It was late at night when Yusuf*, a Burmese immigrant, and about 120 of his compatriots were driven to the Malaysian-Thai border in four buses. They were handcuffed in pairs and escorted by some 20 soldiers in jeeps and military trucks during the nine-hour journey.

For the Burmese, the journey marked the end of yet another cycle in their lives as a people unwanted by their own government and their adopted government. Most have fled their mother country due to ethnic and religious persecution by Rangoon's military regime.

However, the plight of these asylum seekers has failed to earn them much sympathy in Malaysia. Instead, they find themselves living in constant fear of arrest and detention by local authorities who indiscriminately target any 'illegal immigrants' found without proper documentation.

Those caught are sent to the country's infamous detention camps, described by some survivors as hell-holes. They are later sent across the northern border surreptitiously, without informing the Thai authorities.

"They are taken to the Thai-Malaysian border near Sungai Golok, Kelantan and kept there until dark so that they can cross over to Thailand without being caught by the Thai authorities. There is no agreement between Malaysia and Thailand and it is actually improper for the Malaysian government to do this," lamented Brahim, a Burmese activist based in Kuala Lumpur.

Once on Thai soil, a darker fate awaits the deportees. Waiting for them across the river are not the Thai authorities but armed human traffickers.

"There are two known smugglers in the south of Thailand. Their men will bring their trucks and wait for the Burmese at the other side of Sungai Golok. The Burmese are beaten and herded into trucks, often at gunpoint. They are then taken to the smugglers' camps in the jungle where they are watched by armed guards," Brahim added.

Held to ransom

According to Thun, a 35-year-old Muslim Rohingya who has been living illegally in Malaysia for the past 11 years, the deportees were held to ransom by the traffickers.

"These are not the government's camps. They are run by the agents, the mafia. Once taken to the camps, each person must pay 2,000 baht (RM200)," he said.

These 'camps', as described by the Burmese, are little more than a cluster of makeshift structures, similar to settlements in rubber estates, within the dense jungle area close to the Malaysian-Thai border. The temporary residents are provided with food but none are free to move as they please within the village.

"We cannot leave. There are no fences but the [agent's men] have motorcycles and they patrol the area. They circle the area and they always have pistols with them. They also beat people often," said Thun of the camps where he had ended up captive more than once after deportation from Malaysia.

Shah, a soft-spoken 22-year-old with striking hazel eyes, was one of the lucky few who managed to escape the traffickers.

"I ran away and the security followed me for two hours. I just ran into the jungle and I could see them running after me.

"It was very far. I reached a village but it was early morning and there was nobody around. I just walked around, looking for a mosque. I found one person who said he would send me to a mosque [where] I called a relative," he recalled quietly.

Human misery

The traffickers, however, were not always viewed in this predatory manner.

Other Burmese immigrants told malaysiakini that in their own experience as deportees, they had no choice but to search for these 'agents' who will provide them with food and shelter, at a price.

As the number of deportees grew, the business of human misery also became increasingly lucrative and sophisticated.

The human traffickers can arrange for the deportees to be smuggled back into Malaysia for an additional fee which was how Thun got back into the country. The Burmese are given mobile phones to contact their friends in Malaysia to arrange for the payment.

At current rates, an individual wishing to return to Kuala Lumpur will have to pay RM1,000, up from RM300 in the early 1990s. Those who are unable to afford the KL fee can instead opt to pay RM200 to be released from the smugglers' camps into south Thailand.

"This amount is too high and it is killing the people by creating debt. Gradually, they will be in debt for the next five, 10 or 15 years," said Brahim of Burmese migrants who normally earn an average of RM600 toiling at construction sites or in restaurants.

"Suppose I get caught three times in a year and I have no money. I would have to appeal to friends for RM3,000 and because of this, I have to return to Malaysia to work and repay my debt. This will take months for me to repay, and what if I am arrested again during that time?"

Handed over to Thai authorities

In cases where an individual is unable to afford the fees for their return, the traffickers would hand them over to Thai police who, in turn, will detain them for several months before deporting them at Thailand's northern border with Burma.

Mohamad, a 38-year-old Rohingya, was arrested by Malaysian police in January. He was deported to Thailand and found himself in the grip of the traffickers. However, he could not afford their RM1,000 fees.

"I had no money so they handed me to the police who sent me to the [Thai] Immigration Detention Centre headquarters in Bangkok. I was later brought to Mae Sot, at the Thai-Burmese border. I got some money by then and I gave them 1,000 baht (RM100) to not send me to Burma."

Mohamad's brother who could not afford to pay the bribe several years ago was forced back into Burma where he now languishes in prison serving a three-year sentence.

From Mae Sot, Mohamad and three others were guided by an agent to trudge a gruelling 500km distance across rough jungles and mountain ranges back to Bangkok where he was put on transportation back to Golok. From there, he had to trek another night into Kelantan before reaching Kuala Lumpur.

"It is better to die. Life like this is so difficultWe eat, sleep and drink wherever. No matter how hard it is, no one listens to us," he lamented bitterly.

Women more vulnerable

According to Mohamad, while Burmese like him who are able to speak some Thai are handed over to the police, those who are helpless and unable to communicate in Thai are sold instead to work on fishing boats.

"People who cannot pay are sold to fishing companies without them knowing. I would not know if I was sold. The contracts would be made with the bosses. People have to work for five to six months until they earn their way out," explained Yusuf, who had to borrow money from friends to keep his family of five from this fate.

According to a source, men traded in his manner earn their captors about RM1,000 each. Once taken out to the high seas, those already weak from poor nutrition at detention camps earlier, perish.

Women too are not spared. Some are forced to work as cleaners for months to raise the necessary funds to return to their families while others are sold off to work in brothels.

"The women are definitely in a more vulnerable position. Within the camps, they also face the possibility of abuse," said Brahim.

In the meantime, those resigned to the fate of re-entering Malaysia illegally prepare for the harrowing journey they have learnt to expect.

"I entered Malaysia in a car trunk. There were four of us men and women together. We had to lie like this for the whole journey to Kuala Lumpur. Some passed out along the way. It took weeks to recover from the journey," related Yusuf.

Micheal Bwai, a Burmese immigrant from the Chin minority group, had made a similar journey two years ago, but he had another tragic addition to the story.

"A few months ago, one man died while he was being transported in the back of the car. The smugglers took the body back to Thailand where it was dumped in the dense jungle."

(*The names of persons quoted in this story have been changed to protect their identity).

This is the first of a two-part series on the plight of Burmese asylum seekers in Malaysia. The next and final feature will be published tomorrow.