Denied refugee status, Palestinians in Malaysia speak of trauma living as 'illegals'

Palestinian refugees in Malaysia lead a difficult life as they face daily harassment from enforcement officers, despite vocal statements and gestures of solidarity for the Palestinian cause from government leaders.

MalaysiaNow's conversation with a group of Palestinian refugees reveals how they live in fear and are frequently threatened especially by corrupt policemen and immigration officers.

The situation is in stark contrast to the Anwar Ibrahim government's recent efforts to show its support for the Palestinian cause by bringing 127 wounded Palestinians from Gaza to Malaysia for treatment.

Nazeem (not his real name) works at a restaurant in Cyberjaya, Selangor.

The Gaza resident arrived in Malaysia in 2017 at the age of 18, shortly after completing high school.

It was an expensive journey, as a lot of money has to be paid to lobby for jobs with certain groups.

So far, Nazeem has worked as a construction worker and as a restaurant assistant.

"I knew a few Arabs who could help me find a job. I pretended that my father knew them. I paid for their coffee every night until I ran out of money," he told MalaysiaNow.

"I said that I needed a job and that I could not ask my father for money. So they got me a job."

Nazeem is among the tens of thousands of refugees in Malaysia who are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) but are denied their rights as refugees.

Of the 190,370 refugees registered with UNHCR in Malaysia, 630 are Palestinians, according to statistics obtained by MalaysiaNow up to June this year.

Malaysia is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, the key documents that form the basis of UNHCR's work to assist refugees worldwide.

However, the country continues to accept those fleeing conflict zones, many of whom are tolerated on humanitarian grounds.

As Nazeem does not have refugee status, it has been difficult for him to find a job or a place to live and he has been forced to move several times.

Nazeem does not question the sincerity of Malaysians in supporting the Palestinian cause.

"Imagine being told every day that you are homeless. We all know that, but why keep saying it?"

However, his daily experiences over the past eight years are a different story altogether.

He recounted how he had to endure harassment from a group of policemen almost every day when he went home from work.

Nazeem said he and his co-workers were used to being approached by policemen patrolling their neighbourhood, signalling them to stop and asking for their IDs.

Each time, they would explain that they were walking home from their workplace across the street.

"I would explain and show my UNHCR card stating that I am from Gaza.

"They would reply, 'No, no. Do not talk about Gaza. This is Malaysia, you are here because we took you in, you are homeless, you are a foreigner, you cannot work'," Nazeem lists the familiar phrases he hears every time he is stopped.

Nazeem said the experience had taken its toll on him emotionally and mentally.

"Imagine being told every day that you are homeless. We all know that, but why keep saying it?" he said.

"If my family dies today in Palestine, I swear I will kill myself tomorrow. Why do I want to live like this?"

During the conversation with MalaysiaNow, Nazeem's colleague, also a Palestinian, recounted how he had paid RM150 to a policeman just two days earlier.

"He stopped us and asked for my passport, but I did not have it with me. They checked the system and asked why there had been no updates. He then said it was my fault. I gave him money and he let me go," he said.

MalaysiaNow is waiting for a response from the police regarding the allegations.

Shattered dreams

Nazeem is not the only one who has to deal with the authorities on a daily basis.

He says he knows at least 20 refugees from the Gaza Strip who have been denied refugee status under UNHCR.

He has no choice but to work hard to be able to send money to his family back home.

His mother and siblings live in the West Bank, while his father and brother are in the Gaza Strip.

Nazeem said he uses the services of "Hamas middlemen" in Malaysia to transfer money, adding that every Palestinian in the country knows them.

"They send the money to your family and take 50% of the amount. Once the money reaches the family, they take RM50.

"No one can ask why, how and when. If you do not like it, do not send the money."

It's been 11 years since Nazeem met his father and brother.

But he said he would prefer not to see them in their current state, adding that he wanted to preserve the memory of his father as the able man who provided for his family.

Nazeem still dreams of continuing his education to fulfil his ambition and become a lawyer or a scientist.

For now, he has no choice but to follow his daily routine after waking up: showering, getting ready, buy groceries, go to the restaurant, cooking.

"There's no one who can really help you."

He said that it is not easy to make sure the money is sent to his mother on time, given the obstacles he faces every day.

"My mum would often call and ask when the money was coming. I would reply, 'Sorry mum, there's a time difference in Malaysia and I have to go to Kuala Lumpur'.

"Next thing you know, I'd be hiding from the police for four hours. Then my mum would call again.

"This is how you have to survive. There's no one to help us."