Ever since that my dad married with his partner from China on 2015, It has been a yearly thing that I need to go to Immigration Office and help to apply and renew social visit pass for his partner.
It has been tough for me on the past 6 years to do this yearly as I really don’t like the feeling in Immigration Office. It is so uncomfortable in the environment that filled with unfriendliness atmosphere.
I wonder why?
Perhaps I am also part of the contributor of this unfriendliness atmosphere too?
Why do I even have the resist emotion?
Perhaps it’s due to the strangeness towards the migrants?
Malaysian government officially estimated that the country (between 2018 to 2020) hosted approximately 1.4 to 2 million documented migrants, and unofficial estimates of 1.2 to 3.5 million additional migrants (as reported by the World Bank) – thus making Malaysia the largest migrant-receiving country in Southeast Asia, which is around 15% of his total population of 32.7 million.
The large number of migrants has created impact on social issue in Malaysia. Perhaps this explains why those Malaysian like me has the resist emotion towards migrants.
The journey and learning encounter in GMF fellowships has definitely changed my narrative and resist emotion towards migrants. It has taught me to open my mind and have better understanding on migrant issue in different perspectives. The friendship that forms within fellows from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal and Philippines has also affect the ways that I think and feel about migrant.
It seems like my heart has been soften. For the first time my feeling while stepping in to the Immigration Office last month no longer as heavy and stressful like before. I was not keeping myself busy over the phone like all these years while helping my dad's partner to renew social visit pass. Instead I was being present and observing the people and the environment around.
I can feel for those who are there with kids trying their best to apply the pass/visa and keep their family together.
I can feel for those who are struggling to understand the procedure of application due to the language barrier.
But yet they never give up, perhaps I should learn from their grit and resilience attitude towards the problem.
Yes, I can feel them because they are human being like us too.
Perhaps the least that we can do is don't judge them as who they are.
Let's be kind, smile with them.
And yes, for the first time in Immigration Office I helped to translate and explain to 1 family about the new procedure of applying online.
There you go...the inner transformation has begun!
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