PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 18, 2010 – Experts estimate there are between 1-2 million undocumented workers in Malaysia.  While many migrants come to the country with legitimate work permits, many are not so fortunate.  Foreign workers are often promised contracts in their home countries by various outsourcing agencies.  When they arrive in the country many are not given promised wages, have their contracts breached, and in some cases unsuspecting workers are trafficked for labor or for sex within the country.

Disappointed by Hope: Migrants and Refugees in Search of A Better Country is a new publication that explores the realities faced by many foreigners seeking labor or refuge within Malaysia. The book focuses on 26 specific issues and is based on case studies, actual accounts, and interviews with foreigners in Malaysia who have been trafficked for sex, deported, arrested, detained in Immigration Detention Centers, cheated, or who have fled violence and persecution in their country as legitimate refugees only to be granted no legal status by the Malaysian government.

The book features stunning images from Malaysian photographer Jonathan Kwok, Reflections by Melanie Hurlbut, and original short stories by Canadian writer Andrew Kooman. Former High Commissioner of Malaysia to Canada Dato’ Dennis Ignatius writes in the book’s foreword that Disappointed by Hope is “a siren call to … forever take from us our complacency to the plight of so many lost, lonely and hurting migrants.”

Disappointed by Hope is being released on 19 June, 2010, on the eve of World Refugee Day in Penang, Malaysia at 8 PM at the Penang House of Prayer (PenHOP). The book is published by Youth With A Mission Penang, which has a number of initiatives among migrants, refugees, and the urban poor in Malaysia, and Raise Their Voice Against Injustice, a society in Canada that addresses justice issues through story. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go toward establishing a school for the urban poor in Penang, Malaysia.

The book is available at www.raisetheirvoice.com and www.ywampenang.org.

About Raise Their Voice:
Raise Their Voice Against Injustice (RTV) is an official society in Canada. It exists to creatively and effectively address issues of global injustice. Based in Red Deer, Alberta, RTV has done work in television, documentary and feature film, and gives its strength to tell stories that capture the imagination of the heart on the page and for the stage — stories that affirm the value and dignity of the whole person.