UNHCR staff bring Eid cheer for hundreds of refugees
Caption: UNHCR staff distributing goodies to refugees at the UNHCR Office in celebration of Eid ul-Fitr.
© UNHCR/J.Grigor
Kuala Lumpur, 17 October (UNHCR) - Hundreds of refugees and asylum-seekers arriving at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur today were pleasantly surprised. They had come to UNHCR for registration, refugee status determination and various other processes, and were unexpectedly greeted with cheery balloons and an appetising lunch spread.
The staff of UNHCR Kuala Lumpur had decided to throw a party for them in celebration of the Eid ul-Fitr, a Muslim holiday marking the end of the Islamic holy month of fasting.
“We wanted to do this for the refugees. We are fortunate to be able to celebrate festivities in a lavish manner, when the refugees have so little,” said Angeline Stephen, a staff of the Registration unit. “Staff contributed money to buy the treats and we are excited to be able to share this with the refugees.”
A refugee from Myanmar of Chin ethnic origin, Thawng Kin Sui was visibly moved by the gesture.
“In Myanmar we don’t have enough food, and people don’t share with us. We’re so thankful that someone gave us food,” she said. “We want to cry, we are so grateful.”
Being in the front line of UNHCR’s administrative processes, the Registration unit sees some 400 refugees and asylum-seekers every day.
“During the work day, staff are in close proximity with refugees, they hear the stories that the refugees tell and they are touched by the pain that the refugees have gone through,” said Mikaeel Abdullah from the Registration unit. “This is our way of giving something to the refugees to show them that we care, and that we appreciate them.”
“I was very happy and very surprised. Everyone was enjoying it. If it happened more often, everyone would be happy all the time,” said Bamis, a Myanmar Muslim refugee.
Currently in Malaysia there are some 42,800 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR. The majority are from Myanmar, having fled persecution and widespread human rights abuses in the country.
