Death threats turn Rohingya activist’s home into a prison
06 April 2021 - 08:00
byRozanna Latiff and Ebrahim Harris
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Rohingya refugee and activist Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani cries during an interview with Reuters at his home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 19 2021. Picture: REUTERS/LIM HUEY TENG
Kuala Lumpur — Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, a Rohingya Muslim refugee and activist who fled persecution and ethnic strife in Myanmar, has called Malaysia home for nearly three decades. Now, it’s more like a prison.
Zafar, 51, has not left his home on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur for nearly a year, after misinformation spread online that he had demanded Malaysian citizenship, triggering a wave of hate speech and death threats against him and his family.
“I’m still scared. For a year, I’ve not set foot outside. I’ve not seen the earth outside,” said the father of three.
Zafar has reported the false accusations and online attacks to the police, but to his knowledge, no charges have been filed. He has denied making any demand for citizenship or the same rights as citizens for Rohingya in Malaysia.
More than 100,000 Rohingya live in Muslim-majority Malaysia, long seen as friendly to the persecuted minority even though they are not officially recognised as refugees.
The welcoming sentiment soured a year ago as people started saying Rohingya were spreading the then surging coronavirus.
Hate speech calling for violence against Rohingya and other undocumented migrants spread widely online. Some of it targeted Zafar, who heads a prominent Rohingya refugee rights organisation.
Zafar still receives abusive calls and messages on his phone and social media accounts daily, and details and photos of his family have been circulated online.
His Malaysian wife, Maslina Abu Hassan, said the attacks have taken a heavy toll. Their children no longer attend school due to safety concerns, and last year, Zafar was diagnosed with depression and began taking medication to cope, she said.
Zafar, who is registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), applied to be moved to another country but his request was rejected after the agency said he did not meet its criteria for resettlement.
A UNHCR spokesperson in Kuala Lumpur said in an e-mail the agency could not comment on individual cases. Resettlement decisions depend on various factors, she said, but ultimately lie with any potential host countries.
Zafar said he hopes the agency will reconsider his case because he no longer feels safe in Malaysia.
“I cannot relax my body, my brain, my heart. I cry asking why people are doing this to me.”
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Death threats turn Rohingya activist’s home into a prison
Kuala Lumpur — Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, a Rohingya Muslim refugee and activist who fled persecution and ethnic strife in Myanmar, has called Malaysia home for nearly three decades. Now, it’s more like a prison.
Zafar, 51, has not left his home on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur for nearly a year, after misinformation spread online that he had demanded Malaysian citizenship, triggering a wave of hate speech and death threats against him and his family.
“I’m still scared. For a year, I’ve not set foot outside. I’ve not seen the earth outside,” said the father of three.
Zafar has reported the false accusations and online attacks to the police, but to his knowledge, no charges have been filed. He has denied making any demand for citizenship or the same rights as citizens for Rohingya in Malaysia.
More than 100,000 Rohingya live in Muslim-majority Malaysia, long seen as friendly to the persecuted minority even though they are not officially recognised as refugees.
The welcoming sentiment soured a year ago as people started saying Rohingya were spreading the then surging coronavirus.
Hate speech calling for violence against Rohingya and other undocumented migrants spread widely online. Some of it targeted Zafar, who heads a prominent Rohingya refugee rights organisation.
Zafar still receives abusive calls and messages on his phone and social media accounts daily, and details and photos of his family have been circulated online.
His Malaysian wife, Maslina Abu Hassan, said the attacks have taken a heavy toll. Their children no longer attend school due to safety concerns, and last year, Zafar was diagnosed with depression and began taking medication to cope, she said.
Zafar, who is registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), applied to be moved to another country but his request was rejected after the agency said he did not meet its criteria for resettlement.
A UNHCR spokesperson in Kuala Lumpur said in an e-mail the agency could not comment on individual cases. Resettlement decisions depend on various factors, she said, but ultimately lie with any potential host countries.
Zafar said he hopes the agency will reconsider his case because he no longer feels safe in Malaysia.
“I cannot relax my body, my brain, my heart. I cry asking why people are doing this to me.”
Reuters
Aid workers struggle to reunite Rohingya families after fire kills 15 people
India urged to give refuge to dozens of Rohingya at sea
More Rohingya refugees sent to low-lying Bangladesh island
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Malaysia to send 1,200 detained nationals back to Myanmar
Myanmar erases name of Rohingya village razed in 2017 ethnic cleansing
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.