Myanmar Repatriates from Malaysia Voice Their Experiences

 

I worked there. It has been a long time. I have been there since 1999. Because of various issues and troubles, I ended up getting arrested and returned home. Many of our fellow compatriots are still left behind in prisons and detention centres over there. Please do your best to help bring them home. It has been so long since they were separated from their motherland, and so many people are suffering emotionally. Because we neither know English nor Chinese, we faced all kinds of hardships. Only when you go to someone else’s country, and you can speak their language and take the time to learn their culture, will the people of Malaysia truly warm up to you. Just as we would expect people coming to our country to learn our language, when you are in another country, please learn to adapt and live in harmony with their culture. That is what I would like to urge everyone to do. We were arrested, kept in camps and handed over to the Myanmar Embassy. The Myanmar Embassy then arranged for us to be brought back to Myanmar. Even if we reported something here, we could still be arrested. Whether it was true or not, in this country, there are permits that are valid for one year and permits that are valid for three years. We are allowed to stay only after renewing those permits. Since we had not paid taxes in their country, we were arrested under Malaysia’s immigration laws. We are happy to be able to return like this. We want to see our families, as well as our children, spouses, brothers and sisters, and grandparents whom we have been separated from. We know the Head of State helped us in this way, and that this effort involved not just one person but thousands, spending millions of kyats. We can feel and understand how much effort has been made to help us and what has been done for us. We are grateful to everyone. We would like to thank the State leaders, the immigration authorities, the Navy, the engineering units, and everyone else involved.

I travelled from Yanbye to Yangon, and from Yangon to Mawtaung. From Mawtaung, I went to Malaysia. Of course, I encountered many difficulties along the way. But after arriving in Malaysia, I also faced many problems finding suitable work and with different jobs. Many of the employers treated us badly, which made things very difficult. As we are poor, we faced many hardships. That was why I went to Malaysia in the first place. Now that we are about to return to Myanmar, I am happy. However, I feel sorry for the people left behind at the camps because they are facing difficulties. Since many of the Myanmar nationals have left, those who remain are reportedly being harassed and beaten, which makes me very sad. I am very grateful to everyone, including those who came to take us back. Thank you all very much.

I have been in Malaysia for about three years. I went through an irregular route, entering Malaysia from Kawthoung. After arriving there, I worked at a car repair shop, but my employment situation was not stable. Since many people did not have proper documents, they were arrested by the immigration authorities several times. Eventually, I was detained at an immigration detention centre, where I spent about six months. Then, when arrangements were made for us to return to Myanmar, I came back with them. The reason was that life inside the detention centre was very difficult. We suffered both physically and mentally, including difficulties with food and living conditions. When the embassy told us that we would be returning, we were extremely happy for about a month. Although we were not yet certain whether we would actually be able to return, we were already very excited. On the night before our departure, we could not sleep at all because we knew we were finally going back to Myanmar. While we were outside, nothing had happened to us, but once we were detained, the living and food conditions were very difficult. I deeply regretted having left Myanmar. After leaving Malaysia and arriving at the port, I saw the Myanmar national flag, and I even shed tears inside. I cannot put into words how happy I felt. This morning, when the officials announced that we had entered Myanmar’s territorial waters, it felt just like returning home. Some people even cried because we had finally reached our homeland. Everyone was very happy. The responsible officials have made all the necessary arrangements on board the vessel to ensure that everything is convenient for us. I would like to express my heartfelt and deepest gratitude to the Government of Myanmar, the relevant departments, the regional governments and officials who came to bring us back, and all the officers on board the vessel.

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