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NGO Directory, 27 October 2011
Address:
Lot 177, MDLD 6820, Lorong Perdana 14, Sri Perdana,
P.O. Box 61850 91127 Lahad Datu
Sabah
Malaysia
Tel: +60 8 986 2600
Fax: +60 03 217 841 13
Email: info@borneochildaid.org
Web: www.borneochildaid.org
Many Malaysians are astonished to learn that there are refugees living in their country. That's how invisible most of the 67,800 refugees in Malaysian towns and cities are. They don't live in camps, but in low-cost flats and houses alongside the homes of Malaysians. The refugees, overwhelmingly from Myanmar, live in tight-knit groups with as many as 20 or 30 people in one small flat.
As in many other Asian countries, even official UNHCR refugee status does not always afford adequate protection. Refugees are not allowed to work legally, so are subject to exploitation in dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs that locals do not want.
More than in many other countries, refugees in Malaysia have banded together to help themselves in the absence of official services. UNHCR, non-governmental organizations and volunteers support these initiatives, which include small crafts businesses, as well as schools and clinics, but they are largely driven by the refugees themselves.
