Penang, Malaysia | Asia Samachar | 29 April 2015
Be strong. Stay strong. See a Nepalese talk to him. Our local Nepalese need us too.
This short message was spotted on the Facebook page of Sukhindarpal Singh, a Penang-based lawyer, who is also an active social volunteer.
Indeed, a timely message. Many of us are already thinking of helping the victims of the earthquake by either donating funds or extending our time in some sort of service. While we are at it, let us not forget the Nepalese, estimated to be in the range of 900,000 in Malaysia, in our midst.
Let us talk to them.
Back home, the scale of the humanitarian crisis engulfing eight million people in Nepal is starting to sink in as we view video footages and photographs of the devastation unleashed by the massive earthquake.
“In some villages, about 90% of the houses have collapsed. They’re just flattened,” Rebecca McAteer, an American doctor told The Guardian, a London-based newspaper. Udav Prashad Timalsina, the top official for Gorkha, warned that people were not getting food and shelter.
Health workers, meanwhile, fear a major crisis is unfolding among survivors of the quake who are living in the open or in overcrowded tents with no access to sanitation or clean water. By the end of Tuesday, 5,057 people had been confirmed dead and another 10,000 injured, the report added.
We may not be in Nepal to extend a helping hand. Let’s do our bit wherever we are. When you next see a Nepalese, talk to him or her.
HOW TO HELP:
Coalition of Malaysian Sikh Organisations (CMSO) has launched a Nepal and North India Earthquake Relief Fund. It is working with Khalsa Aid, a UK-based relief outfit which is already present in Nepal, to channel aid to the earthquake victims. You can send donations to the Coalition’s account with Maybank. Details:
Account Name: Gabungan Pertubuhan Sikh Malaysia
Account No: 514169626000.
Send a picture of the slip to +6012-2055011 for records. Please state Earthquake Relief, your name and address.
[ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs in Southeast Asia and surrounding countries. We have a Facebook page, do give it a LIKE! Visit our website: www.asiasamachar.com]
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I was there when it struck the destruction of life and property has taken the country back economically. Aid has arrived distribution is slow. Every building in Katmandu was affected and government has provided transport for Nepali people to leave for countryside. India was first to remove all Nationals followed by EU and Canada yesterday.
Since Sunday I have been stopping and talking to various Nepali migrant workers. Yesterday I chatted with about 8 of the wonderful people in an around Sunshine Square where I live in Bayan Baru, Penang.
Just asking them, “Parivaar theek hai?” [ Is your family ok?] and “Tumara gaon ko nuksaan hooa?” [Did your village suffer any damage?] would light up their faces.
Today at the local Veggie Delight the Nepali I asked told me that on of their team members had lost some of his family members and the village had 500 casualties. We did a small prayer to give strength to accept the inevitable.
It makes the difference to stop and ask.