Celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr surrounded by her mother, brothers and extended family members are just memories of the past for Halidah Abdul Hashim.
The 27-year-old mother of three, who came to Malaysia in 2010 after fleeing her village in Myanmar’s Arakan state, said she hoped to celebrate the festivities with her family some day but was aware that it may just be a pipe dream.
“As refugees, home is where we are at the moment and so Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated with our fellow Rohingya refugees here now,’’ said Halidah who lives with her husband Rafiq Abdul Jalil, 50, and their three children in Kapar.
She said she celebrated in Malaysia by getting together with three other families who are also from her village.
“We cook and have our meals together on Eid-ul-Fitr,’’ she said.
Halidah said her biggest blessing was being alive.
She recalled how her mother and brothers had put her on a boat when the violence escalated in her hometown.
“I was the only girl in the family and they wanted to protect me,’’ said Halidah whose mother and brothers are still in Myanmar.
When she arrived here, Halidah met Rafiq and both got married, now they are the proud parents of two boys, aged five and two, and a four-year-old girl.
Rafiq had walked from his village in Sittwe, also in Arakan state, and arrived in this country in 1992.
A cook at the Rohingya Education Centre, he said most of his community in the neighbourhood do not earn much and cannot afford to celebrate the festival like how they used to in Myanmar.
Source : The Star
