Thailand and UNHCR: Appeal for Mercy to Refugees | Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

The day after International Women’s Day, we have been contacted by Pakistan Christian refugees in Thailand, about women fleeing from persecution in a country they fled to as refugees.

There are thousands of women, children, and men in Thailand who have applied for refugee status with the UNHCR, are being abandoned by the forces of human rights, and the Thailand police have started a new round of arrests of law-abiding Pakistan Christian refugees, and the UNHCR delays have allowed their visas to expire.

As our good friend with the Pakistan Christian Congress, Dr. Nazir Bhatti states, “according to International rules of Refugee under UN, it is bound to take decision on asylum applications with 90 days that any countries immigration rules may not effect but UNHCR offices in Thailand are giving 3 years’ time for decision. ”

But we are getting first-hand reports of Pakistan Christian refugees being rounded up today and arrested by Thailand law enforcement. We have appealed to the Thailand Prime Minister, the UNHCR, the Thailand embassy in Washington DC, and the United States embassy in Bangkok, to work to delay such arrests until the UNHCR can review and make decisions on their refugee applications. The content of our letters today are listed below.

We call for all women’s rights activists, all human rights activists, and all those who respect our universal human rights to act to support these women and other Pakistan Christian refugees who are being arrested and hunted in churches and the market to be round up and sent to Immigration Detention Centers.

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Letter to Thailand Prime Minister

March 9, 2015

Kingdom of Thailand
The Secretariat of the Prime Minister
Government House, 1 Phitsanulok Road, Dusit, Bangkok 10300
General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister
Honorable Prime Minister –
With great respect, I am contacting you on behalf of the human rights volunteer group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) regarding the need to assist Christian refugees who have fled from Pakistan due to the oppressive religious discrimination that they are facing in that country, and who are seeking asylum. (R.E.A.L. is based in the United States of America.)

These Pakistan Christian refugees have applied for asylum with the UNCHR, including women and children, who are refugees from religious oppression in Pakistan. I urge the government of Thailand to grant asylum to these refugees, or to at least give them the opportunity to seek asylum in the United States of America through the U.S Embassy in Bangkok.

I thank you for your stand on women’s rights, yesterday, on International Women’s Day.

There are many women, however, who need your leadership, as well as children and men among the Pakistan Christian refugees who have fled Pakistan seeking safety and asylum. There many thousands of Pakistan Christian asylum seekers who are contributing members to your nation and your economy while they await the decision on their asylum applications with office of UNHCR in different cities of Thailand.

Pakistan Christian refugees seeking asylum by Thailand have been communicating in an appeal to human rights groups to address their plight. One such Pakistan Christian asylum seeker, Jarvas Jerry, died last week as he was waiting for medical care, which apparently came too late. Mr. Jarvas Jerry died in the Siri raj hospital Bangkok on February 28, 2015. He had applied for asylum with the UNCHR.

I join with other human rights groups in appealing to your mercy and your own stand on human rights, just yesterday, to protect such rights for the safety and dignity of Pakistan Christians seeking asylum. I join the voices of other human rights groups on behalf of Pakistani Christians as token of mercy and human rights to ask you to direct the Thailand police to not make unnecessary arrests under immigration rules to allow their UNCHR applications to be considered.

I have appealed to your Ambassador here in the United States as well as to others. Please show the mercy and the commitment to human rights to these Pakistan Christian refugees, which you expressed in your speech to the world on International Women’s Day on March 8.

We share those common goals together, sir. Surely, mercy to these Pakistan Christian refugees would be great demonstrations of our ability to mutual demonstrate such support. Please let me know what we can do to assist your nation on this serious problem.

Jeffrey Imm, Founder
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

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Letter to UNHCR

March 9, 2015

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500
CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Suisse.
Telephone: +41 22 739 8111
FAX: +41 22 739 7377

cc: UNHCR Regional Representative in Thailand
3rd Floor, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, 10200 Bangkok, Thailand
Telephone: 66 2 288 1858
FAX: 66 2 280 0555
Email: thaba@unhcr.org

UNHCR Headquarters and UNHCR Office in Thailand –
I am with the human rights volunteer group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), and I am contacting you on behalf of Pakistan Christian refugees who have fled from Pakistan due to the oppressive religious discrimination that they are facing in that country. They have applied for UNHCR refugee status and they are seeking asylum as refugees.

I have heard directly from Thailand-based refugees who have applied for asylum as refugees with the UNHCR offices in Bangkok, Thailand. Some of these refugees have been waiting for years on a refugee status decision. In the meantime, the Thailand police are arresting Pakistan Christian asylum seekers. I was directly contacted about a round of arrests in Thailand today, March 9, 2015.

Pakistan Christian women, children, and men refugees are desperately seeking asylum as refugees from the oppression that they routinely face in Pakistan.

I join with the Pakistan Christian Congress and other human rights groups which call for your agencies to take action to protect the universal human rights, dignity, and security, of such refugees who have placed their hopes in your commitment to the universal human rights that the United Nations has itself declared as standard for all nations of the world.

Yesterday, the world celebrated International Women’s Day. Today women and children Christian refugees fleeing from Pakistan are now hiding from arrests going on in Thailand, while they have been awaiting action by the UNHCR.

There are many thousands of Pakistan Christian asylum seekers who are contributing members to Thailand and its economy while they await the UNHCR decision on their asylum applications with office of UNHCR in different cities of Thailand.

Please act to support these women, children, and men Christian refugees in Thailand who are only seeking the universal human rights that the United Nation is committed to in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) for the world.

Jeffrey Imm, Founder
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

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Letter to Thailand Embassy in United States

March 9, 2015

Kingdom of Thailand
Royal Thai Embassy
1024 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 40
Washington, DC 20007
United States
Contact: H.E. Mr. Pisan Manawapat – Ambassador
Telephone: (202) 944-3600
Thailand Embassy/Consulate Email: information@thaiembdc.org, consular@thaiembdc.org

Honorable Ambassador Pisan Manawapat –
With great respect, I am contacting you on behalf of the human rights volunteer group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) regarding the need to assist Christian refugees who have fled from Pakistan due to the oppressive religious discrimination that they are facing in that country, and who are seeking asylum. (R.E.A.L. is based in the United States of America.)

I am available to meet with you in person in Washington DC at your embassy on behalf of these Pakistan Christian refugees. Please let me know your schedule, and I will come to the embassy to meet with you and explain the situation these Pakistan Christians face, and why their asylum is so essential.

Honorable Ambassador Pisan Manawapat – I know you are well aware of the struggles that religious minorities face from extremists, as Thailand itself has a history of suffering from such extremist challenges, which I know you are well aware in your role in the foreign ministry. I have myself reported on such extremist challenges in Thailand over the past decade, urging assistance for your nation from the United States on our shared challenge from extremists.

Today, March 9, 2015, I have been hearing reports from Pakistan Christians whose fellow refugees are currently being arrested in Thailand today, and are being held in Thailand Immigration Detention Centres (IDC). We have heard from Pakistan refugees as to the immediate and urgent situation for the Pakistan Christian asylum seekers in Thailand, who have communicated directly with our human rights group on the plight Pakistan Christians seeking asylum. One such Pakistan Christian asylum seeker, Jarvas Jerry, died last week as he was waiting for medical care, which apparently came too late. Mr. Jarvas Jerry died in the Siri raj hospital Bangkok on February 28, 2015. He had applied for asylum with the UNCHR.

Please sir, I urge you to speak to your Thailand government regarding this situation. These Pakistan Christian refugees have UNHCR refugee applications.

I request the opportunity to speak or meet with you, so I can see how we can assist Thailand to help these refugees. These Pakistan Christian refugees in Thailand seeking asylum from oppression include many women and children.

As you stated in your recent letter to the Washington Post, “Thailand looks forward to working with the US to advance our mutual interests in fighting extremism, supporting human security, global health. security, climate change and many more.”

We share those common goals together, sir. Surely, mercy to these Pakistan Christian refugees would be great demonstrations of our ability to mutual demonstrate such support.

I have the greatest respect for your leadership for the Thai people, and I respect your commitment to human rights and human dignity. Please let me know what we can do to assist your nation on this serious problem.

Jeffrey Imm, Founder
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

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Letter to United States Embassy in Thailand

March 9, 2015

Embassy of the United States of America
Bangkok, Thailand
Chargé d’affaires, a.i.
W. Patrick Murphy
GPF Tower A, 10th Floor, 93/1 Wireless Road,
Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Telephone: +66-2-205-4485
Central Fax: +66-2-650-8921
IRC Fax: +66-2-650-8918; BKK CIS Fax: +66-2-650-7770

Chargé d’affaires, a.i., W. Patrick Murphy –
In lieu of a new U.S. ambassador to Thailand, I am contacting you on behalf of the human rights volunteer group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) regarding actions by the Thailand government involving Christian refugees who have fled from Pakistan due to the oppressive religious discrimination that they are facing in that country, and who are seeking asylum. (R.E.A.L. is based in the United States of America.)

Since these Pakistan Christian refugees are being not granted asylum by Thailand, these individuals seeking asylum have been communicating in an appeal to human rights groups to address their plight. One such Pakistan Christian asylum seeker, Jarvas Jerry, died last week as he was waiting for medical care, which apparently came too late. Mr. Jarvas Jerry died in the Siri raj hospital Bangkok on February 28, 2015. He had applied for asylum with the UNCHR.

Today, March 9, 2015, I have been hearing from Pakistan Christians who are currently being rounded up and arrested in Thailand today, and are currently being held in Thailand Immigration Detention Centres (IDC).

We have heard from Pakistan refugees as to the immediate and urgent situation for the Pakistan Christian asylum seekers in Thailand, including a Mr. Imran Ishaq, who has communicated directly with our human rights group on the plight Pakistan Christians seeking asylum. Refugee Imran Ishaq has led the Iman Foundation Trust in support of such Pakistan Christian refugees (ImanFoundationTrust@praxitech.com).

Please sir, I urge you to speak to the Thailand government regarding this situation. These Pakistan Christian refugees have UNHCR refugee applications, but the UNHCR has not taken action on this yet. Human rights groups have reached out to the Thailand Prime Minister on this.

We have this urgent situation where Pakistan Christian refugees desperately need asylum. If the Thailand government continues to deny asylum to these refugees and the UNHCR has not supported such refugee applications, I call upon the United States of America’s embassy in Bangkok to grant Pakistan Christian refugee visitors to the U.S. asylum for safe passage to the United States of America.

The U.S. Embassy can do this, in accordance with U.S. CIS asylum application Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. There are Pakistan Christians seeking asylum to the United States today.

Mr. Murphy – I know that you share our commitment to the universal human rights of fellow human beings, and yesterday (March 8) you stood to celebrate International Women’s Day and reaffirm your commitment to women’s rights, along with other women around the world, as did our human rights organization. These Pakistan Christian refugees in Thailand seeking asylum from oppression include many women and children. Please let our actions match our words of commitment, sir.

Thank you for your time. Please help these refugees who need to be heard.

Jeffrey Imm, Founder
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

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