Two years ago at an aid distribution for refugees, Adhan Muhammed Hamdan bravely stepped forward from the crowd and asked the Tzu Chi volunteers for help. He said this was the first time he’d ever asked anyone for help. But as a father who loved his children, he wanted to say to the volunteers: “Thanks to Tzu Chi for letting my children go to school, for letting them smile.”
In October 2015, I went with a Tzu Chi delegation to Istanbul, Turkey, to help with aid distributions for Syrian refugees there. Though we started out from Taiwan, we took with us love and care from people all over the world whose donations had made Tzu Chi aid to the refugees possible. Tzu Chi relief work has always been donor-funded.
The word we most often heard at the distribution venues was shukran (“thank you” in Arabic), as the speaker pressed their right hand on their chest as a gesture of gratitude. Many Syrian refugees volunteered to help with the distributions. Bowing their heads low as they gave out aid supplies, they showed respect, gratitude, and love to their compatriot recipients. It was a very moving sight.
When we visited the El Menahil school, which Tzu Chi had helped set up for Syrian children, teachers and students greeted us with xiexie (“thank you” in Mandarin). Students even shouted in unison: “Thank you, Taiwan! Thank you, Tzu Chi! I love Taiwan! I love Tzu Chi!” Those top-of-their-lung yells reverberated in my mind. The scene and atmosphere both moved and ached my heart.
During visits to the homes of some aid recipients, we witnessed their cramped living quarters. Some of the Syrians’ rentals were located in basements, where the environment was predominately damp. Despite the poor living conditions, they tried to make the best of their lives in hopes that they might go home one day.
Adhan Muhammed Hamdan was the head of a Syrian refugee family. He suffered from polio, so he relied on a walking stick to help him move about. He, his wife, and their four children had risked their lives and traveled by sea and by land, in hunger and under the worst conditions, to come to Turkey. That was over three years ago. They managed to find a place to live, but without any legal status and with his physical condition, Adhan had a hard time finding work and was thus hard-pressed to pay the rent and support his family.
He cried as he told us their story. With him out of a job and with so many mouths to feed, his children had had to work. He felt very bad that he, the head of the family, was unable to provide for his own family.
Their rent was raised not long ago, so they had to move to a cheaper place. As the refugee population in Turkey swelled, so did the rents. Landlords were taking full advantage of the situation. As Adhan shared with us their plight, we could only listen sympathetically in silence.
Luckily, things began to look up in 2014. That year, Adhan went to a Tzu Chi distribution. Though he was not on the list of recipients, he asked for help. He said that it was the first time in his life that he had ever sought assistance. Afterwards, volunteer Faisal Hu visited his home, bought him a powered wheelchair, and gave his children financial aid so they could attend El Menahil.
When we were at Adhan’s home, his wife told us that although she was Muslim, she could see that her religion and Tzu Chi shared the same spirit. She said, “When it comes to doing good, we’re one family. We thank Allah.” Adhan added, “We also thank Tzu Chi for making schooling available to our children. That has brought them smiles.”
My heart was a little heavy when the visit was over and we stepped outside. I looked up at the Turkish sky, my head befuddled with many questions.
Many refugees had had good jobs in Syria: teachers, lawyers, or physicians. But whatever they used to be, they all became refugees almost overnight. Innocent children lived in deprivation, sometimes not knowing when their next meal would be. Many had even become breadwinners, working 12-hour shifts. Why was all this happening? This should not happen to anyone.
Like Adhan’s family, upwards of four million Syrians live in affliction, in Turkey, Jordan, and other countries. This trip to Istanbul has helped me see their suffering up close and helped me realize how fortunate I have been. I truly need to cherish what I have and do more to help those in need. I’m thankful that, through Tzu Chi, even a housewife like me can visit a foreign country and do something for the less fortunate.
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Tzu Chi volunteers hand over scholarships to Syrian families to help children stop working and start going to school.
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