Rumitnya akses ke sekolah dasar dan menengah bagi pengungsi di Semenanjung Malaysia telah menyedot perhatian publik. Namun, dengan sejumlah pengungsi yang berhasil lulus sekolah menengah, sebuah pertanyaan yang tidak kalah penting pun muncul: Apa selanjutnya?

“Apa kau ingat aku pernah berjanji akan mengajakmu makan dimsum?”

Setelah menerima rapor akhirnya di tahun 2020, Zahra* mendapat teks WhatsApp dari dosen Teknik Biomedis-nya, Dr Amal*, yang Zahra panggil dengan panggilan akrab cikgu, artinya “guru” di bahasa Melayu. Dosen tersebut mengajak merayakan akhir tahun ajaran dengan dimsum dan pencuci mulut di Hotel Marriott di Putrajaya.

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Joshua Low is a social anthropologist and journalist working on migration issues in Malaysia and Ecuador. He is currently carrying out ethnographic fieldwork on amnesty programs and rising xenophobia in Ecuador.

Tang Xiao Ming is a illustrator based in Selangor, Malaysia. His work portrays interesting and quirky characters in surreal states, injecting an emotional quality into his style to connect with his viewers. His works can be found at www.imtxm.com or instagram @imtxm. Reach him at xiaomingtxm@hotmail.com