{"id":160024,"date":"2020-05-04T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=160024"},"modified":"2020-05-04T08:39:06","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T07:39:06","slug":"malaysia-cites-covid-19-for-rounding-up-hundreds-of-rohingya-migrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/05\/malaysia-cites-covid-19-for-rounding-up-hundreds-of-rohingya-migrants\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia Cites Covid-19 for Rounding Up Hundreds of Rohingya Migrants"},"content":{"rendered":"

In move condemned by UN, refugees including Rohingya detained amid rise in xenophobia.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\"Rohingya <\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Rohingya refugees wearing protective masks practise distancing while waiting to receive goods from volunteers in Kuala Lumpur.
\nPhotograph: Lim Huey Teng\/Reuters<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/header>\n
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2 May 2020 – <\/em>Malaysian authorities have rounded up and detained hundreds of undocumented migrants, including Rohingya<\/a> refugees, as part of efforts to contain coronavirus, officials said.<\/p>\n

Authorities said 586 undocumented migrants were arrested in a raid in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Friday. Armed police walked people through the city<\/a> in a single file to a detention building, according to activists. The UN said the move could push vulnerable groups into hiding and prevent them from seeking treatment.<\/p>\n

Those detained included young children and ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Social media posts, including some by Malaysian politicians, have recently blamed Rohingya of committing crimes and accused them of dominating areas of the capital.<\/p>\n