Burmese Released from Malaysian Detention Center

Eighty Burmese migrants have been released from an immigration detention center near Kuala Lumpur International Airport with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee office (UNHCR).

Yante Ismail, a spokesperson for the UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur, confirmed that the refugees and asylum-seekers were released from the detention facility on Tuesday.

In this photo taken on July 23, children detainees look out through their shelter at the Lenggeng detention center, south of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo:AP)

Recently, 28 detainees escaped from the detention center. Six have been rearrested by authorities. The detention center has inadequate food and water, according to sources who asked not to be identified.

There are nearly 7,000 foreigners in immigration detention centers in Malaysia. Burmese detainees number around 2,800, according to the Bangkok Post, an English-language newspaper.

In January 2009, there were 1,200 Burmese in detention centers. The number has increased to 2,800 because of a worsening economy in Burma.

According to the Kuala Lumpur-based Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee, about 500,000 Burmese migrants work in Malaysia, both legally and illegally.