United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Malaysia

By Jacob Zenn

During the summer of 2009 I interned with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My work at UNHCR was aimed at determining who fit the international law definition of a refugee and then providing assistance to refugees under the mandate of UNHCR. Other NGOs could also provide assistance to refugees in need of support, but UNHCR has legitimacy from UN and very few organizations can exert pressure on domestic governments like UNHCR. During my internship at UNHCR, I performed various tasks. Much of my work was performing research for the Refugee Status Determination Unit office on Country of Origin information for refugees from Myanmar to determine whether they warranted a presumption of eligibility (POE). Those groups of refugees who received a POE would have an expedited status determination procedure and have their eligibility for protection available with immediacy. I also interviewed refugee applicants from Myanmar, such as ethnic Burmese or Arakanese people, who did not warrant a Presumption and made recommendations on their refugee status to the Deputy Representative of UNHCR Malaysia. I also interpreted Chinese language refugee applicant interviews from mainland China and I visited Myanmar for one week and presented the findings from my trip to the Refugee Status Determination Unit.

However, my favorite part of the summer outside of work was experiencing life in Kuala Lumpur. I learned Malay language before starting the internship which allowed me to fully immerse in the society. Kuala Lumpur has an interesting demographic balance with the majority of the people Malay ethnicity and significant minorities of ethnic Chinese and Tamil Indians. There is also an evident presence of immigrants, both legal and illegal, and refugees. During my free time I would meet with Myanmar refugees and migrant workers and study Burmese language with them. This helped me understand the psychology of the refugees with whom I interviewed at the UNHCR office. I had to be careful though not to allow my relationships with Myanmar refugees prejudice my work.

I will follow up with this experience by gaining the credits to satisfy the Certificate for Refugee and Humanitarian Emergencies and attempting to work for UNHCR or a similar organization after I graduate.

United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees- Panama

Shani Adess writes from Panama:

This summer I worked with the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees and the Panamanian Red Cross in Panama City, Panama. Panama’s location, directly north of Colombia, has made it a prime asylum state for refugees fleeing Colombia’s decade’s long conflict. Unfortunately, adding to the numerous problems that asylum seekers and refugees regularly face, such as trauma, poverty, physical and mental health issues, and the loss of contact with family and friends, Colombian asylum seekers and refugees in Panama also face an extremely restrictive national refugee policy, and generalized anti-Colombian sentiment among the Panamanian population.



As a result, asylum seeker and refugee families often face significant obstacles when attempting to obtain rights under Panamanian law, such as residency, work permits, etc. Working with the Panamanian Red Cross, a partner of UNHCR, I developed for future implementation a livelihood program that would help provide employment opportunities or vocational training for refugees. I also participated in training sessions, prepared specifically for the national police, in order to advocate for refugee rights and promote awareness of the situation asylum seekers and refugees face in Panama today.
Working with both UNHCR and the Panamanian Red Cross gave me an invaluable opportunity to meet directly with both urban refugees and refugees in the Darién, the jungle located between Panama and Colombia- where the road literally ends. This is a unique experience that I was so glad to be able to take advantage of. Usually, UNHCR follows a policy of encampment in rural areas, often due to host governments’ restrictions; Panama is one of the few countries where urban refugees make up a majority of the refugee population. Still, I was able to experience was a ‘refugee camp’ would be like, visiting refugees living side by side with indigenous groups in an area well beyond the beaten path.
Without the Equal Justice Foundation fellowship, and your kind contributions, I would never have been able to accept this summer internship. As a rising third year law student, I was under significant pressure to follow the norm and accept a firm job. After years of doing public service oriented internships, my bank account would never have afforded me the opportunity to go abroad and work for free. It has been a long time goal of mine to work for both UNHCR and the Red Cross- and now I was able to do both, and hopefully I will continue doing so in the future!

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Kate Mitchell-Tombras reports from Panama:

Juan removes the loose 4x6 prints from the dresser drawer with tremendous care. Delicately unwrapping them from a protective covering, he introduces us slowly to each scene, each loved one, and each memory. My mother…my sister…my nephew…my boss—he was an American like you actually….
Juan does not hold the pictures, but rather, he cradles them. He handles each one like a piece of white-bone china, smiling upon it with pride and envy. I feel privileged to learn the contents of each photo, but I am also hesitant, not wanting to trespass on his only remaining property. Juan shares the final photo with my colleagues and me, and then, as meticulously as he retrieved them, he tucks the photos back into the drawer.
We are here on a home visit. The Red Cross partners with UNHCR to provide this service to urban refugees in Panamá. On this afternoon, my colleagues and I have met with seven refugee families, including traveling to their homes, ensuring they have enough food, and inquiring about any other pressing needs. Juan's residence is our final stop. He is a vivacious young man who is a current asylum seeker from Colombia. Although he possessed a well-paying job, lived a comfortable life style, and married a woman he loved, he was forced to leave Colombia out of imminent fear that he would be killed by the FARC. Now, he works as a day laborer (when he can find work) and waits patiently (for the bureaucracy demands patience) to learn his fate in the refugee determination process. Juan is one of the 25.1
million refugees and internally-displaced people currently under the care of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) around the world. Like Juan, they have fled, literally, for their lives. They have left behind their families, possessions, way of life, and the land they love.



This summer, I am working for refugees like Juan as an intern in the
Protection Unit of the UNHCR Panamá office. Most of my time is spent researching issues that impact individuals and families seeking refugee status in Panama. I investigate the country background of potential asylum cases with the goal of corroborating their stories with news coverage and government reports of the area where they fled.
I also have worked on projects to better understand how international refugee law is incorporated (or not) into domestic law and to consider ways the asylum-seeking system may be improved. Occasionally, I have the opportunity to "work in the field" and meet refugees living in Panama City. Already, I have learned a tremendous amount about international refugee law and the practical, messy issues that surface when dealing in a particular domestic context that is both a signatory to the relevant international treaties on refugee protection and has its own relevant domestic laws.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to intern with UNHCR this summer, a position I could not have accepted without the financial support from EJF. Regardless of my career track, the skills and lessons I have learned this summer will undoubtedly make me a better lawyer and a more compassionate citizen of the world.