Activist shares info on vaccine rollout with refugees

KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s decision to vaccinate all foreigners residing in the country, including students, refugees and undocumented migrants, is a welcomed move, says Syrian refugee Hasan Al-Akraa.

The Co-Founder of Refugee Emergency Fund and Al-Hasan Volunteer Network noted that his vaccination appointment would be on July 8.

“I’m very excited and really looking forward to it,” said Hasan, who has been living in Malaysia with his family for the past 12 years.

His non-profit organisation and Asylum Access Malaysia have been working hand-in-hand to disseminate information on the vaccine rollout to refugees.

For the past month, he said they had created a video tutorial in several languages on how refugees could reserve a spot in MySejahtera app, as well as on the vaccination programme’s official website.

“We are encouraging them to register and soon, we are planning to conduct online workshops for refugees to come forward and ask questions that they might have about the vaccine,” Hassan said during an interview on Bernama TV Mid-Day Update programme.

Hassan, who is also a Refugee Rights Activist, was interviewed in conjunction with World Refugee Day, which is observed on June 20.

The Home Ministry had recently requested for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to hand over information on refugees in the country for vaccination.

Elaborating on how Malaysians could further help the refugees living in the country, Hassan said raising awareness and getting the right information about refugees were important.

“Start with your own circle of friends, get the right information and share possible stories about refugees’ contribution to Malaysia as well as try to make friends with the refugee community,” he said. — Bernama