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In Pictures: Refugees giving back to coronavirus-hit Malaysia

While struggling to make ends meet amid crisis, refugees help in relief response and start free lunch scheme for medics.

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Volunteers help unload a lorry carrying dry food and pack the various foods into ready-to-distribute bags at a refugee community centre on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. [Al Jazeera]
By Alexandra Radu
Published On 6 Apr 2020

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Three weeks since Malaysian authorities imposed a restriction of movement order in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, refugees in the country are struggling to make ends meet in the nation that has the highest reported number of infections in Southeast Asia.

“Now it is a very critical situation for refugees living in Malaysia,” said Rafik Shah Mohd Ismail, coordinator of Human Aid Selangor, one of the community centres trying to meet the needs of the approximately 7,000 refugees living in the Selayang area, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

The fastest response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the refugee communities in Kuala Lumpur has come from within the communities themselves. Face masks, soaps, sanitiser and food are being distributed in the most crowded and vulnerable refugee communities. 

“Many people call me as a community leader asking for food, asking me how can they go for COVID-19 checks,” Ismail said. “People cannot go out for doing their jobs anymore. Malaysian people have the government to help them, but the government doesn’t provide any aid for refugees. Many of them are daily workers, they earn 30-40 Malaysian ringgit ($7-9), they will use that amount every day to buy food, medicine, and pay their rents.”

Meanwhile, the refugee communities are actively helping the front line of the fight against COVID-19 by cooking and delivering daily free lunches for medical personnel at the Ampang Hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

Twelve chefs have agreed to take turns in cooking traditional foods from their home countries.

“We know that many amongst the refugees are chefs and so, we approached them to ask if they would cook if we would facilitate the delivery. They immediately said ‘yes’,” said Mahi Ramakrishnan, coordinator of the move.

“The initiative has brought about a huge positive response from Malaysians and others. It clearly showed that refugees can effectively contribute to the society, and demonstrated how they are a part of the society.”

Thirteen volunteers helped unloading a lorry carrying dry food and packed the different foods into ready to distribute bags. “I have been volunteering at the centre for the last 4 years. People can no
"I have been volunteering at the centre for the last four years. People cannot go out working at this time, so we help them with food. I am unloading the food, packing it for distribution, then people come and take it. I am happy to help my community in times of need," said Ibrahim, 32. [Al Jazeera]
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Nurjaan, 53 years old, covered her face with an improvised mask while posing for a portrait in her kitchen. Nurjaan''s daughter, Halayda, 24 years old, explains the financial difficulties they are faci
Nurjaan, 53, covering her face with an improvised mask. Nurjaan's daughter, Halayda, 24, explains the financial difficulties faced by the family following the imposition of movement restrictions. "My father worked gathering plastic and cardboard, he was getting 30-40 Malaysian ringgit ($7-9) but he stopped three weeks ago. I worked in a restaurant, but also had to stop because of the movement control order." [Al Jazeera]
Rohingya refugees observe social distance during the collection of dry and fresh food at a community centre at the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.
Rohingya refugees observe social distancing during the collection of dry and fresh food at a community centre. [Al Jazeera]
Each bag of dry food contained 10 kg of rice, 1 kg of sugar, 1 liter cooking oil, 1 kg lentils, 1 pack of instant noodles, 1 pack of cheese crackers, 1 pack of coffee, 1 can of condensed milk. “This b
Each bag of dry food contains 10kg of rice, 1kg of sugar, one litre of cooking oil, 1kg of lentils, one pack of instant noodles, one pack of cheese crackers, one pack of coffee and one can of condensed milk. "This bag will be enough for approximately one week for my family of five," said Abdul Rahim bin Karim, 26. [Al Jazeera]
Refugees in the Selayang area, at the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, receive dry and fresh food from “Rainbow of love”, a community centre established by the refugee community itself. “Officially we have
Refugees in Selayang receive dry and fresh food from Human Aid Selangor, a community centre established by the refugee community itself. "We will be able to provide food relief today for approximately 130 families in the area, but they all have to come to the centre. As per the new government regulations of the movement control order, we are not allowed to move around and distribute [food] ourselves. This makes our job harder as we can not reach families that live far from the centre and have no means of transportation," said Rafik Shah Mohd, coordinator of the community centre. [Al Jazeera]
Abu Luai, who was born in Syria, has been living for the last 8 years in Malaysia. He owns a small catering business in Kuala Lumpur and is one of the 12 refugee chefs who volunteer cooking for the me
Abu Luai, who was born in Syria, has been living for the last eight years in Malaysia. He owns a small catering business in Kuala Lumpur and is one of the 12 refugee chefs who do volunteer cooking for the medical personnel at a hospital in the city. "I have been a chef for over 38 years and I am happy I can help people with my skills at this time. We made 20 portions of chicken mandi, soup and cookies. We started cooking at 8.30am so we can deliver for lunch," said Abu Luai. [Al Jazeera]
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Lunch cooked by refugee chefs is delivered to the Ampang Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Twelve chefs from the refugee community in Kuala Lumpur have volunteered to cook for the medical personnel in the fro
Lunch cooked by refugee chefs is delivered to the Ampang Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. [Al Jazeera]
Mahmud (L), 22 years old, from Somalia, has been living in Malaysia for one and a half years. “I am currently a student at a language centre in Kuala Lumpur. I planned to start college this year to st
Mahmud (left), 22 years old and from Somalia, has been living in Malaysia for 18 months. "I am currently a student at a language centre in Kuala Lumpur. I planned to start college this year to study business, but with the current situation everything has been put on hold," he said. [Al Jazeera]
A child is tested for Covid-19 at a temporary testing facility set up by the Malaysian Ministry of Health. “We commend the Government of Malaysia for its inclusive policy of making screening and treat
A child is tested for COVID-19 at a temporary testing facility set up by the Malaysian Ministry of Health. "We commend the government of Malaysia for its inclusive policy of making screening and treatment free for all foreigners, including refugees and asylum seekers. It is in everyone's interest that all people, especially the most vulnerable – including refugees, asylum seekers and the stateless – have access to health services," said Susheela Balasundaram, public health officer at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). [Al Jazeera]
Rohingya refugees queue up at a Covid-19 temporary testing facility set up in a community centre at the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. The testing is provided for free by the Malaysian Ministry of Health.
Rohingya refugees queue up at a COVID-19 temporary testing facility set up in a community centre. UNHCR has advised the Malaysian government to put a stop to immigration arrests for undocumented refugees and migrants in order to encourage them to seek medical assistance should they need it. [Al Jazeera]
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