Kathmandu, May 3 -- On International Workers' Day on 1 May 586 undocumented migrants and refugees in Malaysia were rounded up and taken to detention buildings. The raid took place in three buildings in Kuala Lumpur that house an estimated 9,000 migrant workers, primarily from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.
A Nepali worker who lives in one of the buildings said although Nepalis are a minority in the area, some 60-70 of them were caught in the May Day dragnet carried out by 350 officials in protective gear checking IDs.
"Luckily, all of them had proper documents," the worker said on the phone from Kuala Lumpur.
Another Nepali worker said the officials in masks and protective gowns came room to room in the apartment block, scanning IDs, a...