LETTER | Three months ago, two Palestinian women who were placed at Wisma Transit in Kuala Lumpur ran amok by throwing slippers at law enforcement officers, damaging property, and hurling obscenities after being denied access to accommodations outside of the facility.
The Palestinians being placed at Wisma Transit are again protesting the state of their living conditions, this time, in a much more intense and large-scale manner.
In the latest episode, videos of a group of Palestinians burning unidentified items, wringing the facility’s gates, having women and children holding up placards and standing by the fence, refusing to eat and throwing away food surfaced on social media.
These refugees are agitating, according to a statement by the armed forces, to gain public attention to demand a quick return to Palestine.
As a rule, goodwill and compassion are met with gratitude and appreciation. However, this has not been the case with our experience with the Palestinian refugees, perhaps because there might not have been any genuine goodwill or compassion in our exchange with them.
Did they want our help?
Considering their antics, it is doubtful if the Palestinians being placed in Wisma Transit even wanted the help that our government was offering them.
For all you know, it might be the case that our government had merely brought these Palestinian refugees to Malaysia to prove to Malaysians, or perhaps the world, that they are a compassionate and righteous government who are eager to help others when they face difficulties and injustice.
The problem with this sort of public relations stunt where we craft an image of being compassionate or righteous, without having any real intention to be compassionate and righteous, is that once the PR stunt is over, we will not know what to do with the people that we have used to create the PR stunt.
We do not know what is going on in their heart and minds because to know the state of heart and mind of someone who is suffering, we must truly have a compassionate heart.
Suppose all we have is a cosmetic compassion that less is than skin deep. In that case, we won’t know what is going on in the hearts or minds of people who are suffering – rather than truly do anything to alleviate their suffering after the PR stunt is over, we will just throw whatever dispensable items that we have at them, pat ourselves in the back for being “generous” in giving them things that don’t do anything to alleviate their pain, expect them to be grateful for our “charity” and otherwise forget about them.
That the Palestinians are asking to be returned to a warzone rather than remain in our country, should make our government ask itself whether its heart is in the right place in regards to its engagement with the Palestinian refugees.
Time to ask difficult questions
It is never the case that a person who is suffering does not appreciate the assistance that comes from a heart that is truly moved by compassion.
A thirsty person will always appreciate a glass of water given to them by a heart that was moved by their thirst. A hungry person will always appreciate the food given to them by a heart that can feel the pangs of their hunger. A person who is suffering from abuse and injustice will always appreciate the action of someone who speaks out or fights against their abuse or injustice as a matter of principle.
That the Palestinian refugees in our country are not only unmoved by the “compassion” of our government but are protesting against it as if our gesture is actually adding to their pain instead of reducing it, is a clear sign that our government should start asking some difficult questions to itself.
If there are truly some limits to our compassion, and we cannot do a lot for others, it is better to admit it and do what little we can to alleviate the suffering of others, rather than pretend that we are something that we are not and promise them more than we can deliver, simply for the pathetic purpose of making ourselves and the rest of the world believe that we are better than who actually are.
Rethink approach
There is a saying. “If you can’t help, at least don’t hurt.”
The people from Palestine have already seen the brutality of their enemies. Do we really have to subject them to the hypocrisy and insincerity of their well-wishers too?
We must rethink our approach and intentions towards not only the refugees from Palestine but the refugees from the rest of the world as well.
Those who have seen the horrors of the world can only hope on the sincerity of their well-wishers to redeem their opinion of the world.
If we can only light a candle in the overwhelming darkness in their life, let us at least do that with sincerity, rather than promise them the sun, and then snuff even a flicker of hope that there are still good and sincere people remaining in the world, from their heart.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
