Food Flotilla: Sacrifice of Humanitarian Mission Volunteers Bears Fruit

By V. Sankara Subramaniam PORT KLANG (Selangor), Feb 23 (Bernama) -- Being away from his family and loved ones has not dampened the spirit of volunterism in Dr Syrrunnaja Adnan who has just returned from the 20-day, 'Food Flotilla For Myanmar' humanitarian mission since Feb 3. For the Putrajaya Hospital medical officer who is a father of two, this is the first mission which took him away from his family for such a long period of time. "I have participated in five humanitarian missions as a volunteer, ranging from between 10 to 15 days, but the mission for the Rohingya was the longest. "I am grateful that my time and energy was not in vain despite missing my family in the mission," he told Bernama when met upon the return of the 'Nautical Aliya' ship at the Boustead Cruise Centre here Thursday. On hand to receive the ship's arrival was Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, as well as the families of the 183 mission volunteers. On Feb 3, the ship left Port Klang, ferrying 2,300 tonnes of food and essentials goods for ethnic Rohingya in Myanmar and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The mission, organised by Putra 1 Malaysia Club and the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisation was made up of representatives of non-governmental organisations from Malaysia and other countries comprising medical personnel, teachers and journalists. Dr Syrrunnaja hoped the humanitarian mission which was recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records as the Biggest Humanitarian Aid Donated for One Nation would not stop there and would be continued on a long-term basis. Meanwhile, Selayang Hospital Emergency, Trauma and Disaster Management Department headDr Mohd Alwi Abdul Rahman said 30 medical specialists joined the mission to treat volunteers and refugees. "Our main challenge is to gather the specialists based on WHO/UNHCR requirements for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Myanmar. "Through this mission, we know the weaknesses and strengths of interacting in extraordinary situations," he said, adding that no volunteer was injured or traumatised during the mission. According to Dr Mohd Alwi, the 'Nautical Aliya' docked at Yangon port on Feb 9 and unloaded a portion of its goods before proceeding to the Chittagong port on Feb 14 to deliver the entire humanitarian cargo there. He said the activitists managed to access three refugee camps to deliver assistance at Kutupalong, Leda and Balukhali where Rohingya refugees had arrived in Bangladesh. -- BERNAMA