It could be a picture from any English language classroom. A piece of paper with English letters hangs on the wall. A teacher stands and points to the letters. The students sit on the floor and repeat them out-loud. The difference in this Malaysian classroom is that the students are not children. They are adult, refugee women, some in their late 50s. They are learning how to read and write, both in Malay and English, for the first time. A group called Women for Refugees offers the weekly classes in a neighborhood outside Kuala Lumpur. Two law students formed the group in September to help migrant women learn to read and to help them find a place in the local community. Another goal of the group is to help the women create a fuller life for themselves, one that includes work.
