Kedai Jalanan and Green Living Collaboration

 

Kedai Jalanan is such a great project that by the middle of the year, I was making plans with Lin Idrus to have a joint session to get Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Green Living to work together with Kedai Jalanan. What's there not to love about it? Preloved clothes, bags and usable items are kept out of landfills and are given a new lease of life. The urban poor and homeless community are treated with dignity and offered useful things new to them. MNS members get to volunteer with the homeless community and meet our street clients, many for the first time.

 

I did an event writeup and announcement in our newsletter which ran for two months to give our members sufficient time to spring clean for a good cause. I included facts such as that most  of the clothes dropped off in recycling bins end up being sold in 'bundle stores' in developing countries instead of being used to directly benefit the underprivileged in our own city. Many of our clients have also requested clothes suitable for work (e.g. blouses, work shirts, trousers, shoes, baju kurung) as they wish to attend job interviews to seek better employment opportunities, so let us help them in order that they may help themselves. The objective of this project is to help redirect usable resources to local beneficiaries.

The first month, I received a few inquiries, but the second month onwards, response was phenomenal. MNS members from near and far called to arrange for collection and delivery of clothing and other items. Many asked to volunteer. Lin and I were pleasantly surprised by the positive response, especially at the last minute. There was a carnival-like atmosphere at the sidewalks of Jalan Panggung on the Sunday afternoon we set up our pop-up store (20th Dec). Even some of the homeless individuals came to help us unpack and hang up clothing and put up clothing racks.

 
The volunteers interacted really well with our street clients and everyone felt it to be a very positive experience.

The meeting point.
(Photo credits: Liza Manshoor)

Volunteers helping to put up racks and hang up clothing. Some of our street clients showed up early to help so that they would be first in line to choose the items they want.  We love interacting with them when they come early to help, before things get too crazy at the pop-up store and conversation becomes impossible.

Some of our MNS volunteers from Kuantan and other cities coordinated their visits to KL with this weekend so that they could come and help out.

 

Rangamal and Rizal working together to sort and hang up clothing.

 Proud of our reliable volunteers: Rangamal, Liza, Illani and Pui May.

   

 

Pasu, Jehan, Husna and Fashilah. Volunteers and friends like them is what makes our country beautiful. 

 

 MNS volunteers, represent!
From left: Pasupathy, Rizal, me, Illani and Pui May.
 (Photo credits: Liza Manshoor)

 

Business in full swing. Our street clients were very happy that they got to choose more items this time around thanks to the increased number of donated items.

Lin Idrus (left) and her fantastic UM team. Our good friends Leena (4th from left) and Jun (far right) were in town and joined in, too. 

 

 

We received so many donated goods that our pop-up store extended to the sidewalks of 3 shophouses (all of which are thankfully closed on Sundays). Our street clients can be seen here choosing footwear, bags and toiletries. 

Most of the items were all taken up by our street clients by the end of the evening (around 7 p.m.) and the volunteers packed up the remaining items to be taken to the urban poor community in Chow Kit, so nothing was wasted.

 

It was a wonderful and productive Sunday and a good start to the holiday season. Sharing our resources is good for the Planet and human society, and volunteering makes better persons of us all.

Letter to the Editor: Assumptions about Migrant Workers Inaccurate and Unhelpful

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT MIGRANT WORKERS INACCURATE AND UNHELPFUL

Hassan Talib's claims on the reasons why migrant workers come to Malaysia and the Malaysian authorities' treatment of undocumented migrants ('Time To Flush Out Illegals', The Star, Nov 19) are rooted in neither facts nor reality.

His comment that undocumented migrants are attracted to Malaysia because of the "good and humane treatment" extended to undocumented migrants is way off the mark. Malaysia's disproportionately harsh treatment of undocumented migrants, which includes flogging and detention without trial under the Immigration Act 1959/1963, as well as poor detention conditions which leave detainees susceptible to communicable diseases, sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of harm, is a matter of grave concern and has been documented by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Suhakam, among others.

If the writer had ever set foot in an immigration detention camp, he would realise that the 'warm clothing' and 'proper documentation' he had waxed lyrical about do not exist, and any food given is inadequate and would not pass basic hygiene standards. SUARAM reported in 2008 that detainees are only given one cup or half a bottle of water a day. Instances of ill-treatment of detainees, deaths in detention and human trafficking by immigration officials are reported by both domestic and international media.

The UNHCR and other intergovernmental agencies have never "acknowledged Malaysia to be one of the few developing countries that honours and practices the UN Charter in taking care of illegal immigrants". Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, or the 1951 Convention or 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Malaysia does not distinguish between refugees and undocumented migrants, and routinely subject all undocumented migrants, including refugees, to arbitrary arrest, detention and physical punishment. Many undocumented migrants and refugees report of extortion, beatings and other harm in the hands of the Malaysian security forces, paramilitary volunteer corps and employers.

Far from being a "haven for illegal immigrants", Malaysia is actually ranked one of the worst places for migrant workers to work in by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) due to the lack of rights and protection for migrant workers, whether legal or undocumented. The recent deaths of 3 Bangladeshi workers in the MRT construction accident highlight the dangers that migrant workers face in their daily work due to the lack of legal protection and occupational health and safety measures.

The reasons why migrant workers continue to flock to Malaysia in search of jobs are grinding poverty, lack of economic opportunities, civil or political strife, and persecution in their home countries, as well as the untruthful promise of lucrative jobs by agents and employers who go to rural villages to lure young men to work abroad. Governmental corruption and lax border security make it easy for undocumented migrants to enter and remain in Malaysia, despite the threats to their lives, safety and freedom.

No rational person would actually believe that undocumented migrant workers in the agriculture sector are the cause of the illegal land clearing activities in Cameron Highlands. Farm owners prefer to hire migrant workers because they are willing to work long hours for pittance, without benefits and often without protective gear. It is ridiculous to think that the undocumented migrant farm workers are the ones with the prerogative and leverage to order the illegal clearing of land. Migrant farm workers merely follow the instructions of their employers, yet are made scapegoats in latest spate of landslides because Malaysians find it uncomfortable to think of their own countrymen as the culprits.

The environmental crisis in Cameron Highlands is nothing new, nor did it only begin with the arrival of undocumented migrant workers. Every few years, there will be reports of water pollution, use of banned pesticides and herbicides and rampant land clearing in Cameron Highlands, all stemming from the lack of monitoring and enforcement. The problems of landslides, pollution, lower agricultural yield and higher temperatures in Cameron Highlands are not going to go away with the arrest of migrant workers.

As long as the authorities are unwilling to monitor and enforce laws against the farms, as long as consumers are willing to settle for cheaper produce with a high pesticide residue load, as long as farm owners are not made responsible for the environmental health and safety of their farms, farm products and areas surrounding their farms, there can be no resolution to the problems plaguing Cameron Highlands.

As conscientious citizens, we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves, acknowledge our roles in the damage we've caused to the environment and the human rights abuses we've inflicted on migrant workers, assume responsibility and make reparations to finally put things right.

WONG EE LYNN

PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR