Author's Note: Wow, I've been away for almost 4 months now. University done online does take a toll on one's energy and time, but I'm back because Semester 1 is ending soon.
Recently, there is this Al Jazeera documentary alleging abuse by the Malaysian authorities towards migrant workers and refugees.
This is not the first time we are on the topic of migrants, immigrants, non-Malaysians…whatever they want to call it. Back in May, they rounded up undocumented migrants around Kuala Lumpur to prevent further spreading the virus. Following that, the Prime Minister had ordered to quicken deporting those undocumented migrants. Events like this had triggered a conversation since then — a fight for the migrants because #MigranJugaManusia.
It is all over Twitter where people agree or disagree with this notion. I see people retweeting, being keyboard warriors to justify that migrants should be treated as equals. Others are getting mad, saying that these undocumented migrants deserve the mistreatment. There's a lot of debating going on here — it's the government's fault, no, it's the migrants’ fault, no, it's your fault, yadiyadiyada.
I am not here to discuss what I think about the documentary, but to focus on the migrants because there are always two sides to a coin. Coin, in this case, is the migrant.
It is only this year we are seeing more news about illegal immigrants and refugees. It does raise questions when the authorities did not detain just a few hundreds, but thousands instead. Why have these migrants been able to enter and remain here for years without issue? Most importantly, how did they get here in the first place? I know a lot of people are going to say: "Illegal means they came in without permission lah." or "They crossed Malaysian waters or borders secretly." I agree with you (based on the Rohingya refugees), but that side of the coin does not apply for all migrants. Perhaps a great majority of them.
First thing you need to know is that migrants are always look for a job. Major countries of origin of foreign workers are Indonesia, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and other Asian countries. The unemployment rate for some of these countries are not ideal. For example, India is at 7.6 (I take last year's results rather than this year's because of the pandemic). The unemployment is usually because there are not many jobs to offer in the market, so the competition is much higher. Then, enter the antagonist — some huge money-making company searching for more labour, but prefers cheap labour.
To get cheap labour, these people lie. I think this is what a lot of people do not know. It is not necessarily the migrant’s fault. In a Malaysiakini article (8 May 2020), among the few reasons why migrant workers becoming undocumented is because of corruption among authorities, fraud and cheating by agents. Some people promise the migrants a well-paid job, accommodation and many things. They assure them that they will be brought into the country legally. Thus, the migrants agree, not knowing they would be smuggled and forced to work as manual labourer. Most migrants actually have degrees in professional fields, but instead, they end up working in construction sites, which has absolutely nothing to do with their specialization. Worse of all, they do not have a proper place to stay and their documents are taken away from them.
Back to an earlier question I raised: Why have these migrants been able to enter and remain here for years without issue? That brings us to wondering about the authorities – the people who issue visas, work permits and etcetera. What have they been doing? Does this mean they are not doing their job in identifying fake documents? Or are they simply closing one eye because of a deal made? This is the other side of the coin where those in power bully those without power. Migrants get the blame while the real culprits get away.
Now that you know that there are two sides of a migrant, who in the debate is right? The ones who believe migrants deserve punishment or the ones who feel otherwise? Frankly, both are right. In Intercultural Communication, I learnt that two opposite matters can coexist. This relationship is referred to as a dialectic. It is about balancing opposites because there is truth in both. Regardless, I tell you about the two sides so that we can emphathise with he migrants because those who decide to illegally cross borders or were cheated into an immigration fraud have one thing in common: they didn't have good options. Like us, migrants have families to take care of. It was either stay in a country with no opportunity or leave for another where they would have a better shot. If their country could provide them, I'm sure they wouldn't have left. So, my point is, think about their situation. Any human would want to survive, including the migrants. Just be kind.
Peace out.
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