Frustrated with the delay in their bid for resettlement, a group of 24 Burmese Rohingyas - including three women and seven children - held a protest outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur today.

The adults in the group are also staging a hunger strike, which began at 8.30am.

But eight hours later - at about 4.30pm - they were 'detained' by immigration officials and sent to the Semenyih immigration detention camp.

According to the officials, the Rohingyas were being held to ascertain their legal status.

The protestors - all of whom have UNHCR refugee status - are peeved with the UN agency for failing to resettle them in a third country after years of waiting.

"Some of us have been waiting for over four years. We have been given refugee status documents by UNHCR and we return yearly to renew it. When we enquire about our resettlement status, we are constantly told that it is being processed.

"How long more do they want us to wait? Our children can't go to school here. We don't have jobs and homes. It is very, very frustrating. Why are other groups given resettlement and not us?" asked group spokesperson Hafiz Mohd Motul.

One protestor, who spoke to malaysiakini , flashed his refugee status tag to prove the length of time he had waited for resettlement - 14 years.

Posters brandished by the hunger strikers also accused the agency of discriminating against them, a charge which had been denied by UNHCR.

Hafiz said that many Burmese Chins and Acehnese had been resettled in other countries. "Why not us?" asked Hafiz, quoting UNHCR statistics that fewer than 100 Rohingyas had been resettled so far.

UNHCR: No discrimination

UNHCR, in a statement to malaysiakini earlier today, refuted charges of discrimination. It said that resettlement was not a decision made by them but rather by resettlement countries themselves.

"Unfortunately, resettlement is not a feasible or a realistic option for the Rohingyas, not least because resettlement countries have shown little interest in them, it is also a fact that Malaysia has de facto hosted them for over 10 years," said UNHCR chief Volker Turk in the statement.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged the "desperation felt by the Rohingya community in Malaysia, as most of them have resided in this country over 10 years, with no hope of returning to their country of origin".

"We estimate that there are some 10,000 Rohingyas in Malaysia living mainly in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. UNHCR documentation has given them a limited degree of protection but they are still unable to work and their children are unable to go to school.

"It is obvious that survival has been difficult for them here and UNHCR empathises with their situation," he added.

The Rohingyas - who are ethnic Muslims from Burma's Arakan state - began fleeing to Malaysia in the 90s fearing persecution in their homeland. They are deemed stateless by the ruling military junta.

The junta has been widely condemned for its human rights abuses of the Rohingyas by human rights organisations.

State of limbo

Late last year, the Malaysian government announced that the Rohingyas were to be given temporary resident status, which would allow them access to jobs, healthcare and education. However, this has yet to be implemented by the authorities.

Turk was initially hopeful that the move "would regularise the situation of the Rohingyas, who up until now had been tolerated but were still considered illegal migrants and subject to arrest".

"Regretfully, we have not heard any further news on this matter, and the Rohingyas remain in a state of limbo over their status. We hope this new documentation will be issued soon to provide a measure of security for this community."

Today's protestors also said they were worried for their future especially after Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak remarked last week that refugees would not be spared in the ongoing crackdown on undocumented foreigners.

There have been 19 refugees with UNHCR documents arrested so far since the nationwide crackdown began on March 1.