I’ll never stop helping

IT was mid-November 2018. I was lying on bed, exhausted, still jet-lagged two days after reaching home from our 17- day humanitarian mission to Turkey, Syria and Lebanon.

It was then that I read about an explosion at a market in Afrin, Syria, one of the places that I had visited. I could visualise the locals crowding the market for their groceries.

A colourful assortment of fruits and vegetables is displayed on wooden carts. Voices of the sellers trying to attract customers could be clearly heard.

Everyone going about their daily routine when suddenly an explosion shatters the market! Though thankful for my safety, I couldn’t help thinking of those people who died, and their families. That’s Syria.

No matter how many safety precautions you take, there’s always the risk. And as humanitarian workers, we are always reminded of this. I found out later that the explosion did not just happen in Afrin. The towns of Azaz, al Ra’i and al-Bab were also targeted.

We had visited all these areas. However, this did not deflate my intention to continue helping them. “Why do people from Asia come all the way here to help the Syrians?”

Said Shanun, the governor of Afrin, asked me as soon as we sat down in his office. I looked at our team members before replying: “The Syrian issue is not just for the Syrians to face. It’s an issue that involves the whole ummah.” I told him that it was a question I am always asked. He said: “Your answer is sufficient.”

He and his officers kept praising Malaysia and the Malaysian people for the kindness shown towards people all over the world. I felt so moved and proud hearing their words.

Realising that we were representing our nation thousands of kilometres away made the separation from families and friends all the more worthwhile. We were happy with the opportunity to collaborate with Türkiye Diyanet Vakfi (TDV) that led to our foray into Afrin that early winter of 2018.

We paid a courtesy visit on Hatay Province Mufti Sheikh Abdurrahman Shahin in Turkey and expressed our intention to enter Afrin.

We wanted to distribute winter aid in Afrin and were eager to execute it ourselves. After a brief meeting with the mufti, a lady officer told me, “You will now depart to enter Afrin.”

I exclaimed, “Now, now?” With a big smile on her face, she said: “Yes, now!” I was elated.

The mufti did not just give us consent to enter Afrin, he also arranged the logistics and escorts to ensure our team’s safety during the journey.

It was an honour to be the only Malaysian non-governmental organisation to have been granted permission to enter Afrin. While we were there, we visited the governor’s office and were later invited to attend a Maulid celebration at a mosque.

The officers from TDV who accompanied us took us to their office and, to our surprise, other officers were waiting for us and we were served a special local dish for lunch. After that, we went to a local mosque for aid distribution.

The second floor of the masjid was filled with children attending Quran classes. I got close to a girl wearing a pale green sweater with a pink headdress. I asked her about her hometown.

“I do not want to go back. Everything is destroyed. My house was bombed. I managed to run to safety but some people died under the rubbles. I am afraid.”

Du’ana, 6, who is from Eastern Ghouta, began to warm up to me.

“I am happy here. We are safe and I get to go to school and play with friends.”

Her friend, Khadeeja, shared her story, too.

“We were playing in our neighbourhood after school that day. Suddenly a huge explosion nearby shook our area. Black smoke billowed into the sky.

“We were so afraid that there would be another explosion and that we could be the next target, so we ran towards our homes.”

Many children like Du’ana and Khadeeja live in the trauma of their experiences. It was no wonder many children we met were afraid of foreigners like us, or men in general.

Having to witness violence, displacement and being victims of hostile situations are traumatic experiences children face growing up in war-torn countries like Syria.

Without a doubt, this leaves an impact on their development, relationships and outlook on life in general. I knew then that I will never stop helping them.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views and editorial stance of the SOHR.