Abuse of Domestic Workers a Shock to Malaysia's Premier
THE Malaysian government has issued Nirmala Bonat, an Indonesian maid, an official apology after she was abused by her employer's wife. In the official apology days after the case of abuse was publicised in mid-May, Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar said: "We apologise and wish to extend our sympathies to her and family, who had placed high hopes on her earning an income, but she was abused instead."
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said that he was "shocked and outraged" at the injuries that were inflicted on her over the course of five months. Abdullah promised that people who mete out such "heinous crimes" will not be let off so easily. BBC News.
The 36-year-old wife of Bonat's employer faces charges in court, which has denied her bail and ordered her to be remanded at the Kajang Prison pending trial. BBC, Malaysiakini.com
Bangladesh Sets Up Unit to go after Traffickers
THE Bangladeshi government has set up a unit to gather intelligence on the trafficking of women and children and rescue victims before they are smuggled out of the country.
The unit, which as of May has already started work, would also exchange information with neighbouring India, monitor prosecutions, and develop a database of known traffickers and victims, the official news agency BSS said.
Each year, some 3,000 women and children in South Asia are victims of trafficking, most of them from Nepal, Bangladesh and India.
Many girls end up in brothels in India or the Middle East. A Bangladeshi non-governmental organisation in January released a study that said nearly 1,000 children were smuggled out of the country in a three-and-a-half year period to June 2003.
Singapore Lays Out Ways to Help Foreign Workers
SINGAPORE'S Ministry of Manpower has outlined several steps to aid foreign workers - even before they arrive in the city state to work.
Dr Ng Eng Hen, Acting Minister for Manpower and Minister of State for Education, speaking at the National Trade Union Congress' (NTUC) May Day Show for foreign workers, pointed out that other ways of propagating information have to be found because foreign workers do not have access to the Internet, where the bulk of the information is.
"What we want to do is disseminate some information to the workers before they come (here)," he said.
Other measures include laws that offer financial protection and working with foreign embassies to provide "reliable intermediaries" that can be trustworthy sources for foreign workers. Such steps will prove useful for the Republic in protecting the rights of foreign workers as they grapple with the challenges of working in an alien environment. 'Today', Singapore
New Booklet Sheds Light on HIV and South
YouandAIDS.org, a HIV/AIDS portal for the Asia-Pacific (http://www.youandaids.org), has just released a new booklet that illustrates the links between migration in South Asia and the spread of HIV.
According to its website, the portal mainly "seeks to address the strongly-felt information and services needs of the region, particularly in the overall development context, and act as a regional platform to synergise multisectoral responses against the HIV/AIDS epidemic". Its booklet contains basic information on migration, its reasons as well as the implications it has on the region. It notes the responses that can be used to deal with the predicament of the HIV/AIDS situation in the region
It outlines the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) role in working with governments and civil society partners to disseminate knowledge on migration and HIV and to help create policies that would aid safe migration.
The booklet (PDF format) is available for download from the website.
