Third day at work…

So, as a compromise and as I will be speaking and writing english most of the time while I am here, I have decided to write mostly in english in my traveljournal as well. You can consider it as a form of educational training for me 🙂

I have been at the office for almost three days now and I must say that I am filled up to the max with new impressions and information about what’s going on over here and what I can expect to get out of my internship. At the end of the days I have been so tired that I hardly can speak, and belive it or not – I’m still suffering from the jetlag. What’s up with that?

Yes, so about my work here at the UNHCR office in KL.
There are seven different units at the office, and I am working in the resettlement unit (RST).
My work assignment will be to Co-ordinate interview schedule of the Resettlement Unit, Support refugees’ application/departure/medical processing, Maintain tracking system of family reunification cases and respond to various queries from refugees, Attend counseling session and help in providing information to refugees awaiting resettlement, Database analysis.
and any other special tasks will be assigned to me depending on the prevailing situation here at UNHCR KL.

So far I have mostly been reading different kinds of reports and trying to get a grip of the big picture over the refugee situation:

As of May 2006, there are some 46,000 persons of concern registered with UNHCR in Malaysia:
• 20,000 are from the Indonesian Province of Aceh
• 11,000 are Rohingyas from the Northern Rakhine State of Myanmar
• 11,000 are other ethnic minorities from Myanmar, such as the Chins.
The remaining numbers are those from other countries.

According to the UNHCR there are approximately another 46,000 non-registered refugees in Malaysia also.

Malaysian laws do not recognize a refugee nor do they make a distinction between a refugee and an economic migrant. They are as such considered illegal immigrants and therefore in principle subject to arrest, detention, prosecution, whipping and even deportation. They have no access to legal employment and their children are not provided access to education. In those cases the refugees get jobs some of the employers tend to exploit their situation by paying extremely low wages. The refugees mostly accept jobs that the local population do not wish to take (the 3D jobs: dirty, dangerous and difficult).

As you see the UNHCR has not the easiest working conditions here in Malaysia. As the authorities are not at all involved in the identification, reception and registration and documentation of asylum-seekers and refugees it makes their work even harder.

Ok, that’s enough about the situation here for now, I’ll write a lot more about the UNHCR, the situation in Malaysia and my work during my stay here.

I’ll be changing locations next week. I’m moving out from Mike and Katies at Bangsar, which is a bit far from down-town, down to Putri. Putri is next to the World Trade Center complex, Hanna is also living there so it’ll be great staying in the same building as her. I most likely will be sharing a flat with a german guy at the 34th floor, a falt that I think comes with a view of the twin-towers. I’ll still have a pool and I’ll be so much closer to where all the fun is 🙂

Me, Hanna and two other girls are planning to go to Borneo next weekend. It’s the malaysian national day next thursday, so we’ll all take friday off so that we can have a long weekend and the possibility to get a way from the city for some days. Looking forward to it! This weekend I’m up for nothing much really, just strolling around town together with Hanna, discovering new places and eating a lot of cheap and good food! Try to catch a movie at the KLCC-theatre as well.

Ok, got to go and do some work now.
Take care all and remember that I love you!!!