28-Aug-2012
Some were in high spirits, others burst into tears.
Hundreds
from the Rohingya refugee community turned up to support a humanitarian
mission by the Putera 1Malaysia Club to help their ethnic group. They
were led by chairman of the Union of World Rohingya Organisation, Rashed
Osman.
The club will be leading the humanitarian mission to aid Rohingyas in Bangladesh and on the Thai-Myanmar border this Friday.
“I
was surprised to see such a large group of refugees. Although they
cannot go themselves, the Rohingya are here to show their support,” said
club president Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.
At least 44 volunteers are confirmed for the mission to Bangladesh.
Abdul
Azeez hoped the number would increase to 60 by the end of the week as
many Rohingya refugees were also eager to get involved.
“About half of the volunteers are doctors who will be helping to open a clinic there and perform health checks.
“The
team will be bringing US$100,000 (310,000 ringgit) worth of medical
supplies,” he said, adding that the public can still do their part by
buying an aid package worth 100 ringgit containing food and essentials
at Giant or Mydin.
The Royal Malaysian Navy has started shipping 480 tonnes of essential items.
The
team will leave Port Klang for Chittagong, Bangladesh on Friday. They
will head to a campsite on the border of Myanmar by foot after that and
are expected to return to Malaysia on September 10.
It is estimated that about 200,000 Rohingyas would benefit from the mission.
“In
no way is this a political intervention. We simply want to distribute
food, clothing and medicine to the Rohingya, especially women, children
and the elderly,” said Abdul Azeez.
He
assured that the club had taken measures to ensure the well-being of
volunteers, such as providing life insurance and bullet-proof vests.
No comments:
Post a Comment