Chin refugees still in limbo over documentation

Chin refugee children during a 2018 protest outside the UNHCR office to urge the agency to maintain refugee protections for ethnic Chins. Starpic by SHANJEEV REDDY/R.AGE

PETALING JAYA: Almost 10 months after the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) decided to maintain refugee protections for ethnic Chins, many are still living in Malaysia without UNHCR documentation, says a Chin refugee rights NGO.

“The UNHCR has renewed the cards for refugees, but none of the asylum seekers have had their cards renewed, ” said James Bawi Thang Bik, coordinator and acting chairman of the Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR).