A wave of hostility is increasingly targeting Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, a community that fled violence and discrimination in Myanmar. Nine years after a former prime minister urged the nation to protect the stateless minority, the situation has shifted dramatically, leading to fear and uncertainty for refugees.
Access to education has become particularly challenging. Rohingya children are barred from Malaysian public schools and typically attend unlicensed, community-run learning centers. These centers have become vulnerable to crackdowns. In one instance, police raided a school in northern Malaysia, photographing students and ordering some to go home. Another school in Selangor suspended classes and reopened with new instructions for students to avoid wearing uniforms and to go directly home after school to minimize visibility and potential attacks.
The crackdowns appear to be sporadic and often influenced by public sentiment. This climate of fear has led to the closure of some schools in recent months. Additionally, some Rohingya families have faced eviction from villages where they had lived for years. Local residents have expressed concerns to Malaysian media about potential "social problems" arising from their continued presence.
Following an eviction from a fishing village near Penang, approximately 120 Rohingya refugees sought shelter outside the UN's refugee agency in Kuala Lumpur, where they were temporarily detained. More than half of this group were children. This series of events has left a community already feeling beleaguered looking over its shoulder, with one refugee stating, "In the early years, the Malaysians were our friends. They cared for our children. But it's changed."
The refugees express a sense of being unwanted, with one individual lamenting, "I would leave if I could, but where else can I go? We are not wanted anywhere."