Music performances, film screenings among events at refugee festival

PETALING JAYA: A festival showcasing the talents of refugees will be held in George Town, Penang this weekend.

The event, which takes place in Bangunan UAB from April 5 to 7 from 3pm onwards, is open to the public.

The public can expect to see music performances and poetry readings at the refugee festival. A workshop, panel discussions and film screenings about refugees will also be held.

Festival founder Mahi Ramakrishnan said she was inspired to come up with the idea of a refugee festival four years ago to showcase the talents of refugees and to use that as a platform to build bridges between the refugee communities and Malaysian society.

This is the first time the festival is being held outside Kuala Lumpur.

“I believe it’s crucial that opportunities are created for them to meet and get to know one another so that we can understand the refugees are just like us: with the same dreams, hopes and aspirations,” she said in a statement Thursday (April 4).

Mahi said the conversations about refugees remain largely about their suffering and persecution.

“While it’s important to document the atrocities committed against them, I believe it’s also important to celebrate their talents, courage and determination. They are now a part of the Malaysian society.

"So let’s celebrate our diversity,” said Mahi.

She said that while Malaysians reacted so strongly and positively to the way New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, responded to the Christchurch terrorist attack, there were those who call migrants and stateless person crude names.

"It becomes imminent that we need to keep creating spaces for interaction between the public and refugee communities. Together, let’s make an inclusive world," she said.

As of end January 2019, there were some 164,620 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia, although the number may be much more.

About 85% of the refugees in Malaysia are from Myanmar, with the majority of them being the Rohingya.