RFA unplugged
I just realised a few days ago that RFA Unplugged , a Radio Free Asia blog....Written by RFA staff has me on their blogroll. Awwwww.. I'm glad someone else besides my friends read my rantings on Burma and life in general.
I'm very flattered because my father was a big fan of Radio Free Asia. We would have it on in the house at night all the time - back in the days on little transistor radios and then via online streaming when that became available.
You can listen to Radio Free Asia here in Burmese.
RFA also has a very insightful article on the plight of Burmese construction workers in Qatar
excerpt: “The agents in Burma manipulate and cheat us,” general worker Ko Aung told RFA’s Burmese service. “All they do is squeeze from us as much as they can and then put us on the plane to Qatar. The rest is not their concern.”
Actually the same thing happens in Singapore. I have met many labourers who look for help because after selling all their belongings in Burma to pay an agent to help them get a job in Singapore that pays little more than 3 or 4 dollars an hour, many of them are cheated of their pay. Often, many of them do not get paid for months at a time or some, at all.
It is sad because the Burmese authorities do not check or care about the conditions of Burmese workers in foreign countries. And many Burmese agents know that this goes on but again, I have no say in how they do business. Again, foreigners can't bully us, if we don't actually assist them, so I think it's time that agents and governments and hiring companies took some responsibilities.
Maybe we can actually set up an online information portal. I'm going to look into that. I think that education and information is extremely important because ignorance only breeds ignorance.
We also link to you regularly at Globalvoices.
Sometimes, I get told that you guys do but I can never find the link! Thanks for the confirmation! I appreciate Global Voices too - for keeping us all informed.
Thanks for the mention - it's very interesting to read about your father's connection to RFA, and also the additional info about Burmese workers in Singapore.
There are several organizations in Malaysia that are run by ethnic Burmese refugees, and a great deal of their work on behalf of their own communities has involved employment issues. Of course, they face different legal constraints in working with asylum-seekers, but what's interesting is the extent to which they have been able to connect with honest employers. Of course, the refugee workers still face these problems of abuse and not being paid, but just having a few community leaders who are knowledgable about their rights and who can act as intermediaries to find honest employers and refer employees has certianly made a difference. They've managed to do this even for undocumented migrants, so imagine what could be done with a little education and initiative for documented migrant workers in these countries.
Yes, you're right. The only trouble is that in Qatar, migrant workers aren't allowed to organise; only Qatari citizens are. Please let us know how your idea for a portal comes along - it sounds like an excellent plan.
Yeah, I suspect in most of these countries where Burmese people are working, they have no rights to organize. To be honest, I'm consistently amazed at the extent to which these groups in Malaysia are allowed to work, since they are in a gray legal area. I guess it comes down to their ability to build relationships and to be seen as social support organizations rather than either political or labor organizations. Any organization would certainly have to be informal, I'd imagine, but the extent of what they've managed to accomplish the unlikely in Malaysia should be cause for hope. I hope the plan for a portal does come to fruition.
Yes, I think that community leaders will play a big role in the rights of Burmese workers overseas. I understand the legal woes that might befall upon the refugee workers, et al, in fact I have not met any refugees in Singapore - I'm not sure they allow them at all. What troubles me greatly right now is that a lot of the Burmese workers here who are neglected in rights and pay that they deserve are very much legal. My father once went to Ministry of Manpower in Singapore here to help a group of young men once as they had not been paid in months. He was told that the employer responsible has declared "bankrupt" and that there was nothing we could do but wait. Many workers who are legal are afraid to complain as they do not know the laws well, do not speak ENglish well, or think that they will lose their oportunities in Singapore if they do.
I'd be very interested to know the organizations in M'asia who help the Burmese refugees. I think the information portal would take a lot of work but here is the basic layout:
1) Get connected with several local community leaders in regards to workers' rights.
2) Get the Right information in regards to rights, emergency numbers to call, etc, published, on a website and also in pamphlet forms to be distributed to new workers - these pamphlets would be most useful when placed in areas that the workers can easily access - such as Burmese shops, immigration centres, both overseas and also in Burma. (places would need to be sourced)
3) Agencies should be part of this as well. In fact, perhaps they should educated as to how they access the employers to be and how they can help the workers, without fearing of losing Business.
This is really just a basic plan. I am doing more research so that I can consolidate a better outline to help the workers. Inputs would be appreciated.