IF A PICTURE COULD PAINT A THOUSAND WORD

It’s fine and dandy that we organize countless activities for our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Palestine. Day in and day out I read in the media publication and see in the broadcast media about this or that organization holding charity events to raise money for the Gaza Relief Fund. Often than not, these organizations will send representatives with huge, mock-up cheques to the Fund Organizer’s office with broad smiles on their faces for the flashing photographers’ cameras. Whether those efforts come from a genuine heart who feels for the suffering of another human being or whether it’s only for show, with loads of pomp and pageantry, only Allah knows.

Having said that, please spare a thought for our Rohingya brothers and sisters who suffers from a not so similar tragedy as the one endured by our Palestinian brethren. Just for the record, here are some excerpts taken from Uncle Wiki about the Rohingya for your reading:-

“The Rohingya are mostly Sunni Muslim ethnic group of the Northern Rakhine State of Western Burma (now Myanmar). The Rohingya population is mostly concentrated in two northern townships of the Rakhine State (formerly known as Arakan). It is thought that the history of the Rohingya people dates to the early 7th century in Arakan State, where Arab Muslim traders settled, but there is little historical evidence.

Rohingya people are physically, linguistically and culturally similar to South Asians, especially Bengali people. In addition, some of the Rohingya settling in Arakan are descendants of Arabs, Persians and Pathans who migrated to Arakan during the Mughal Empire. According to Amnesty International, the Rohingya people have continued to suffer from human rights violations under the Myanmar junta since 1978, and many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh to avoid prosecution. Amnesty International further concluded that the Rohingyas’ freedom of movement is severely restricted and the vast majority of them have effectively been denied Myanmar citizenship. They are also subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction and house destruction; and financial restrictions on marriage. Rohingyas continue to be used as forced labourers on roads and at military camps, although the amount of forced labour in northern Rakhine State has decreased over the last decade. In 1978 over estimated number of 200,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, following the ‘Nagamin’ (‘Dragon King’) operation of the Myanmar army. Officially this campaign was aimed at "scrutinizing each individual living in the state, designating citizens and foreigners in accordance with the law and taking actions against foreigners who have filtered into the country illegally". This military campaign directly targeted civilians, and resulted in widespread killings, rape and destruction of mosques and further religious persecution.

During 1991-92 a new wave of the over estimated number of a quarter of a million Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh. They reported widespread forced labour, as well as summary executions, torture, and rape. Rohingyas were forced to work without pay by the Myanmar army on infrastructure and economic projects, often under harsh conditions. Many other human rights violations occurred in the context of forced labour of Rohingya civilians by the security forces. Some were later repatriated back to the nation that denied them citizenship. Some are still in exile, living in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Thailand and Malaysia.”

For further readings, please click here:-

1. ALJAZEERA NEWS

2. BANGKOK POST

3. JAKARTA POST

4. YAHOO! NEWS ASIA

5. ABC NEWS

And loads more at Google or Yahoo!

I do hope that organizations or individuals who have voluntarily spent their time and effort in raising funds for the Palestinians would also do the same for the Rohingya people. The Malaysian government, in turn, could allocate lands and citizenship, and could use these people as casual labours to spur our building and other labour intensive industry, while ridding the country of illegal labour force. This is the time to show our big heartedness by doing something for the sake of a fellow human being. In Islam, it is better to donate RM 10 in stealth, rather than donating RM 1,000 in glamorous events and showing it off to the eye of an adoring public.

But I hope for lots of things. Will this hope ever materialise?