Adrift in Malaysia, Burmese Muslim refugees in desperate cry for recognition

Thuzar Maung (right) and her two children fled anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar. She says refugees like her do not receive as much support as the Rohingya.

KUALA LUMPUR: Four years ago, mother-of-three Thuzar Maung put on jeans and a T-shirt rather than her customary Muslim garb and slipped aboard a flight to Malaysia.

Ethnic Burmese Muslims in Myanmar are considered terrorists, so she and her family had been facing persecution for years.

They feared for their lives after mob violence exacted a heavy death toll on their community.

“When the authorities claimed I was linked to rebel groups, I knew I had to flee Myanmar,” Thuzar told FMT.

The higher profile Rohingya conflict taking place on the other side of the Arakan Mountains in Rakhine state, causes repercussions in central Myanmar where Thuzar lived.

“We are treated as badly as the Rohingya. Just like them, the Myanmar government refuses to recognise us as citizens.

“We are considered outsiders in our own country. We have no rights, and many of us have no identification card, without which we don’t exist.

“When we are taken to court we get much tougher sentences than Buddhists found guilty of similar offences.”

In March 2013, anti-Muslim riots broke out in central Myanmar, the most violent of them in Meiktila, near Mandalay.

Thuzar recalled how a Buddhist mob attacked and torched the Mingalar Zayone Islamic Boarding School.

It was reported officially that security forces were heavily outnumbered and could only stand by as rioters killed 32 teenage students and four teachers.

The mob then moved on, targeting Muslim houses and mosques in nearby towns. At least 9,000 residents were displaced by the violence.

“That was six years ago, and still there’s no stern action by the government,” she said.

She condemned Nobel prize laureate and de facto head of government, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has remained silent despite garnering massive support from Muslims during her campaign.

When Thuzar made her escape she had to leave her children behind, but the authorities started harassing them.

Rohingya flee the violence in Sittwe, Rakhine state, Myanmar in 2012. (Reuters pic)

“They repeatedly questioned my kids. They came to my house and to their father’s house, demanding to know where I was.

“After surviving in Malaysia for two years, I was finally able to bring my children here.”

She said Burmese Muslims are not officially recognised as a marginalised group in need of support in Malaysia.

“Most people and organisations forget about us.”

In 2017, she founded the Myanmar Muslim Refugee Community to provide support to Myanmar Muslims seeking asylum in Malaysia.

She helps fellow refugees access education and healthcare, and arranges for legal representation when they get arrested.

She also acts as their representative when they are treated in hospital, vouching for their status as refugees.

“Many of us here are unregistered and so are scared to go to the hospital. We help them understand their rights.

“If they have no employment, we help them find a job. We even go to court with them. Sometimes we lose the case and people get deported.”

Her three children, aged 17, 13, and 11, now go to a school for refugees in Kuala Lumpur where they learn core subjects including Bahasa Malaysia.

Plans to open a dedicated school and a clinic are well under way, financed by donations.

“Right now, my kids and I are registered in Malaysia as asylum-seekers. This means the children’s lives are safe and comfortable here,” she said.

“But many of my people live in fear. They are scared to go out. I want to raise the quality of life for everyone in my community.

“The Rohingya are the most well-known Muslim victims of Myanmar government persecution.

“But Burmese Muslims are the same religion as the Rohingya and we are also victims.” - FMT