KUALA LUMPUR – Undocumented migrant children should not be punished by locking them up in detention centres as they are victims of circumstances and are in their current predicament through no fault of their own.
Human rights advocates are once again calling on the government to change such practices as many of the children were arrested without their respective guardians.
Some parents fled their countries of origins with their children for fear of persecution, as well as safety concerns, and to seek greener pastures in Malaysia.
Speaking to The Vibes, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris psychology counsellor Dr Fauziah Mohd Sa’ad said incarcerating children for prolonged periods could lead to stress.
Fauziah urged the government to provide them with a “better environment” in the detention centres.
“As human beings, we have to provide a better environment for the children. They are an active bunch, so locking them up will only lead to stress. At least provide a space for them to play, or a teacher to teach them.
“These children are not guilty. They are underaged. If we don’t have the social responsibility to help them, at least help on humanitarian grounds,” she said.
The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) released its latest annual 2019 report last month, which said that there are no facilities for children in almost all of the immigration depots in the country.
Suhakam added that, despite advocating for alternatives to detention (ATD) for children since 2014, the project has yet to be implemented by the government.
Suhakam had recommended for undocumented foreign children who are detained to be released to civil society-run shelters, noting how more than 1,000 children were locked up in depots nationwide in 2018.
Voice of the Children chairman Sharmila Sekaran said depriving children of their basic facilities and needs are both “harsh and unkind”, especially when many of them are below the age of 6. Some are even newborns.
She claimed that, based on the non-governmental organisation’s own studies, she found that the immigration depots in the country are too basic and bare for children to live in.
“They need to learn, play and socialise. But at the moment, there is nothing. Zero stimulation, in fact.
“I appreciate that the children won’t be there for long, but we have the duty and obligation to ensure they have the opportunity to grow to their full potential, however brief they are locked up,” she said.
Among other things, Sharmila said the government should at least provide a small space to act as a makeshift nursery equipped with books and toys, such as building blocks.
In echoing Suhakam’s calls, human rights lawyer Andrew Khoo said in the first place, children should not even be held in detention centres.
“We are not asking for facilities in the depots, but find them alternative detention centres that are more conducive to these children. We are asking that they, and their families, be placed together in shelters.
“Holding them in immigration depots is not appropriate for anyone and certainly not for children,” he said.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud could not be reached for comments. – The Vibes, December 11, 2020
