No love for Burmese Immigrants

Gina Fazio

According to the IRIN, due to the repressive military regime in Myanmar for nearly the past twenty years, many Burmese flee to neighboring countries in search of better work. Although many go to neighboring countries Thailand, Bangladesh and India. However an increasing number are coming to Malaysia, filling positions as manual laborers and construction workers.

Myanmar is ranked 138 out of 182 countries in the UN's Development Programme's 2009 Human Development Report where as Malaysia was in the 60s. One informant says that the government of Myanmar has been making it difficult for private contractors to get permits or jobs and so they have left for Malaysia, searching for work.

However, Burmese immigrants face many difficulties in the already diverse nation. Many can't find legitimate work due to a lack of adequate paperwork so they must take under the table jobs. The informant reports that Burmese are frequently targeted by the police and harassed for papers knowing that many Burmese do not have them. This can force the immigrants to produce a bribe or risk being deported back to a country of lacking opportunity.