Singapore AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2008
Sunday, 18 May 2008
7.00pm - onward
at “The Big Steps” Amphitheatre,
School of Information Systems Building,
Singapore Management University [Bras Basah Campus]

Click here to see map of location

As many of you know, the Singapore AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held to remember those who have fallen to the scourge of HIV/AIDS and to support those who live with the virus. It is also a reminder to us all to continue the fight against all stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS. The fight must go on.

The theme of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is "Never Forget, Never Give Up". Go to http://www.candlelightmemorial.org/ for more details. If you would like to dedicate a candle in memory of someone you’ve lost to HIV/AIDS, please go to the website and make that dedication.

Also, please forward this email to your friends or fellow volunteers so that everyone knows about the event and no one is left out unintentionally.


For more information, contact:
Benedict Thambiah: benedictthambiah@yahoo.com

Daniel Tan
Chairman, Organising Committee
Singapore AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2008

A stronger civil society voice in the UNAIDS work

UNAIDS is guided by a Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) which is composed of representatives of 22 governments from all geographic regions, the ten UNAIDS Cosponsoring organizations, and five representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) who are elected on a regional basis. The UNAIDS PCB NGO Delegation is the first civil society delegation formally represented on a UN governing board.

In an effort to further enhance participation of civil society in policy decision-making at the global level, the PCB NGO Delegation has created a Communications Facility (CF), an independent mechanism that will strengthen the capacity of the delegation to bring forward a unified and consolidated message from their constituencies to the Board meetings of UNAIDS. Therefore, The CF will compile regional and country level civil society priorities on AIDS for the NGO Delegation to advocate for them at the global level.

This CF was established on 2 April 2008 with the recruitment of a consortium comprising the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) and Health & Development Networks (HDN) which will be its host for the next two years with funding provided by UNAIDS. This follows a competitive bidding process that was launched by the UNAIDS Secretariat after the 20th meeting of the PCB agreed on the establishment of a Communication Facility. The PCB will evaluate the progress made by the CF at the end of the two year period.

Under the leadership of the PCB NGO Delegation, the CF plans to work in two ways. On the one hand, it will ensure that the broad and diverse community voices are heard and influence the development of international policies that meet their needs. To that end, it will host conference calls for the Delegation; draft of the Delegation stakeholders map and related information needs; capacity-building for Delegation members on presentation and negotiation skills or drafting the Delegation’s annual report.

On the other, it will better inform civil society about the decisions and recommendations adopted at global level by the PCB by developing and distributing PCB related fact sheets or post-PCB meeting summaries; and develop an interactive web site among other activities.

The CF will support the non-governmental delegation by also linking them to other civil society delegations focusing on HIV such as those to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) and UNITAID, and actively develop and nurture a ‘pool’ of civil society representatives who will provide technical support and advice to the NGO Delegation on issues relevant to the global HIV issues and the UNAIDS PCB agenda.

‘’For NGOs sitting on the UNAIDS board, it is important to have a strong independent and coordinated communication and outreach tool to ensure that the community voices are faithfully represented in the board”, said Violeta Ross Quiroga, the PCB NGO alternate delegate from Latin-America and the Caribbean.

“The voices of communities must be heard and they must include all segments of the wider civil society working towards Universal Access targets. This stands as one of the core goals of the Communication Facility, which is also another step towards the achievement of the GIPA principle.’’ She added.

The 22nd Meeting of the Programme Coordinating Board will take place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 23 - 25 April 2008.

Online at:
http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/FeatureStories/archive/2008/20080411_A_stronger_civil_society_voice_UNAIDS_work.asp

UNITED NATIONS Press Release

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COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS TO HOLD EIGHTH SESSION IN GENEVA FROM 14 TO 25 APRIL

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11 April 2008

The eighth session of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families will be held at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 14 to 25 April 2008. During its two-week session, the Committee will review efforts by Syria and Bolivia to implement their obligations under the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

At its first meeting, which will start at 10 a.m. on Monday, 14 April, the Committee will begin by hearing a solemn declaration by its new member, Myriam Poussi Konsimbo of Burkina Faso, who will serve in her personal capacity, that she will perform her duties and exercise her powers as a member of the Committee honourably, faithfully, impartially and conscientiously. The Committee will also elect a new Bureau from among its members, including a Chairperson, three Vice-Chairpersons and a Rapporteur. The Committee will then adopt its agenda for the session, and hear a statement from a representative of the Secretary-General.

On the afternoon of Monday, 14 April, the Committee will hold a meeting with non-governmental and international organizations, as well as national human rights institutions, in relation to the initial reports of Syria and Bolivia. The Committee will consider the initial report of Syria (CMW/C/SYR/1), on the afternoon of Tuesday, 15 April and continuing on the morning of Wednesday, 16 April. On Wednesday afternoon and the morning of Thursday, 17 April, the initial report of Bolivia (CMW/C/BOL/1) will be examined.

Also during its eighth session, the Committee will hold public meetings on the topics of the human rights index, human rights indicators, and the Global Forum on Migration and Development. In addition, on the morning of Friday, 18 April, the Committee will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention with a round-table discussion on the importance of human rights in the context of today's migration debate. Leading experts from the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration, academia, non-governmental organizations and States will be giving their points of view on this issue and will engage the public in a debate that seeks to reinvigorate the importance of the Convention in the search for solutions to the challenges raised by global migration.

More than 190 million migrants, including migrant workers, refugees, asylum-seekers, permanent immigrants and others, live and work in a country other than that of their birth or citizenship. They represent almost 3 per cent of the world's population.

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families entered into force on 1 July 2003. The Convention seeks to play a role in preventing and eliminating the exploitation of migrant workers as well as ensuring the protection of their human rights throughout the entire migration process. It provides a set of binding international standards to address the treatment, welfare and human rights of both documented and undocumented migrants, as well as the obligations and responsibilities on the part of sending and receiving States, as well as States of transit. To date, 37 States have ratified the treaty.

The Committee of 10 Experts was created to monitor how States parties to the Convention abide by their obligations under the treaty. States parties accept the obligation to report to the Committee on the steps they have taken to implement the Convention. States must report initially within a year of its entry into force for the State concerned, and thereafter every five years. So far, the Committee has examined the initial reports of four States parties, Mali, Mexico, Egypt and Ecuador. At its present session, it will examine the initial reports of Syria and Bolivia. Currently, the reports of another five State parties, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, El Salvador and the Philippines are awaiting examination by the Committee. The reports of 26 other States parties are now overdue.

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

The Convention is applicable to all migrant workers and members of their families without distinction of any kind such as sex, race, colour, language, religion or conviction, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, nationality, age, economic position, property, marital status, birth or other status. It applies during the entire migration process of migrant workers and members of their families, which comprises preparation for migration, departure, transit and the entire period of stay and remunerated activity in the State of employment as well as return to the State of origin or the State of habitual residence.

Listed among their human rights, the Convention states that migrant workers and members of their families shall be free to leave any State, including their State of origin; migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right at any time to enter and remain in their State of origin; the right to life of migrant workers and members of their families shall be protected by law; no migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; no migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be held in slavery or servitude; and no migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. The Convention also prohibits collective expulsion of migrant workers and members of their families. It further establishes that migrant workers shall enjoy treatment not less favourable than that which applies to nationals of the State of employment in respect of remuneration and other conditions of work and terms of employment. Documented or regular migrant workers moreover enjoy the right to form associations and trade unions as well as equality of treatment with the nationals of the State in relation to access to educational, social and health services.

The Convention also imposes a series of obligations on States parties in the interest of promoting "sound, equitable, humane and lawful conditions" for the international migration of workers and members of their families. These requirements include the establishment of policies on migration; the exchange of information with other States parties; the provision of information to employers, workers and their organizations on policies, laws and regulations; and assistance to migrant workers and their families.

Implementation of the Convention

The Convention is monitored by the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, consisting of 10 Experts serving in their personal capacity. The membership of the Committee will rise from 10 to 14 experts when 41 ratifications have been registered.

States parties accept the obligation to report on the steps they have taken to implement the Convention within a year of its entry into force for the State concerned, and thereafter every five years. Under the treaty, a State party may also recognize the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals within that State's jurisdiction who claim that their rights under the Convention have been violated. On 18 September 2007, Guatemala became the first State party to recognize the Committee's competence in this respect.

Other International Mechanisms for Protection of Migrants

The Convention reinforces and completes a series of other measures already taken by the United Nations to ensure adequate protection of all migrant workers and their families. The International Labour Organization has been in the forefront of efforts to secure and maintain a fair deal for migrant workers and their families since the 1920s. Also, a Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights (now the Human Rights Council) has been looking since 1999 at ways and means to overcome obstacles to the full and effective protection of the human rights of migrants, including difficulties for the return of those who are "undocumented".

States Parties to the Convention

The Convention was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by the General Assembly in December 1990. To date, it has been ratified or acceded to by the following 37 States: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Uganda and Uruguay.

Members of the Committee

The members of the Committee are Francisco Alba (Mexico); José S. Brillantes (Philippines); Ana Elizabeth Cubías Medina (El Salvador); Anamaría Dieguez Arévalo (Guatemala); Ahmed Hassan El-Borai (Egypt); Abdelhamid El Jamri (Morocco); Prasad Kariyawasam (Sri Lanka); Myriam Poussi Konsimbo (Burkina Faso); Mehmet

the Star News: Sunday April 20, 2008

By JASON LIOH

MALACCA: The Home Ministry is proposing that Rela be upgraded to full departmental status as an enforcement agency under the ministry.

This would enhance the organisation's enforcement and public order operations, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, adding that a draft of the proposal was being finalised before being tabled to the Government for approval.

“The role and responsibility of Rela has increased and become even more challenging.

“As such it is appropriate that the organisation be upgraded to an enforcement agency under the ministry,” he told reporters after attending Rela's get-together between officers and leaders at the Rela Southern Zone Training Camp in Sungai Udang Sunday. He said that the move would allow for better logistical support and funding for facilities, equipment, and uniforms for its personnel.

“We need to give the 508,000 volunteers sufficient training, not only to enhance Rela’s capability but also to further assist police and the Immigration Department -- as of today, it has nabbed 73,938 illegal immigrants," he added.

Under the 9th Malaysian Plan, three more Rela training camps would be set up in Negri Sembilan, Pahang and Perak to complement the existing camps at Sungai Udang in Malacca, Sungai Petani in Kedah and Tuaran in Sabah.

Migrant workers deceived, stranded in Bandung

Yuli Tri Suwarni , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Sat, 04/19/2008 12:26 PM

Hundreds of migrant workers who paid a total of Rp 5 billion (US$541,000) to secure jobs and transportation to South Korea are now stranded in Bandung, West Java, and seeking justice.

The 320 workers, who come from villages in Central and West Java, have filed complaints with the relevant local authorities, with the assistance of the Bandung Legal Aid Institute (LBH Bandung).

The workers said justice had been miscarried as their money had not been returned to them, while those who attempted "to smuggle" them overseas were charged only with criminal deceit.

"We are disappointed with the way the police are handling the case and with the local manpower and transmigration office for giving no response to the workers. They have been stranded for months in the city without any certainty over their fate," Purwanto, representing the workers, said here recently.

Purwanto, a 27-year-old resident of Losari, Brebes, Central Java, said he paid Rp 20 million to the Bannua Foundation, which recruited the workers to work in South Korea for a starting salary, it claimed, of Rp 8 million per month.

"I was interested because ... I had worked in Saudi Arabia for four years for a monthly wage of only Rp 2.8 million. I accepted the foundation's offer because it pledged I would be paid more," he said, adding he paid Rp 10 million to a sponsor to facilitate his departure to the Middle East in 2003.

Purwanto said the deceit was uncovered when he and other workers underwent a Korean proficiency test at the University of Indonesia in Depok.

The test organizers found that our test numbers had been falsified, he said.

"I went back to Bandung but was unable to meet with the foundation's management. After a week-long check, I discovered the foundation was not a recruitment agency, but rather had a permit from the local manpower and transmigration office to run a Korean language short-course."

Mujianto and three other workers from Cilacap said they paid Rp 15 million each to the foundation, which pledged they would be employed in Korea for a monthly wage of Rp 8 million.

"In the past we worked on construction projects with a daily wage of Rp 30,000. We were interested in working in Korea because of the high salary offered. That is why we sold our assets in Cilacap to pay the foundation. If our departure is suspended, we want our money back," he said.

He said his older brother Muji was employed at a forklift factory in Korea for a monthly salary of Rp 16 million.

Canggih Pribadi from the legal institute's labor division criticized the police for charging foundation chairman Salifi Rachman and his assistant Ade Komaruddin with deception instead of smuggling.

"The police should have used Law No. 39/2004 on the placement and protection of migrant workers to uphold justice in this case. The law has a maximum life sentence and a fine of Rp 5 billion, and should have been used to force the smugglers to return the workers' money," he said.

Parsaoran Sirait from the legal aid foundation blamed the manpower and transmigration office for not distributing information on procedures for working overseas.

"Manpower and transmigration authorities have distributed information on the required legal procedures to brokers and labor exporters only. The police are uninformed about the labor laws," he said.

He called on either the police or manpower authorities to force the foundation to return the money collected and to impose harsh sanctions against the foundation.

Remittances from migrant workers increased by 15 percent to Rs 2.5 billion

http://www.island.lk/2008/04/21/business5.html

Remittances from the migrant workers recorded a 2,502 million US Dollars during 2007, an increase of 15 percent from the previous year.

The Middle Eastern region continued to provide 90 percent of the total foreign employment for Sri Lankans the Annual Central Bank report 2007 states.

However unskilled workers continued to account for a significant share of foreign employment dominated by housemaids the report also stated.

Overseas job opportunities for the Sri Lankan labour force continued to be a vital source of employment and there were 217,306 departures compared with 201,948 from the previous years which was a growth of 7.6 percent during the year.

The dominance of housemaids has been declining over the years and it was 49 percent of the total foreign employment in 2005 declining to 47 percent in 2007 the report said.

An apprenticeship training programme in the construction sector leading to an internationally accepted certification and similar training in hospitality trade were undertaken with a view to cater to these sectors in the global market.

Consequently, the migrant workforce in the categories of skilled and unskilled labour, other than the housemaids, increased from 42 percent in 2006 to 47 percent in 2007 the Central Bank report stated.

Government wants zero dependence on non-Malaysian workers

PUTRAJAYA: The Government wants to do away with foreign workers as their numbers – both legal and illegal – have reached three million.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said he would seek the cooperation of the Human Resources Ministry to find ways to reduce the demand for foreign workers.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the Immigration Department here yesterday, he said the move would also ensure that there would be no unemployment among Malaysians.

He said cooperation from employers was most important as they created the demand for foreign workers and this had also caused illegal foreigners to enter the country in droves.

“We want to see the demand for foreigners totally scrapped, that is our aim. We need cooperation from those who are seeking workers.

“We need a collective and planned effort from all quarters including the Human Resources Ministry to ensure that we depend only on our own citizens,” he said, adding that illegal foreign workers were one of the biggest problems the ministry was facing.

When asked for more attractive perks and benefits for locals to take up jobs that were now dominated by foreigners, he said for an unemployed Malaysian any job would be attractive.

In PETALING JAYA, the Malaysian Employers Federation and Malaysian Trades Union Congress said that the Government must have a clear policy on migrant workers and not act on an ad hoc basis.

MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said he was not against the move to scrap dependence on foreign workers but it must be planned properly.

“We don't want to have a knee-jerk reaction and be caught off-guard. This could affect productivity,” he said.

“The cause of the high influx of illegals should not be confused with employers' demand for documented workers. It's partly because the Government has been too lenient,” he said.

MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud said the organisation was not against hiring migrant workers but also said the Government must have a clear policy on why they were brought in.

Violence against refugees continues PDF
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Friday, 11 April 2008
Aliran would like to bring to public attention the continuing violence perpetrated against migrants and refugees in this country. It is amazing that the public at large is still ignorant of all this human rights violation happening right under our noses. Moreover, most of the Malaysian public remain ignorant of who refugees are or why they are here.

The cause of this ignorance is probably brought about by limited information and the negative views promoted by the mainstream news dailies and broadcast media, which is still under the complete control of the ruling Barisan Nasional government.

In our view, negative publicity that incites violence against any group of human beings by any party is unjust and by its nature, criminal, especially when the victims of such violence are defenceless and have not harmed anyone.

What have the on-going violent crackdowns by Rela gained for Malaysian society? It has obviously done nothing for Malaysia except to give us a bad image internationally as a cruel and heartless nation.

Have refugees from other countries undergoing internal political upheaval or conflict stopped coming here or has there been a reduction in numbers? No. It is in fact difficult to keep accurate count of these numbers. Even the UN refugee agency in Malaysia cannot be completely certain that statistics do not change everyday.

Refugee communities have repeatedly sent out press releases to non-governmental organisations to appeal for a stop to the arrest and detention of their community members, including pregnant women, mothers with babies, small children and minors. They have often described the cruel and inhuman treatment they experience at the hands of Rela and the abuse perpetrated in immigration detention centres. This abuse ranges from being beaten up, sexually abused, raped and financially extorted, to the whipping of minors.

Such acts, if committed by any other Malaysian citizen, would be seen as criminal. Yet when they are committed by those in authority - through the so-called 'security forces' like Rela - against helpless migrants and refugees, they very often go unnoticed and unpunished. The current Home Affairs Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, has not publicly taken a stand on this issue. Instead, the raids on these defenceless refugee communities have been stepped up, affecting even those officially recognised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and who have UNHCR documents to prove their status.

The issue of refugees is not a new one. It has in fact been an issue for over 30 years since the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Since then, other countries in the region have been gripped by turmoil and hardship, but few Malaysians are aware of the long-standing suffering in these countries. Do we think this does not affect us?

The excuse by the Government that treating refugees humanely is a 'pull-factor' for more to arrive on our shores is a fallacy. Neither ill-treatment nor deportation has served to stop the influx of migrants, whether documented or undocumented. The fundamental problem is the lack
of a proper corruption- free immigration control system and clear- cut policies for different categories of migrants. The non-recognition of refugees and the lack of empathy for their plight have tarnished our image. The use of Rela only puts migrants and refugees as well as sections of the Malaysian public in fear because of the indiscriminate raids often carried out in the middle of the night.

Rela seems to be acting with impunity and getting away with acts of violence against migrants and refugees. This makes Malaysian society appear inhuman as it appears to overlook such gratuitous violence.

The recent denial of a two-thirds majority for the BN and the victories of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat in five states have shown us that we can bring about changes for the betterment of the country, if we want to.

Similarly, the /rakyat/ can put pressure for the new Parliament to address the issue of migrants and refugees more seriously and to come up with more comprehensive and humane immigration policies, which would include the recognition of refugees by immigration authorities in this
country.

Aliran also urges the /rakyat/ to support calls for the federal government to ratify the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and other international human rights conventions. The public is also reminded that Malaysia is an elected member of the UN Human Rights Council and should live up to this role in the international community, instead of embarrassing us by being a notorious perpetrator of human rights violations.

Aliran again reiterates its support for calls by other civil society groups, including the Bar Council and Suara Rakyat Malaysia, for the abolition of Rela.

[Aliran Executive Committee]

Flaw in foreign worker supply

Thursday April 17, 2008

PUTRAJAYA: There has been a weakness in the regulating of demand and supply factors concerning foreign workers, admitted Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said some agencies had brought in more foreign workers than required and had to find work for the extra workers who flooded some sectors.

He said if the Government had been successful in tightening this, it would have won one battle towards reducing the number of foreign workers in the country.

Dr Subramaniam told reporters after the post-Cabinet meeting here yesterday that he would be meeting employers in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors to advise them to regulate and to hire locals.

It was reported earlier that there were two million registered foreign workers in the country and an estimated one million illegal ones.

On his meeting with Cuepacs yesterday, Dr Subramaniam said he had heard their grievances and suggestions and would bring them up in the Cabinet.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/16/nation/20961403&sec=nation

Labour Day Celebration

As part of the efforts to celebrate Labour Day, INTEGRATE brings together a burst of flavours from across Asia through the lives of migrants in Singapore. Come be part of it.

This is the second time Migrant Voices is presenting INTEGRATE. First showcased in 2006 at The Substation and Timbre, we are now taking the show to Post Museum and extending the event to 2 days (3rd and 4th May). The events are held on weekends in order to encourage greater participation from both non-work permit holders and those who only have Sundays off from work.

With partners, TWC2 and HOME, Migrant Voices will present works done largely by work-permit holders (foreign workers) and Special pass holders (those seeking re-dress with authorities) through past workshops.


SATURDAY, 3rd May 2008
12.00pm - INTEGRATE officially opens, the Post Museum gallery will have photographs and artworks on display. Migrant Voices, TWC2 and HOME will each have a booth at the space so you're welcome to look through merchandise or ask us questions.

4.30pm - Poetry Readings & Open Mic sessions from poets & artists. A talkback session will also follow after the readings.
6.00pm - USE, a drama piece, written by Hemang Yadav. It will be performed by members of Three Men Productions, who made one of the winning entries for the "Fly by Nite 2008" video competition. This piece draws from personal experiences and observances of our interaction with "them".

7.00pm - Film Screenings @ Post Museum's screening room, RSVP by invitation only (filmfest@migrantvoices.or

g), entry at $20 per person. A talkback session will also be held with representatives from TWC2 and HOME, advocacy and welfare groups leading the foreign labour movement in Singapore.

The Films:
The Story of Stuff, 20 minutes
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Breaking Labour (Malaysia), 30 minutes
Malaysia's rapid economic growth in recent decades has spawned an unbridled recruitment of migrant workers numbering up to three million. This documentary film traces the migrant workers who suffered in detention camps in Malaysia and tells the stories of those who are still struggling in Malaysia seeking for justice. It reveals the dreams of potential migrant workers and their hopes for a better life. It chronicles the quest for survival in and out of detention camps of migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia.

Foreign Dreams (Singapore), 7 minutes
About a letter home written by an Indian construction worker. Born in Hong Kong, Elgin Ho was exposed to the film industry as early as five years old. He is currently an undergraduate majoring in Digital Film at the NTU School of Art, Design & Media. Foreign Dreams was awarded the Silver Crow bar at the prestigious Singapore Student Creative Awards 2002 and has been screened in film festivals around the world.

Don't Fence Me In (Burma), 20 minutes
"Don't Fence Me In: Major Mary and the Karen Refugees from Burma" chronicles the life of 70-year-old freedom fighter Major Mary On and her people's struggle for self-determination. Major Mary's charismatic storytelling is accompanied by rare, clandestine footage smuggled out of the refugee camps along the border between Burma and Thailand. The film reveals the Karen refugees' spirit and determination to survive as political and historical forces conspire against them.

Din Bhrantok Nabeek (Bangladesh), 30 minutes (approx)
A documentary about the migratory process from sending countries in this case Bangladesh. The story looks into the life of its character right from when he made the choice to migrate to meeting an agent and then to the failure of reaching his destination.

UNITED INDONESIANS AGAINST OVERCHARGING (PILAR)
INDONESIAN MIGRANT MUSLIM ALLIANCE (GAMMI)
c/o APMM, G/F, 2 Jordan Road , Kowloon , HKSAR; Tel: 23147316 Fax: 27354559; Email: atkihk_2000@yahoo.com

Press Release
13 April 2008

For reference: Eni Lestari, Spokesperson
Tel. No.: 96081475, 95802353

"Delay means more abuses"
Indonesian migrants hit consulate for slow actions on demands

"Every minute of every day that the Indonesian Consulate delays on its promises, more and more Indonesian migrants become vulnerable to abuses and exploitation."

This was declared by Eni Lestari, spokesperson of the United Indonesians Against Overcharging (PILAR) during their protest rally today in front of Indonesian Consulate to demand the Consulate to improve its services for Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong and Macau .

Among the issues the protesters raised were the confiscation of passports by recruitment agencies, the insufficient services for Indonesian migrants in Macau , the refusal to renew passports within one day and the fact that the Consulate lacks major services on Sundays when most migrant workers have their day off.

"Since the end of last year, the Consulate has promised to act on these matters. But until now, their promises have been empty ones," Lestari said.

According to Lestari, their recent survey revealed that 40% of Indonesian migrants in Hong Kong, especially the newcomers, are confiscated of their passports by Hong Kong agencies. This is done, she said, to hostage Indonesians so they will pay the high placement fee of HK$21,000, not run away from their employer even if they are abused and obey the agency's instructions.

"Although the Consulate has issued a Letter of Order addressed to the association of Hong Kong agencies that ordered them to release the passports that they have confiscated and punish them if they don't, it has not yet been fully enforced and still many Indonesians do not have their own passports until now," Eni reported.

Lestari said that PILAR has been actively gathering complaints among Indonesians for a month and more than 100 complaints have been collected. The complaints were supposed to be submitted during the protest rally but the Indonesian Consulate refused to receive the petition.

"Meanwhile, the Consulate has also not yet implemented the one-day renewal of passport as well as processing of renewal of passports on Sundays even if they have promised to do so in January this year. Although they opened their office on Sundays starting April 6, they only provide services for three hours services and is limited to collection of passports only," Eni remarked.

According to Lestari since Indonesian migrants are live-in domestic workers, they have to bargain with their employers to allow them to leave the house on weekday mornings. Some, she said, even risk their employment just to attend to their business in the Consulate. This, she reported, is worse for those who work in remote places such as in New Territory and Macau . The Consulate recently admitted that around 150 Indonesians renew their passport everyday but the application time is only in the morning and takes at least two weeks before it can be collected.

"Even the Indonesian migrants in Macau have complained of the insufficent services of the Indonesian Consulate in there. They open only on Sundays for three hours," she declared

Lestari said that there are around 6,000 Indonesian migrants working in Macau and their number has been increasing recently. The central government in Jakarta has appointed the Indonesian Consulate in Hong Kong to attend to the needs of Indonesians in Macau but it is very inadequate.

"When it comes to implementing policies detrimental to us, the Consulate is very quick. But when it is a matter of services to us, they drag their feet," Lestari remarked.

Lestari said that they will continue to mount actions to pressure the Consulate to adhere to their commitments.

"The longer the delay, the more abuses we suffer. The Consulate should immediately put their acts together," she concluded.