Imagine being a refugee - The Nut Graph

KL Sentral security guard, with performers in the background resting before their show.

Stall helpers dressed in traditional costume.

Children being given an explanation on the lives of refugees.

The exhibit showed how many refugees in Malaysia live with very minimal amenities, sometimes with up to 40 cramped in a small room.

Observers were invited to imagine what it would be like to be a refugee, having to fend for your family in a foreign land while living in cramped conditions.

Exhibition titled 'Take a minute to be a refugee'. — Exhibition titled ‘Take a minute to be a refugee’.

Police officers also visited the educational booths and exhibits.

Market stall by the Shan Refugee Organisation.

These products attracted the interest of tourists and passers-by.

Many handmade products by the refugee community were on sale.

The crowd watching a cultural performance.

Hundreds stopped to observe the exhibits and performances at the KL Sentral concourse.

A refugee watching the cultural performances from her stall.

Many refugee children have difficulty registering for school and obtaining healthcare due to not having official refugee status.

Children from the refugee community preparing for their performance.

UNHCR workers briefing the KL Sentral crowd on World Refugee Day.

REFUGEES have no official existence in Malaysia. This is because Malaysia, along with Libya, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia and most of our Southeast Asian neighbours, has yet to sign the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention.

As a result, there is no legal distinction between refugees and economic migrants or undocumented workers. This is unjust as refugees often have no recourse but to escape their home countries due to persecution, and require extra protection. Refugees, for example, could face torture, even death, if deported to their home countries.

To highlight the courage of refugees in rebuilding their lives despite the horrors they face, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and their partners celebrated World Refugee Day at KL Sentral on 19 and 20 June 2010. Commuters and tourists at KL Sentral encountered exhibits, cultural performances and market stalls by UNHCR and the refugee community in Malaysia.

All photos by Mark Leo and are courtesy of him.

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