Adeel Malik
More than half a million Rohingya people have fled to the southwest of Bangladesh in the last two months fleeing the violence and persecution from the Burmese soldiers and lynch mobs.
Women bring with them stories of gang rapes, their children being burned in front of their eyes and other horrible barbarity.
The Rohingya Muslims are undoubtedly world’s most persecuted minority and what’s happening to them is unquestionably an ethnic genocide.
As the world community came forward to help the ever-growing refugees numbers in futile camps in Bangladesh, Muslims in Hong Kong likewise have been coming together to assist in easing the plight of their fellow brothers and sisters in faith and humanity.
Muslim Council of Hong Kong, established in mid-2015, have been providing emergency aid to the Rohingya refugees on a regular basis.
In May, 2015, they partnered with Indonesia’s registered charity organisation Dompet Dhuafa and managed to raise more than HK$100,000 which went towards food, clean water, medical aid and education support for the Rohingya refugees living in camps in Indonesia.
Then, during the period of December, 2016 to April, 2017, they worked together with UK’s registered charity organisation One Nation and raised more than HK$103,000 to help the Rohingya community inside Burma.
Read Also: Who are the Rohingya?
And now, with the recent crisis, MCHK has been collaborating with another UK’s registered charity organisation Ummah Welfare Trust, through which more than HK$144,000 has been raised thus far, and as well as with a Bangladesh’s registered charity organisation Self-Reliant Society, succeeding in fundraising nearly HK$200,000.Click here to donate.
Besides MCHK, the long-serving, the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong alongside the Islamic Union of Hong Kong and other key Muslim organisations have achieved in raising much awareness and as a result so far managed to raise more than HK$2 million in donation money from the community.
The Muslim community in Hong Kong have not just raised their hands in prayers, shed tears in pain but also gave from their wealth to help the most needy Rohingya people.
Some even gave their long-term savings and highly valuable jewellery stating what’s good in them if they can’t help the Muslim Ummah.
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Local Hong Kong Imams, including the Chief Imam Mufti Muhammad Arshad, Mufti Muhammad Shoaib and Mufti Zamaan had all sacrificed their time and went to the refugee camps in person to provide the aid.
They were well supported by other Imams such as Imam Suleiman Wang and Imam Tuffail.
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The meetings they had with the Rohingya people were incredibly distressing as they witnessed with their own eyes and ears the horrifying stories and events the people have underwent reaching the camps.
Emergency food aid, building of water pumps and providing better sanitation systems have been implemented with the donation money so far.
Moreover, clothes, shelter homes and education support have also been put into action, keeping in mind short-term and long-term goals.
It goes without saying, no matter how much the world community help the Rohingya people with humanitarian support, it will never be enough as their numbers are growing while their living conditions are devastating.
We pray for their struggle to be eased and those responsible for allowing this travesty to be held accountable.
