Reflections

malaysiakini organised a 2 days ‘news writing’ class on 14 and 15 aug. at its premise. 14 CJ from different states attended the class. conducted by an ex editor who has over 20 years of experience.

the trainer was good. she presented and talked in a lively manner and was very spontaneous. during the introduction of participants, i realised that i had attended her class before 2 years ago, organised by cahayasuara communications department, a catholic social communication department. (will give the link and the write up of the class i took in 2008 towards the end).

one good thing about the class, is that there were lots of practical lessons, which made the class exciting. it would be dead boring if we just sat down and listened and asked. we get to do exercises individually on paper, with a partner on paper, and individually going up the whiteboard to write. then there were the interview parts too (more about it later).

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Over the years,  the number of migrant workers and refugees had been increasing. While many of them settled comfortably, starting life anew, there were also a number of them who ran into problems, when they were abused, marginalized and their basic human rights infringed on. Who do they turned to? Mostly, to NGOs or individuals who have dedicated their time to help migrants and refugees.

In the Northern region of Peninsular Malaysia, there are a number of NGOs that address the problems migrants and refugees faced. Sensing that there is a need for a network that bring together all these NGOs and individuals who are involved in migrants and refugees works, the Northern Migration and Refugee Network was launched in Nov. 2007. (It is better known by its Bahasa acronym – JUMP – Jaringan Utara Migrasi dan Pelarian). (more…)