How to help in Rohingya crisis.

[SportingBD]

Originally Posted by Zeeshan
I was actually going to donate. But when you said "For sake of Allah" I immediately withdrew my intention.

It's for sake of HUMANITY!!!! What the hell's wrong with you man?

Anyone has any link that directly funds help directly to the source?

“Develop in your heart the feeling of love for your people and let it be the source of kindliness and blessing to them. Do not behave with them like a barbarian, and do not appropriate to yourself that which belongs to them. Remember that the citizens of the state are of two categories. They are either your brethren in religion or your brethren in kind. They are subject to infirmities and liable to commit mistakes.”

- Imam Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by SportingBD
“Develop in your heart the feeling of love for your people and let it be the source of kindliness and blessing to them. Do not behave with them like a barbarian, and do not appropriate to yourself that which belongs to them. Remember that the citizens of the state are of two categories. They are either your brethren in religion or your brethren in kind. They are subject to infirmities and liable to commit mistakes.”

- Imam Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S

LOL You know in some weird way, that actually resonated within me. Thank you. I needed to hear this.

Anyway, back to a general post and not directed at anyone:

My only guilt of donating is the following. Maybe BCites can help me see through.

It is very easy to swipe your credit card with three digit protection pin and go about clinking apple cider for thanksgiving hoping I made a difference. See, for people like me who live here it is an entirely abstract concept.

Throwing some cash and assuming everything will be hunky dory will not be the problem solver. We will go about our merry day tomorrow and forget it.

That is why plight and suffering we see in tv about Syrian refugees and Rohingya is so abstract and far removed from us.

If I could, I'd rather go to a fellow human being and hold her in my arms and caress her hair and comfort her and tightly bring him to my arms hugging and just ...just for few seconds tell him: "Baby don't worry. Please. God loves you. And EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY."

That five second moment is priceless. That moment is something money can't buy.

But then again perhaps that is not my path. For some compassion or peace or kindness or love. For an NFL player it is path to wash the feet of homeless men and leave a brand new pair on the football field. For me, my path is empowerment. To be empowered and empower others.

There is one beautiful individual and divine soul - a female BC member- who is doing just that. Going out there and making a difference. I wish I could rise and aspire to her divine status. It is funny when I was her friend, I never appreciated her presence and only when she was gone I felt her.

Also, there is another issue how much is enough or too little. I know anything helps... but then your mind plays trick on you. You donate more it looks like ego and show off and little then it shows apathy.

Possibly I am overanalyzing but I just spilled my inner soliloquoy.

[Zeeshan]

SportingBD I love hadith (?) and quotes like this. Feel free to write on my wall any link or resources which will show me guidance. Thank you.

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by SportingBD
“Develop in your heart the feeling of love for your people and let it be the source of kindliness and blessing to them. Do not behave with them like a barbarian, and do not appropriate to yourself that which belongs to them. Remember that the citizens of the state are of two categories. They are either your brethren in religion or your brethren in kind. They are subject to infirmities and liable to commit mistakes.”

- Imam Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S

Originally Posted by Zeeshan
SportingBD I love hadith (?) and quotes like this. Feel free to write on my wall any link or resources which will show me guidance. Thank you.

Ummmm naah homes. I am actually little shocked that "I" get to be the "barbarian" for exposing your precious little peewee for what he really is. I don't know about you but the way my momma raised me homey, a barbarian calling another a barbarian is actually himself a barbarian.

If I am a total jerk and a d****ead than I certainly dragging others with me who try to hide behind religious mask.

I stand by my ad hominem. I am not the one who should apologize.

[Zeeshan]

Prove me wrong and open a gofundme and a thread to petition for all the Hindus getting slaughtered left and write in our country. We will see kaar diil koto douur...........

"But but this is not the topic nor thread to discuss about that. You are actually breaking forum rules."

Oh I see. Apparently human lives are precious little commodities and packages to fit into our neat little boxes and topical threads for us to decide and assess their risks and triage how much down the line should they get priority.

And you guys call yourselves humans!!!

[zman]

Originally Posted by Rifat
Posting the link again. All of the money that was raised in his campaign will go to helping the refugees such as:



Please donate generously. there are no personal gains from this project except doing good solely for the sake of Allah.

https://www.gofundme.com/rohingyaofcoxsbazaar

Rifat, Thank you for the link. For some time I've been searching for a reliable source that has less than 50% overhead. I like what I'm seeing here. Can you tell us a little more about his experience with this kind of effort? Insha'Allah I'll do my best. I plan to be in BD in Jan for a couple of weeks. I'd love to take a day or two out of my schedule to meet and work with him on ground zero if it's reasonably safe and at all feasible.

[Rifat]

Originally Posted by zman
Rifat, Thank you for the link. For some time I've been searching for a reliable source that has less than 50% overhead. I like what I'm seeing here. Can you tell us a little more about his experience with this kind of effort? Insha'Allah I'll do my best. I plan to be in BD in Jan for a couple of weeks. I'd love to take a day or two out of my schedule to meet and work with him on ground zero if it's reasonably safe and at all feasible.

The group CT Anchor - a group of college kids(most or all of them I know at a deep personal level except the sisters of course lol) went to Greece to personally help out Syrian Refugees with food, clothes, medical help etc. I can get you his contact info if you wish to help out personally with the team.

[zman]

Originally Posted by Rifat
The group CT Anchor - a group of college kids(most or all of them I know at a deep personal level except the sisters of course lol) went to Greece to personally help out Syrian Refugees with food, clothes, medical help etc. I can get you his contact info if you wish to help out personally with the team.

Sounds like they are US students. Have they lived in Bangladesh before? Greece is a developed country and one would think it would be much easier to manage this kind of relief effort there. Do you know any more details about their plans, such as how long they plan to stay? How they plan to travel to the relief shelter and distribute food and clothes? How many water wells they plan to set up? I'm familiar with the cost of setting up water wells. In areas where you require deep water wells, it can cost you about $700-$900. From what I've heard about the area where the emergency shelters are being set up, it's almost at sea level and it is sufficient to extract water with regular tube wells, which cost about $100. I'm sharing this in case it helps them utilize their resources better and get more bang for their buck.

[Rifat]

Originally Posted by zman
Sounds like they are US students. Have they lived in Bangladesh before? Greece is a developed country and one would think it would be much easier to manage this kind of relief effort there. Do you know any more details about their plans, such as how long they plan to stay? How they plan to travel to the relief shelter and distribute food and clothes? How many water wells they plan to set up? I'm familiar with the cost of setting up water wells. In areas where you require deep water wells, it can cost you about $700-$900. From what I've heard about the area where the emergency shelters are being set up, it's almost at sea level and it is sufficient to extract water with regular tube wells, which cost about $100. I'm sharing this in case it helps them utilize their resources better and get more bang for their buck.

interesting. I would have to speak to Khairul in person about this. I think he is scheduled for a visit to my home in a couple of weeks, Allah willing.

[SportingBD]

Originally Posted by Zeeshan
Ummmm naah homes. I am actually little shocked that "I" get to be the "barbarian" for exposing your precious little peewee for what he really is. I don't know about you but the way my momma raised me homey, a barbarian calling another a barbarian is actually himself a barbarian.

If I am a total jerk and a d****ead than I certainly dragging others with me who try to hide behind religious mask.

I stand by my ad hominem. I am not the one who should apologize.

Oh. God.

Zee, I thought you being a smart person will deduce the point from that quote. You talked about humanity and I posted a quote that says you be kind, helpful etc to people because either they are humans like you and me or they are your brothers in religion. Both ways it works. But you deduced the point to be about guidance and referring you as Barbarian?

Really sorry you felt that way.

[Zeeshan]

Misunderstanding happens SportingBD. But I like how zaman bhai and Rifat are communicating. Something they'd never be on the same page before. THIS is what I want to see.... :p

[mufi_02]

I am glad it is making international headlines quite frequently these days. I was asked by some coworkers (who knows I am Bangladeshi) about the issue. The misconception still exists about how Rohingyas are not Burmese but illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Also if Muslims are being cleansed ethnically then maybe they have done something wrong.

[Ajfar]

These people are doing amazing things! They are still collecting if any one is interested in giving, Humans of New York is also collecting for this project.

[Mas_UK25]

^Brilliant stuffs they’re doing. God bless them!

[bujhee kom]

Thank you dear Ajfar for sharing that clip with us. I did not know of them and the most wonderful things (like Mas Bhai said) that they are doing for humanity!

[Shingara]

You can help the Rohingyas by sending money to BD govt. Our economy is taking a hit because we have to feed and provide for these people.

I wonder what will be the end game. Will we ever be able to send these people back ?

[Shingara]

Koisilam na ?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-43469043

[Antora]

Originally Posted by SportingBD
If you have a house in BD that is left empty most of the year, take them in.
Provide for them until the situation gets resolved and they can return home peacefully.

If you are going there in BD for holiday, take couple of orphans (at least one if you feel uncomfortable with more) to your place, give them the best time possible. They may never experience such kind of experience as you can provide for them, even for a week or two. They will cherish those moment. To live a week like a normal person, that can do whatever he wishes, like a normal kid. They will make sincere dua for you. Make them happy and smile.

As an international development professional, I STRONGLY disagree with your recommendations.

If you start providing for a group of people in your house, they'll never leave. Also, I recommend you and others to read up on orphanage tourism and the negative mental health impacts that have on children. You can't just give children a good life for a week then send them back to the camps. That does more harm to them mentally as children from these traumatic humanitarian crises need to develop long-term relationships and stability in their lives.

Obviously, I am biased so I'd encourage donating to organisations such as Oxfam, Save the Children, Plan International etc.

There are Rohingya communities scattered around the globe, and I would recommend supporting diaspora Rohingyas in strengthening their voice. Here in Melbourne, Rohingya communities have protested in front of state and federal parliaments. One easy way to help is by joining them to strengthen their voice in the political sphere--you can even approach your local MPs.

If anyone here is involved in the media, gather your local Rohingya community leaders and give them a platform to speak and educate others on what's happening.

Another way to help is to approach organisations such as Oxfam or Save the Children and volunteer--although there has been a bit of an influx. Being Bangladeshis, we are in an advantageous position to volunteer on the ground given the language and cultural similarities with Rohingyas. There's a need for doctors, mental health professionals, educators etc.

If you guys are wanting to donate, my personal opinion would be to donate to education programs and women's empowerment programs. Everything else is also very important, but these things are vital for the younger Rohingya population. This is a community who have never had a formal education; all they know is Madrasa education. So in order for them to move forward, education is vital and women being educated is extremely important.

[DinRaat.]

Originally Posted by Antora
As an international development professional, I STRONGLY disagree with your recommendations.

If you start providing for a group of people in your house, they'll never leave. Also, I recommend you and others to read up on orphanage tourism and the negative mental health impacts that have on children. You can't just give children a good life for a week then send them back to the camps. That does more harm to them mentally as children from these traumatic humanitarian crises need to develop long-term relationships and stability in their lives.

Obviously, I am biased so I'd encourage donating to organisations such as Oxfam, Save the Children, Plan International etc.

There are Rohingya communities scattered around the globe, and I would recommend supporting diaspora Rohingyas in strengthening their voice. Here in Melbourne, Rohingya communities have protested in front of state and federal parliaments. One easy way to help is by joining them to strengthen their voice in the political sphere--you can even approach your local MPs.

If anyone here is involved in the media, gather your local Rohingya community leaders and give them a platform to speak and educate others on what's happening.

Another way to help is to approach organisations such as Oxfam or Save the Children and volunteer--although there has been a bit of an influx. Being Bangladeshis, we are in an advantageous position to volunteer on the ground given the language and cultural similarities with Rohingyas. There's a need for doctors, mental health professionals, educators etc.

If you guys are wanting to donate, my personal opinion would be to donate to education programs and women's empowerment programs. Everything else is also very important, but these things are vital for the younger Rohingya population. This is a community who have never had a formal education; all they know is Madrasa education. So in order for them to move forward, education is vital and women being educated is extremely important.

I agree with this

[Tigers_eye]

For those who give but question the legitimacy of the Organization:

1) It is okay to second guess but after finding the facts please give.

2) It is your intention and steps that you take counts.

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Such an inspiring video. Thank you Ajfar.

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Antora, Thank you for giving us options. Great advices as well.