OPENING:

Hans
Youhear,butareyoulistening?

Cindy
Youexist,butareyouliving?

Kelly
Youlook,butdoyousee?

Joelle
Openyourears,eyesandyourhearttolisten,toseeandtofeel
whatwe,astodayssocietyarestillobliviousto.

Praveen
Whatisyourdailyroutine?

Itsthesameeveryday.

Youwakeup,dowhatyoudoforthenexttwelvehours,thenafter,
maybemeetupwithfriendsbeforegoinghomeandsomehow,thecycle
repeatsitself.

Somanyeventstakeplacebetweenthestarttilltheendoftheday
tothepointweresocaughtupinourbusylivesthatwefailtosee
allthatwehavetakenforgranted.
*cartoonsmartphone,laptop,socialmediaiconsaredisplayedwhile
thislineisbeingsaid*(Shouldbefortheearlierparagraph)

Thelittlethings,thebigthings,thoseinvisibleandbehindthe
scenes.Thethingsthatwillaffectandchangeourlivesiftaken
away.Thingsweevencomplainandwhineabout.

Somanyeventstakeplacebetweenthestarttilltheendoftheday
tothepointweresocaughtupinourbusylivesthatwefailtosee
allthatwehavetakenforgranted,butdoyouknowwhatishappening
outsideofyourworld?


Vynies
Okay,letsplaytheDoyouknow?game

Doyouknowthereisatotalof158,510peopleofconcernregistered
asrefugeeswithUNHCRasoftheendofFebruary2016,withsomany
moreunregisteredandareseekingrefugehereinMalaysia?

Doyoualsoknow69%ofrefugeesandasylumseekersaremen,while
31%arewomen.Guessthenumberofchildrenwhoarebelow18yearsof
age33,300children.Canyouimaginethat?
*explosionsoundeffects*

Thinkaboutit.

Hans
Canyouleavetheplaceyouspentyourwholelifeinandstartnewin
aforeignplacewhereyoumaynotevenspeakthelanguageandwith
peopleyoumaynotknow?Imaginethepainandfeartheymustfaceto
flee.Imaginetheworriestheybearintheirminds.

Thesepeoplefleefrompersecutionintheircountrytoseekrefugein
aplacewheretheycanbefree,onlytodealwithmoreinsecurities
andissueswhentheyresupposedtobesafe.
*handgesturesofinvertedcommaswithblinkingsoundeffects*

Joelle
RefugeesarenotprotectedbytheMalaysianLaw.Thereisno
distinctionbetweenrefugeesandundocumentedmigrants,whichplaces
thematriskofbeingarrestedanddetainedforimmigrationoffences.

DespitehavingbeenissuedarefugeecardfromUNHCR,whichcertifies
thattheyareregisteredrefugees,theyfearleavingtheirhome
becausetherearethosewhoarecorruptthattakeadvantageofand
abusethem.

Praveen
Theyhavenoaccesstolegalemployment.Theytakethejobsyoudont
wishtotaketheDirty,DangerousandDifficult.Therearentmany
optionsavailabletothem.Theyrepaidbelowminimumwage,sometimes
notpaidatall.Theworsepartis:Theycantcomplainbecausethey
havenodocumentsandtheyriskbeingdeported.


Cindy
Tocovertheexpensivecostofaccommodationintheheartofthe
city,30to50refugeessharea3bedroomapartment.Yesyouheardme
right,3050inasmallapartment.Everynookandcrannyofthe
apartmentisutilized,belowthesinkofthepantryisalsoaspace
forthemtomakeitthroughthenight.Canyoubelievethat?

Vynniies
ChildrefugeesarenotallowedtohaveformaleducationinMalaysia.
Theyresorttocommunitybasedlearningcentresandtheteacherswho
arealsoadultrefugeeshoweverstillprovidingeducation
voluntarily.Theolderchildrensometimesteachtheyoungeronesif
theirparentscannotaffordtosendthemtoschool,asmostprobably
becausetheyarestilljoblessbuttryingtofindone.

Eventhoughtheyhaveaccesstopublichealthcareatasubsidized
rate,mostrefugeescannotaffordmedicaltreatmentforseriouscases
duetotheeverincreasinghighcostoftreatment.

Kelly
Talkingaboutcommunitybased,therefugeeswholivetogetherinthe
entireblockhavecreatedasmalltowninitsowncommunity.They
havenotonlyhaveaschoolbutagrocerystore.Theserefugeesare
tooscaredoftheauthoritiescatchingthemthattheyrefusetogo
outandgetgroceriesbutyoucanthavenofoodonthetableand
hence,UNHCRhascreatedaprogramcalledtheLivelihoodsProgram.
Thisprogramfocusesonevidencebasedinterventionsintheareasof
CashBasedInterventions,skilldevelopmentandvocationaltraining
andnotforgettingcommunitybasedprojects.

InterviewwithPersoninchargeofUNHCRMalaysia
1.WhataremainissuesUNHCR(Therefugeesand/orUNHCR?)face
everyday?
2.Howcanwe,asmembersofthepublic,help?

ENDING:
Praveen:
Aspeople,weshouldhelpothers,regardlessofwhoevertheymaybe.
You,yesYOU,canmakeadifferencefortherefugees.

Hans
Volunteeryourtimetohelpandinvestintheserefugeeslives.
Donatetocausesthatbenefitandimprovetheirstandardofliving.

Kelly
Talkabouttheseissueswithyourfriendsandfamilytoraise
awarenessregardingthedifficultyandfeartheserefugeesfaceevery
singleday.

Joelle
AsFrancisofAssisioncesaid,Startbydoingwhatsnecessary,then
dowhatspossiblesuddenlyyouredoingtheimpossible.

Vynniies
Changestartswithyou.

Cindy
Youcanmakeadifference.