PALESTINE:
Palestinian
people have been without their own land for over 50 years.
Their land remains occupied.
Their lives, their properties, their very existence remain at a whim of
an occupying power.
Their
world is Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlem and Hebron: symbols of their courage
and quest for justice.
Among
them are orphans and among them are widows and among them are sick and wounded.
And among them all is found a suffering that penetrates into and through
the collective soul of the nation. Out of this suffering comes courage to endure
hardship and extreme deprivation that provides meaning for their struggle and
justice of their cause.
We
cannot ignore their sufferings.
For to ignore is to ignore our own humanity.
The least we can do is to collectively raise our voice against the
injustices suffered by the Palestinians.
At the same time, we cannot ignore the humanitarian dimension of the
Palestinian nation and this merits our generous contribution.
Please contribute generously to help the orphans, the widows, the sick
and the wounded of the Palestinian nation.
GUJARAT
– INDIA:
The
current situation of the Muslims in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and surrounding areas
remains that of fear – fear of attack, fear of arson and looting, fear to go
out and fearful of future livelihood in Gujarat. This is compounded by the fact
that the State Government of Gujarat is unable to hold the violence and the
Central Government is showing no signs of containing the situation. In the
meantime, the Muslims of Gujarat are taking the brunt of the violent attacks.
One
of our Shari’ duties is to raise our voice against this senseless violence and
urge our governments in the strongest terms to voice our serious concerns that
they take action to protect the lives, properties and integrities of the
citizens of India, including Muslims.
Under
these conditions, our community members residing in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and
surrounding areas are increasingly finding it difficult to earn their daily
livelihood and as a consequence, have to forego many of their daily needs
including a decent meal that most of us take for granted.
The
World Federation, through the regional organisation and Jamaats, has sent
financial assistance so far to the tune of half a million Indian Rupees to help
ease the sufferings. Each affected family is provided with food rations and cash
supplements to help them overcome the difficulties they are presently facing.
More needs to be done and as soon as the reports are finalised, the World
Federation will come to know the full extent of assistance required. In view of
this and the ongoing emergency assistance that we have already put in place, the
World Federation appeals to all of you to donate generously to ease the
afflictions that has befallen our community members.
Kindly
send your contributions directly to the World Federation or through your
respective Jamaats
With
Salaams and Duas
Secretariat
30
April 2002