Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
While the country was thrown into chaos following the disastrous floods, Malaysians were immediately ready to jump in to offer mutual aid to the victims. But the heroes of the day weren’t just Malaysians – warga asing did their part too!
Malaysia has always been a xenophobic country, despite being a nation full of settlers. Everyone needs someone to kick when they’re down, I suppose, and Malaysians do a pretty good job of discriminating against foreign workers from countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia and the Philippines.
This is despite the fact that these workers are the backbone of our country. They die in masses for our megaprojects, the construction of our buildings. They look after our houses and children so we can focus on work and leisure. They guard our condominiums and housing areas.
They live in tiny, cramped spaces to keep the country going.
Yet, there is hope for us Malaysians. During the flood, many Malaysians spoke up about the bravery of our foreign residents, who displayed remarkable humanity in rescuing Malaysians – a humanity that Malaysians don’t always return to them.
1. When nobody else came, 3 Indonesians in a small boat rescued the residents of Taman Sri Nanding
In a now viral video a makcik who is a flood victim calmly scolds the Tanjung Karang MP like an errant schoolboy. She tells him that only Indonesians came to their help.
A child had been stuck on the roof of their home. She describes how 3 Indonesian men rowed a boat to rescue the child, and others in the area.
“Itu yang menolong kami,” she says decisively. “Rakyat asing.”
(“That is who helped us – foreigners”.)
Even Tan Sri had nothing he could say to her organised anger – I’m surprised he didn’t melt into a puddle of shame when faced with this makcik’s calm disdain.
2. Bangladeshis break into Mydin to feed the hungry flood victims
In another video that went viral on social media, another aunty also expresses her anger at the lack of governmental response while praising foreigners for their selflessness and courage.
“Dia tak kira dia punya nywaya – dia datang dia bawa air, bawa makanan. Dia curi dekat Mydin, dia bagi dekat orang,” she says about the foreigners who brought aid to her niece.
(“They didn’t care about their life – they came and brought water, brought food. They stole from Mydin, they gave to people.”)
“Dia tak curi!” her niece expresses vehemently next to her.
(“They did not steal!”)
Mydin has said that the break in to their stores were done not by looters but by robbers, and that they will be filing a police report soon.
3. The Somali Refugee Community volunteered in Shah Alam
The Somali Refugee Community is a small organisation dedicated to supporting the Somali refugees in Malaysia. Somali refugees are displaced by the failed statehood of Somalia – it has had decades of political instability, civil war, and extreme weather such as droughts and abnormal rainfall.
And yet, they too did what they could to help the flood victims. They posted an Instagram video of some of the refugees distributing dry clothes to a group of victims. They have also been collecting donations for the flood victims.
4. A Burmese man rescued someone’s dad from Taman Sri Muda
A Burmese gentleman had rescued someone’s father from the flood in Taman Sri Muda, in a boat he had made out of styrofoam.
The grateful son posted what happened on Facebook, along with the picture of the man, and his friend shared it to Twitter.
5. Some Myanmarese men helped buy food for Sri Muda neighbours by swimming through the flood
A twitter user who had been stuck on the second floor of his house took a video of the brave men. These men returned with food and gave him some, but he rejected the offer as he had food already. The men gave him food anyway as they did not want him to go hungry.
The men had also swum over the next day to bring them a stove so that they could cook food.
We must acknowledge the role that our foreign residents play in the flood relief efforts.
Despite the knowledge that many Malaysians discriminated against them, they helped anyway – Malaysians must never forget this.
After all, we are all stronger together.
For more stories like this, read: I Had To Watch The Flood Destroy A Kampung While My Car Was Stuck In A Flooded Jam, “I Saw The Best Of Malaysians” – The Story Of A Volunteer Who Helped Rescue Flood Victims At Taman Sri Muda and I’m A Bangladeshi Who’s Lived In Malaysia For Over 20 Years. Here’s What I Wish Malaysians Knew.
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