20151017人道關懷援難民 Humanitarian Aid for Refugees
Every day we have to be grateful for being safe and well. It is a given that the Earth and everything in the universe are always changing and in motion. Every planet moves along steadily and safely in its own orbital path, following physical laws. In fact, the same is true for our body. The organ structure in our body and its functions are constantly sustained by metabolism, a consistent natural process converting food into energy.
If our metabolism is out of order, unusual symptoms will occur. The same is true for Mother Nature. Right now out on the Pacific Ocean, Typhoon Koppu is projected to make a landfall in the Philippines tomorrow. After crossing the Philippines, our key concern is that this typhoon might take a northern turn and impact Taiwan. According to the weather report, this typhoon is still strengthening.
I wish Taiwan can survive this Typhoon and still be safe and well. I also hope the same is true for the Philippines. We have to pray for this constantly and sincerely. We also see a piece of heartwarming news. The Swedish government has begun to prepare tent camps to house hundreds of thousands of refugees who are anticipated to arrive this year, so that they can have a temporary shelter to rest and live in.
However, life in such a tent will be hard. How long will this phase be? When I hear that hundreds of thousands of refugees can have a temporary shelter, on one hand, I am happy for them, but I also can’t bear to see them living in tents. After all, how long do they have to survive a harsh life in such tent camps?
In Turkey, Syrian refugees who are able to enter and live in Istanbul used to enjoy very good social status and also high living standard. Suddenly, they are deprived of everything. They are very highly educated. Unexpectedly, they and their children become refugees. Although they are temporarily settled down in Turkey, they still pay special attention to the need of education for their children.
Mr. HU, a local Tzu Chi volunteer in Turkey, also can’t bear to see refugee children missing school. Therefore, he begins to pay attention to this. He then found out about a group of refugee children receiving education in a private residential home. For this reason, Tzu Chi works with a Syrian, Professor Cuma, to help Syrian children receive education. Professor Cuma was very touched by Tzu Chi.
Because of his connection, Tzu Chi is able to work with the former deputy mayor of Sultangazi to help the Syrian children. At the same time, they’ve also found a school that is willing to provide the school building in the afternoon for the Syrian children to study. However, there are more Syrian children who have no chance of going to school because they have to work to support their family.
These children, age’s seven to eleven, are forced into labor. Children like this cannot go to school because they need to make a living. Too send them school, Tzu Chi has to supplement their families with amount they used to make in wages. For example, if three children work to support a family of ten, Tzu Chi compensates their family for their wages, so that these three children can attend school.
Tzu Chi pays very close attention to details like this. A few months ago, our volunteer in Turkey, Mr. Hu, brought Professor Cuma, the former deputy mayor and an official in the Ministry of National Education to the Abode to see me. They told me the plight of Syrian refugees and their children. Therefore, Tzu Chi works closely with them to help the Syrian refugees.
This mission from Taiwan to Turkey will witness close to 1,000 Syrian children attending school officially. Tzu Chi volunteers from Taiwan are invited to join them in their official school openings. Therefore, we have been working to arrange this trip for some time now. Last night, a team of over 20 Tzu Chi volunteers flew to Turkey. This mission will also be a giant step forward and leave a very deep impression in Turkey of Tzu Chi as an NGO.
In summary, volunteers have several tasks in this mission. Besides attending the school openings, volunteers will conduct aid distribution to Syrian refugees in Istanbul, which will take several days. As winter is approaching, Mr. Hu has prepared some winter supplies locally to prepare Syrian refugees for winter. Tzu Chi volunteers also brought some food from Taiwan to share with the refugees with love.
Of course, in this trip, they will also visit many organizations and government agencies for possible collaboration. This is what Tzu Chi is doing to help Syrian refugees. Tzu Chi also helps refugees in Jordan. Jordan is also one of the earliest countries to receive refugees who fled from Syria into Jordan, a neighboring country. In their escape out of Syria, their journey was literally a bloody path as many are shot and killed along the way.
In some cases, only a few members in a family survived when they reached safety. Truly, there is so much suffering in this world. In life, there is so much suffering caused by life’s impermanence and the disharmony in people’s hearts. In the past few years, volunteers in Jordan have encountered many Syrian refugees and saw them truly suffer a lot of pain and hardship.
Seeing what refugees have been through, we have to realize that being safe and living in a harmonious society without disasters is a blessing. Therefore, we have to cherish or blessings and to create more blessings all the time. Indeed, to create blessings is to constantly pay attention to the suffering in the world and take actions to help the people in need. This is the purpose of our life and what makes us a human being.
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