Imprisonment, caning, and inhumane conditions await arrested Burmese refugees, treated as "uninvited guests" in Malaysia.
Without access to schools or caretakers, refugee parents in Malaysia must lock their children away as they seek work.
For fear of arrest, daylight becomes an unfamiliar sight for many Burmese child refugees in Malaysia.
When I first sit down I notice the drawings pinned up on the wall in front of me. I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be of Burma. They were made by the children who sit with me around this table--all refugees from one of Burma's largest Buddhist states. The youngest child at the table is 6-years-old. The eldest is 17.
In Malaysia, refugees from Burma find themselves in extreme poverty, without a national identity.
June 19th and June 20th in my mind are related.
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