Refugee Fest 2024 to kick off with new interactive elements

Refugee Fest 2024 is set to kick off tomorrow and festival founder Mahi Ramakrishnan said this year's edition will have new interactive elements.

She said the organisers will be running 12 “festivals on wheels” in which refugee artists and Malaysian supporters will perform and interact with different communities in Chinese new villages, Indian settlements and PPR flats, as well as yuppie areas such as Bangsar.

This year’s festival is co-directed by Mohamed Abdi Iso and Abeera Mohamad from the Somali community. Their team consists of refugees from other communities, Malaysian CSOs, local and foreign volunteers, and students.

"This is an effort to connect people on the ground, especially given the escalation of digital hate against refugees and also migrant workers.

"We will have a rapporteur to observe and write a report on the mini-festivals and a data analyst team to do data visualisation. These will then be passed on to a writer who will write a policy paper which will be passed to the government," said Mahi.

She said it was important to show the effects of collaboration and cooperation amongst different groups of people.

According to Mahi, the idea was to use the festival as a platform to connect them with the larger Malaysian society, which the festival has done successfully over the years.

"It’s also an approach to counter the government narrative, which tends to look at forced migration from a security lens, which is then used as an excuse not to acknowledge the rights of asylum seekers and refugees," she said.

Festival events

Refugee Fest was founded in 2016 to showcase the talents of artists from different refugee communities in Malaysia.

The launch of the festival is on June 21 at 3pm at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. It will conclude on June 23.

The festival on wheels will start in July and end in June 2025.

Among the many events at the launch tomorrow include performances by a Yemeni cultural dance troupe, Iranian singer Amimasoud, music performances from Penang's Rohingya community and a Myanmar dance group performing a bamboo dance.

There will also be spoken word and standup comedy performances, a film screening and a panel discussion called “Media representation of refugees: Combatting stereotypes and promoting empathy”.

Canadian High Commission to Malaysia's first political secretary Alina Kwan, who will give the opening address, told Malaysiakini that the Canadian High Commission is a proud, multi-year supporter of the Refugee Fest.

"Each iteration of this festival is a powerful reminder of the incredible resilience and strength of refugees, who continually enrich our communities despite facing innumerable challenges.

"The refugee experience in Canada has shown us the immense benefits they bring to our country.

"Refugees in Canada seize the chance to build better lives, contributing significantly to our economy and cultural tapestry with their education, skills, and determination," said Kwan.

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