For most people, childhood is a time filled with preschools and playgrounds.
For others, like young refugees in Malaysia, it means navigating the hardships of displacement, and clinging to dreams of safety and a brighter future amid uncertainty.
Childhood for refugee children is anything but normal. While primary school education serves children up to 12, many refugee children lack access to basic education.
Some are forced to begin their primary education at 16, just a year younger than Malaysian students graduating from secondary school.
The Malaysian Relief Agency (MRA), the humanitarian agency that runs the Rohingya Community School (RCS), a learning centre for primary education, said the oldest student it received was a 16-year-old who had never received formal education.
MRA education executive Wan Nur Alia Wan Ahmad Hifni said these cases were not uncommon, especially for new arrivals.
Being refugees, however, did not dampen their enthusiasm to go to school and seek knowledge.
“They are enthusiastic about learning.
“It’s hard, however, to maintain overage students’ interests. Just imagine, a 16-year-old being surrounded by 8-year-olds,” said Wan Nur Alia.
“Usually, we (RCS) try to accelerate their education progression, and by the time they leave the centre, they can read, write, count, understand and interact with Malaysians. So they can earn a livelihood.”
Speaking of her experience as a teacher for refugees, she said some students were psychologically distressed because of their situation.
She shared instances of children being in limbo about their identity, especially after going through horrifying experiences on their journey to Malaysia.
“For this, I will make sure I help them with what they need so that one day, they can help others in need, not only in Malaysia but also in Myanmar,” she said.
The RCS, first established in 2009, operates in Kuala Lumpur and Kedah.
It teaches primary school education and Myanmar and Rohingya languages to help students familiarise themselves with their roots.
The RCS sponsors students with potential to enrol for secondary education at other community learning centres.
There are 188,210 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia, up to end-April.
Most of them are from Myanmar, fleeing conflict areas or persecution.
The remainder are from 50 other countries fleeing war and persecution, including Pakistanis, Yemenis, Syrians, Afghans, Somalis and Palestinians.
The UNHCR website said 25,499 were under 18, with 23,823 of school-going age.
Of the latter, only 30 per cent are enrolled in the 133 community learning centres.
Wan Nur Alia said access to refugee education was limited, especially when the children were enrolling in secondary and tertiary education.
“It’s like a pyramid. As you level up, your access to education gets more limited.
“Their access to education varies by state. Most community learning centres are in urban areas.
“For tertiary education, their doors become smaller due to the high cost and the fact that they lack documentation, such as passports or their formal education certificate, especially for those who completed their education in their home country,” she said.
She added that the MRA was looking to expand its learning centres in terms of space and capacity, as its centres could accommodate only about 90 students.
Speaking to commemorate World Refugee Day, Wan Nur Alia said she hoped the MRA would sustain its learning centres, foster better understanding between refugees and Malaysians, and see an end to the conflict in Myanmar.
“Sentiments against refugees became very negative after Covid-19, and it’s rising.
“We hope to create better understanding between Malaysians and refugees because refugees are humans, too,” she said.
Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Malaysia head of mission Froukje Pelsma shared instances where refugee children in detention centres didn’t know what cats, chickens or cows looked like.
“This is the situation for children in detention centres, not those in Baitul Mahabbah (detention centres for refugee children) where they have access to basic education.
“The MSF (Doctors Without Borders) visits detention centres fortnightly to provide psychosocial support for detainees, but we have to split our time between men, women and children, leaving limited time with each group,” Pelsma said.
She added that the majority of children in non-Baitul Mahabbah centres did not have access to educational facilities.
“Having a child myself, and knowing the fun of learning and discovering new things, it breaks my heart (to see the refugee children),” she said.
Refugees have no legal status in Malaysia and are regarded as undocumented migrants, subject to arrest and detention under Immigration laws.
For refugees, the UNHCR card is the only form of identity that identifies them as persons requiring international protection, meant to prevent their arrest and detention under Immigration charges and deportation to a country where their lives or freedom may be at risk.
However, some refugees wait a lengthy time for their UNHCR card, risking detention during this waiting period.
Pelsma said the MSF’s work also involved providing medical support for undocumented women and children refugees, seeing 800 to 1,000 patients each month.
She said the most common health issues affecting refugee children involved acute skin and soft tissue disorders and upper respiratory infections.
She said that while Malaysia provided care for refugees with infectious diseases, it usually did not cover diagnostics, which can be costly and leave some cases unreported.
“We (MSF) are working with the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Women, Children and Community Development to push for the government to also cover diagnostics for communicable diseases and compulsory childhood vaccination.
“This benefits Malaysians, too, because higher vaccination rates reduce transmission.
“We are also advocating for free treatment for sexual and gender-based violence survivors at one-stop centres.”
She said the MSF was exploring the establishment of a healthcare insurance scheme for undocumented refugees.
“This means they would pay for it themselves, but at a minimal cost, covering outpatient and inpatient care. An organisation is doing this in Thailand with success.
“We see this as a win-win situation because there are many unpaid hospital bills in Malaysia.”
The outstanding amount of unpaid medical fees from foreigners amounted to RM40.08 million in 2023.
She said she hoped for the swift establishment of the MSF’s initiatives, as well as the end of child detention in immigration centres, and for Malaysia, as the next Asean chair, to help put an end to the Myanmar conflict.
She also said the situation would improve if Asean countries worked together to bring an end to the conflict.
“Malaysia will be the Asean chair next year and it, together with Indonesia, has been the most vocal about Myanmar, and that the country needs to stop the war because of the terrible things that are happening there.
“We hope Malaysia will work on this with Asean, especially that it has the power of the chair.”
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd