Jan 6, 05 12:14pm
Two non-governmental organisations, Teras and Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) have joined forces to send a team to Thailand to provide aid to the tsunami victims, where in some affected areas half of whom are Muslims. Teras secretary Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman told malaysiakini that an eight-man team headed by Teras consumers coordinator Roslan Ali and Abim representative in Kedah, Zaki Bakar, will be heading to the affected areas today to provide halal food (food allowed under the Islamic law) to the Muslim community which he said was totally lacking.
�Teras was informed of the problem by our friends who are members of the Thailand Muslim Youth Association and we visited them last week to check the situation.�
�We went to Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi and we found that halal food is very scarce there. Most of them prefer to be given pots rather than food so that they can cook their own food.�
He said that the Muslim community also asked for clothes for Muslim women like tudung and prayer garments as most clothes donated were unsuitable.
�Apart from the halal food which mainly consist of dry food like instant noodle, biscuits and crackers, the team will bring with them donations collected from good samaritans here amounting to RM15,000, women�s clothing and bottled water.�
More visits, more aid
He said the aid may not be enough for all the victims they will be visiting at the provinces of Ranong (situated in mainland Thailand, bordering Burma and facing the Andaman Sea), Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi.
�However, we hope to bring more on our next visits. We pray that there will be more generous people out
there. All donations can be deposited into our �Humanity Aid for Tsunami Victims fund� account in Bank Islam. The account�s number is 2020010021351.� Speaking on the relief team�s programme, he said the team will be driving to Krabi - an eight-hour journey from Kedah.
�Their programme starts in Krabi - where the majority of its people are Muslims - before they take a boat the following day to visit the relief centres in Phuket and other affected areas. We were told that little aid has reached Krabi although it is one of the worst affected areas. I was told that in one village, only 10 people survived.�
Relating his experience during his four-day visit to Phuket and other affected areas including Phang Nga and Phi Phi Island, Tarmizi said that the locals had repeatedly complained of the double standard treatment
they received from the Thai government.
Hiding exact figure
�Be they Muslims or Buddhists, they all claimed that the government is discriminating them by concentrating on rebuilding the tourist spots with little effort made to rebuild their homes.�
Although the local governor had denied the allegations following reports by the Thai media on the alleged discrimination, Tarmizi said his personal experience in Phuket proved otherwise.
�I have visited the affected villages and various relief camps and the people were in a sorry state. I can see the locals were mostly left to fend for themselves.�
He said the people are also angry with the government for trying to hide the exact number of tsunami fatalities.
�They condemned the dishonest attempt to put the death toll to the minimal. The official figure is about 5,000 whereas the locals claimed that in Krabi alone, 8,000 perished in the tragedy.�
Tarmizi also called for more donations so that more items could be sent to the Thai victims.
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