Voices: Refugees and migrants in Asia
8 cartoons: Meet eight men and women from Afghanistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh and learn about their journeys as refugees and migrants in Asia as they tell their own stories in these eight cartoons.
They are often young. Often hopeful. Certainly courageous. They take on jobs at plantations, farms, factories, and construction sites in Asia – working hard, keeping quiet, nearly always underpaid, usually without contracts, almost certainly with limited rights, and with no guarantee of access to legal documentation and registration to access health, education, and other basic services. This is how daily lives often are for many refugees and migrants trying to get by in urban centers of Asia. And so, they stay under the radar and remain invisible to the surrounding community, society as such, and to the rest of the world - us.
Go to page with the 8 cartoons
Real stories from real refugees and migrants: Told with 8 cartoons
But we at DRC and our partners, we meet them, and we speak to them – and try to help on many levels to improve their access to rights to seek asylum, refuge, protection, support and ways to live in safety and dignity.
Meet eight men and women from Afghanistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh and learn about their journeys as refugees and migrants in Asia as they tell their own stories of dreams, hope and tough ordeals along the way! What they have in common is that they have all left their home countries and undertaken dangerous journeys to escape war, persecution and poverty - and in search of protection and better lives.
Their names are changed, but their stories are real. All interviews are unedited and conducted in 2020 via phone by the Mixed Migration Centre in Asia.
Meet the eight refugees and migrants
They are DRC | Voices:
- #1: Shukrullah (37, male) from Afghanistan, interviewed in Tehran, Iran, undocumented migrant making a living as a dairy farm worker.
- #2: Maryam (24, female) from Afghanistan, interviewed in Tehran, Iran, undocumented migrant making a living as a garment worker.
- #3: Tuhin Khan (28, male) from Bangladesh, interviewed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia being a documented migrant, making a living as a plantation worker.
- #4: Hasina (25, female and mother with a small child) from Myanmar, interviewed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, unemployed and waiting for UNHCR registration.
- #5: Ariful Hauq (25, male) from Bangladesh, interviewed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia being an undocumented migrant, making a living as a construction worker.
- #6: Rana (25, male) from Bangladesh, interviewed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia being an undocumented migrant, making a living as a factory worker with packaging.
- #7: Kasim (28, male) from Myanmar, interviewed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia making a living as a plantation worker, waiting for UNHCR registration.
- #8: Gulbahar (30, female) from Myanmar, interviewed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, unemployed, has UNHCR registration.