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Refugees Cancelled Their Departure
Kuala Lumpur, March 13: The US department of homeland security is hurling out so many conflicting messages on refugees who take refuge in Malaysia and Thailand that they (DHS) doubly require for further security review, although many of whose departures have been confirmed in Malaysia.
There is more that it needs to be learning the sole cause of this departure cancel wave as its order came directly from Washington that the officers in IRC (International Rescue Committee) and IOM (International Organization of Migrants) department even don't know it and cannot effectively explain about it why and what happens towards the distressed refugees.
Since weeks ago, it has been started speculating about the cancellation of dozens of departures in Malaysia. A few weeks in the past they (IOM dept) could inform those concerned on time, said one of the staffs in IOM. However, there is such never incident happened like last Monday (7th) that some of those who had been boarded on the bus for traveling to the airport from UNHCR office were immediately called off their departure, which was because of information sent late by
Washington, elucidated the officer in IOM department in UNHCR office.
According to the confirmed source from IRC department in UNHCR, it reveals that 750 refugees from Malaysia—those already confirmed for their departures are being canceled in order for security reason to review once again but it is unable to know how long it will take back to the normal condition. Also, 850 refugees from Thailand are facing the same problem with the unimaginable uncertainty.
All of those face departure cancel are of Myanmar refugees, source said.
On last Monday cancellation, one of the victims among dozens of whose departures canceled said to VOCR that 12 cases of their batch were, though 15 cases escaped from this havoc, told about their departure cancellation after being boarded on the bus and returning to the office of UNHCR as to heed an explanation by the related department. It was such a terrible. "We got shocked and extremely fearful for all of us" continued him, "A moment later, one of the high-ranked officers from IRC came to us and telling us that it is not the thing they did (here in Malaysia) and is beyond their ability to do so but just a clear order from Washington for furthering security review again".
Some of the victims those with family members will surely have a big challenging problem for living as the fact that their apartment had been reverted to the owner and belongings sold to friends. Mr. Henry Sui Hmung said "For me, I no choice have to rely on my friends for the time being". It was also learnt that none of any financial aid for transportation wasn't made out for them despite there was a demand from the victims.
A credible or fair thing from the respective office should be done. Nonetheless, IOM department only provided the phone for them in attempts to call friends or relatives to take them home from the office. It sounds a very big issue for every single of refugee in Malaysia.
There is more that it needs to be learning the sole cause of this departure cancel wave as its order came directly from Washington that the officers in IRC (International Rescue Committee) and IOM (International Organization of Migrants) department even don't know it and cannot effectively explain about it why and what happens towards the distressed refugees.
Since weeks ago, it has been started speculating about the cancellation of dozens of departures in Malaysia. A few weeks in the past they (IOM dept) could inform those concerned on time, said one of the staffs in IOM. However, there is such never incident happened like last Monday (7th) that some of those who had been boarded on the bus for traveling to the airport from UNHCR office were immediately called off their departure, which was because of information sent late by
Washington, elucidated the officer in IOM department in UNHCR office.
According to the confirmed source from IRC department in UNHCR, it reveals that 750 refugees from Malaysia—those already confirmed for their departures are being canceled in order for security reason to review once again but it is unable to know how long it will take back to the normal condition. Also, 850 refugees from Thailand are facing the same problem with the unimaginable uncertainty.
All of those face departure cancel are of Myanmar refugees, source said.
On last Monday cancellation, one of the victims among dozens of whose departures canceled said to VOCR that 12 cases of their batch were, though 15 cases escaped from this havoc, told about their departure cancellation after being boarded on the bus and returning to the office of UNHCR as to heed an explanation by the related department. It was such a terrible. "We got shocked and extremely fearful for all of us" continued him, "A moment later, one of the high-ranked officers from IRC came to us and telling us that it is not the thing they did (here in Malaysia) and is beyond their ability to do so but just a clear order from Washington for furthering security review again".
Some of the victims those with family members will surely have a big challenging problem for living as the fact that their apartment had been reverted to the owner and belongings sold to friends. Mr. Henry Sui Hmung said "For me, I no choice have to rely on my friends for the time being". It was also learnt that none of any financial aid for transportation wasn't made out for them despite there was a demand from the victims.
A credible or fair thing from the respective office should be done. Nonetheless, IOM department only provided the phone for them in attempts to call friends or relatives to take them home from the office. It sounds a very big issue for every single of refugee in Malaysia.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ZIRC on
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Dear Colleagues,
I want to update you on the recent refugee processing and arrival delays that resulted from the new Department of Homeland Security protocol. As previously stated, this protocol affects all refugees and is not limited by nationality or country of origin or asylum. Once refugees pass this additional protocol they are traveling onward to destination communities throughout the United States. We are working closely with DHS, OPEs, and IOM to minimize delays and to prioritize the departure of minor cases, cases with medical needs, and cases with protection concerns.
We expect flight cancellations to decrease over time and the process to normalize over the next 60 days. Realizing that over 2,000 medical clearances could expire due to delays caused by this policy, PRM requested an extension of the validity period for these individuals. CDC granted, on a one-time basis, a short extension of the validity period in order to minimize the need to conduct another medical exam. CDC conducted a risk analysis prior to granting this extension to minimize any health risks to U.S. communities. We are grateful for CDC’s close cooperation and willingness to grant this extension.
Regarding the allocations process; currently the predicted arrival date for refugees is being calculated each time a case is allocated. At this point in the year, any cases put on hold post-allocation are still counted as cases allocated to the Resettlement Agency and predicted to arrive during this fiscal year. If the case on hold subsequently is closed, then the agency would receive this number back during subsequent allocation meetings since the case will not arrive. The holds that we are experiencing now should not affect pool calculations until we move closer to the end of the fiscal year. PRM and RPC will continue to monitor the situation to see if changes are necessary.
It has been noted that IOM cancellation notices over the last few weeks have stated a variety of different holds: “administrative hold,” “PRM hold,” and “hold at OPE request.” To date, no specific guidance has been given to OPEs on using specific hold reasons, so no one should attribute various meaning to any particular hold. We are working to standardize terminology and plan to issue guidance to OPEs to use the term “PRM requested hold”.
Some of you have asked if this new procedure will have an effect on the pacing of arrivals and cause greater numbers of arrivals in the fourth quarter. We can tell you that we are already expecting higher arrivals in quarters three and four since arrivals to date are lower than anticipated. We are doing what we can to spread arrivals over both third and fourth quarters to obviate a large surge at the end of the year. Having said that, we remain focused on meeting the total authorized regional ceilings, even if it requires heavier arrivals in the fourth quarter.
PRM recognizes the challenges this additional review places on refugees and on your agencies. We continue to work to minimize the impact. Once again, if you have questions regarding the cancelled flight of a specific case that that you believe should be expedited, please contact your PRM program officer.
Regards,
Larry
Acting Director
Office of Refugee Admissions
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
U.S. Department of State -
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