Group urges RP govt to monitor abuses on Sabah deportees

Group urges RP govt to monitor abuses on Sabah deportees
MANILA, Philippines - Amid the weekly deportation of an average of 300 undocumented Filipinos from Sabah in Malaysia, a women’s rights group urged lawmakers to ensure that the deportees are not subjected to abuse or maltreatment.

Party-list group Gabriela said that the Philippine government must exhaust all efforts to prevent any loss of lives arising from Malaysia’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

“We should not wait for the abuses to reach epic proportions or for a repeat of the 2002 crackdown on undocumented Filipinos in Malaysia, where 12 children died and dozens of women were raped in detention camps, before we make our move," Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan said in a statement.

She also urged her fellow legislators in the Lower House to take up immediate measures to protect undocumented Filipinos, most especially women and children, who face the risk of being detained and abused in Malaysian jails.

Last Saturday, another batch of 300 Filipino deportees were ferried back to Zamboanga City from Sandakan in Malaysia.

According to Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Victoriano Lecaros, two other deportation centers were set up in Pawa and Mengatal in Sabah where Filipinos are temporarily detained. From there, the Filipino deportees were transported by bus to Sandakan where they board a ferry ride to Zamboanga City. (Click image on the right side to enlarge)

Ilagan, who hailed from Mindanao, added that “Malaysia has the reputation as among the world’s top ten worst places for refugees to stay."

"There were complaints from the deported Filipinos that they were held in poorly maintained jails, not given enough food, and not provided proper health care. A woman deportee even gave birth inside a Malaysian jail. Even if she were an undocumented migrant, she should have received medical attention," Ilagan said.

According to the recently published study by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), a non-governmental group, Malaysia ranks among the top five violators of refugee human rights.

Merrill Smith, USCRI director of international planning and analysis was quoted in reports as saying that Malaysia forcibly sent refugees from Myanmar to Thailand, where "some of them were sold into slavery -- men to fishing boats and women to brothels."

Aside from Malaysia, the USCRI named China, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, Iraq, Kenya, Russia, Sudan and Europe as the ten worst places for refugees in 2007.

As for the Filipinos already deported to the country, Ilagan said that providing them with temporary shelter and transportation allowance is not enough.

“The government should provide the deportees with proper housing and livelihood for them not to be tempted to leave the country again in search of a decent life," she said.

Earlier, Ilagan said many of those deported to Zamboanga City on Saturday had suffered inhumane treatment in Malaysia.

Filipino Muslims who were deported said they had been forced to work illegally in Sabah because the Philippine government failed to provide them livelihood opportunities back home. - Fidel Jimenez, with a report from Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV

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