欠薪困境下的阿富 Afu and the Struggle of Unpaid Wages

当时，唐南发正在联合国难民署（UNHCR）工作，这段经历使他得以了解许多寻求庇护者所面临的困境。其中一位，就是来自缅甸掸邦的年轻华人难民阿富。阿富在一家华人开的小工厂里工作，然而，他的老板拖欠了他整整四个月的薪水，让他生活陷入绝境。在向难民署提交相关文件后仍未见进展，唐先生决定亲自介入。

他拨通了老板的电话。对方一听是为阿富讨薪，态度立刻变得恶劣。唐南发没有与他争吵，而是冷静地陈述事实与法律后果：“老板没有关系。我现在只是告诉你，不管他有没有合法身份，你请了他，他跟你做了这么多个月，没有拿到薪水是不应该，马来西亚有这样的案例，即使是难民，只要能证明他为你工作，劳工法庭也可能会判你必须支付薪水。”

老板最终不耐烦地挂断了电话。但两天后，唐南发接到了阿富的来电，电话那头的声音充满了感激：“谢谢你大哥，老板已经把薪水发给我了。”

这个结果证明，一个简单的电话，一次基于事实的冷静沟通，就能为一个走投无路的人追回他应得的尊严。

At the time, Josh Hong was working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an experience that exposed him to the many hardships faced by asylum seekers. One of them was Afu, a young ethnic Chinese refugee from Shan State, Myanmar.

Afu worked at a small factory owned by a Chinese employer. However, his boss withheld his wages for four consecutive months, pushing him into a desperate situation. After Afu submitted the relevant documents to UNHCR and saw no progress, Josh Hong decided to intervene personally.

He called the employer. Upon realising the call was about Afu’s unpaid wages, the employer’s tone immediately turned hostile. Josh Hong did not argue. Instead, he calmly laid out the facts and the legal implications:

“It doesn’t matter. I am just telling you this: regardless of whether he has legal status or not, you hired him, and he worked for you for months. Not paying his wages is wrong. There are cases like this in Malaysia. Even if he is a refugee, as long as he can prove that he worked for you, the labour court may rule that you are required to pay him.”

The employer impatiently hung up the phone.

Two days later, Josh Hong received a call from Afu. On the other end of the line was a voice filled with gratitude.

“Thank you, brother. The boss has already paid me my wages.”

This outcome proved that sometimes, a single phone call, grounded in facts and delivered with calm resolve,can help someone at the edge of despair reclaim what should never have been taken from them: their dignity.

故事来源：唐南发

Story source: Josh Hong