While headlines on the discovery of refugee camps and mass graves send chills down the spine of the average Malaysian, human rights group Tenaganita has revealed that such a revelation was not new.
Speaking to The Rakyat Post’s Rajvinder Singh, Tenaganita director Glorene Dass said news of such camps leaked when Rohingya refugees began approaching the non-governmental organisation for help in locating missing family members back in 2007.
READ: Mass graves of suspected migrants found in Malaysia
READ: Police officers, enforcement officials to be probed over migrants’ mass graves
READ: Bones and barbed wire as migrant graves exhumed
“The family members would usually get a call from the human traffickers demanding a ransom before letting the person go,” she told the portal, adding that many were afraid to lodge police reports because they had no valid documentation.
For those who did seek help from the police, no action was taken, Dass said.
“It’s a fallacy to believe that such camps only exist at the border areas. Tenaganita has been made aware of camps in Perlis, Perak, Pahang, Kedah and Penang,” she reportedly said.
Dass highlighted a book published by the NGO in 2008 entitled “The Revolving Door: Modern Day Slavery” which spoke of immigration officials conspiring with human traffickers.
According to her, the publication of the book had resulted in immigration officials at the border being replaced, subsequently bringing down human trafficking cases. But the situation has deteriorated once again, as Dass believes that police have taken over the job.
“Some arrested illegals don’t end up at immigration depots. They are released after they pay the police.”
Know about something happening in KL and Malaysia? Want to share? Send us an email: kl@coconuts.co – don’t just read the news, make it!
