnet (11/09) – Eezham Tamil refugees in Thailand in dire straits – TNA parliamentarian

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Chandraneru Chandrakanthan who had spent three days in Thailand meeting Eezham Tamils who had sought refugee with Thailand UNCHR authorities said that nearly 4000 of them are facing insurmountable difficulties. The MP has requested the UN and the UNCHR to do the needful to these refugees. Tamils living in various parts of the world should pay attention to the sufferings of these refugees in Thailand remembering that there are Eezham Tamil refugees even out of Sri Lanka who need immediate attention and support, Chandrakanthan said.

Thaiindian (11/09) – Tamil refugees facing harassment in Malaysia

After fleeing the shores of their war-torn country, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees here in Malaysia are facing harassment at the hands of the police and RELA (paramilitary) officers.

The Star Online quoted Tamil refugees, as saying that Myanmar refugees are treated differently from their Sri Lankans counterparts.

They are also finding it hard to get jobs in Malaysia.

Tamil Forum Malaysia, a non-governmental organisation, is currently pushing for temporary work permits for the adults and building a school for the children.

There are about 4,000 Sri Lankan refugees in Malaysia as a result of the island state’s 20-year civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Legal News (10/09) – Sri Lankan refugees in Malaysian camp go on hunger strike

At least six Sri Lankan refugees at a Malaysian detention camp have been on a hunger strike for more than seven days, demanding that they be allowed to meet officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a news report said Friday.

Myanmar Refugees Blog – Tamils’ transit to Australia, ‘land of freedom’

2008

World United Bloggers (04/08) –  Plight of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees languishing in Immigration Bureau Jails in Thailand

Hundreds of Tamils fled the worsening situation in Sri Lanka soon after the peace accord was signed in 2002. Among them a few hundreds sought refuge in Thailand. Most of those refugees could now be found in the Immigration Bureau jail of Thailand.

For the past two years more than a hundred Tamils have been imprisoned in the Immigration Bureau jail of Thailand. Around 21 children and more than 20 women are among the hundreds of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees imprisoned.

These Tamil refugees have been allotted the worst cells in the jail. It has been months since any of them had seen the sunlight or breathed fresh air. They are struggling to find space even to sleep among the people from all over the world, who have been imprisoned here on one pretext or another. Children’s education and health are totally neglected. The food provided is devoid of nutrients. Most of the people imprisoned are sick and they are affected both psychologically and physically. Some medicines are given once in a while through the prison bars, without even examining the patient.