Statelessness & Citizenship Review
2021
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Figure 2: An infographic in Bahasa Malaysia informing migrants, stateless and
undocumented persons of the Government’s announcement that they would not
be arrested if they come forward for COVID-19 screening. This post went viral
and was shared 229 times. Graphics by ANAK member Akhdan Shah Sheikh
Sabang.
B
Community-Based Social Listening Tools
Pandemic-related restrictions on movement obstructed ANAK’s ongoing
interactions with the stateless and undocumented communities. This required
ANAK to use new tools to maintain its understanding of the challenges they faced.
Rather than only broadcasting messages, ANAK wanted its communication
channels to be multi-directional. Through ‘social listening,’ ANAK utilised its
communication platforms to better understand the families it serves and ensure
that ANAK’s work was in line with their needs and priorities.
Two strategies were employed: community journaling and online focus group
dialogues. Community journaling allowed ANAK to gain an in-depth, longitudinal
understanding of how COVID-19 impacted people’s everyday lives. The
organisation selected two individuals in the central Sabah town of Keningau and
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