CHANDIGARH:
Large-hearted Sikhs have taken their traditional community kitchen to
one of the most dangerous places on earth today - Syria. Giving a
twist to the concept of langar, a group of Punjabi NRIs has
collaborated with locals to provide fresh bread to nearly 14,000
refugees daily in the strife-torn region for several months
now.
Langar Aid, an extension of UK-based NGO Khalsa Aid, is
located in the Pesh Harbour area, about 35km from the Kurdish city of
Duhok and 10km from the Syrian border. Almost 70% of the members of
Langar Aid are with Punjabi roots, besides some European volunteers
as well.
Instead of the classic kitchen, Langar Aid set up a
bakery because IS fighters were destroying any food coming in for the
Yazidis. While Khalsa Aid provided the machinery and Joint Help for
Kurdistan gave a new building to house the bakery , the local
government in Duhok is providing free power.
UK-based Indy
Hothi, a 27-year-old economist-cum volunteer of Indian origin said,
"We set up a bakery at a refugee camp for Yazidi people to
provide a self-sustaining solution. Support in the form of food for
distressed people has been there for over a year now and
organizations from Sweden are helping run the bakeries. Help is also
pouring in from Serbia and Greece."
"Refugees often
mistake us for IS because of our appearance," said Ravi Singh,
CEO of Khalsa Aid, but that not deterred this unique force. "I
was there about two months back and it was a very overwhelming
experience. It was poignant to meet a family that had fled from their
homes with their 10-monthold child and they were pleasantly surprised
to find aid in the middle of nowhere. Then there was an elderly lady
who still wanted to return to her village she had built after years
of hard work. The situation will get more challenging as winter sets
in."
On the other side of Syria, on the Lebanon-Syrian
border, the organization is helping refugees by running a school for
5,000 local children. "The idea is to take the langar outside
the walls of the gurdwara and share food with people who need it the
most," added Hothi.
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Related Story from www.StoryPick.com by Shubhi Dixit ~ Sikh Group Shows a True Mark of Humanity. Sets Langar on Syrian Border to Feed Migrants
Iraq and Syria have been in a major state of disarray right now. Every day thousands of people of try to flee the horror and every day more migrants lose their life to either man or nature.
Yazidis whose life is commonly at gunpoint of Islamic State Of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) lived in many parts of Syria and Iraq in an attempt to ‘purify’ the non-Islamic influences are counting their days of hunger and starvation.
While most of us sit back and worry about the condition that is worsening every day, a Sikh community has taken up a never before initiative to help them out. They have set up their traditional langar with the name Langar Aid about 10 km from the Syrian border in the Pesh Harbour area.
This group constitutes of many NRI Punjabi Sikhs as well as some European volunteers who have come forward to help the migrants. Instead of a traditional kitchen, they have set up a bakery and are providing fresh bread to nearly 14,000 refugees every day.
The IS were destroying any food that was coming in for the refugees, therefore a UK based NGO Langar Aid took from help from the local government to set this up.
They are also getting some help from Serbia and Greece which are the neighbouring European countries.
The CEO of Khalsa Aid, Ravi Singh told TOI, “Refugees often mistake us for IS because of our appearance. I was there about two months back and it was a very overwhelming experience. It was poignant to meet a family that had fled from their homes with their 10-month old child and they were pleasantly surprised to find aid in the middle of nowhere. Then there was an elderly lady who still wanted to return to her village she had built after years of hard work. The situation will get more challenging as winter sets in.”
A UK based volunteer of Indian origin Indy Hothi said, “We set up a bakery at a refugee camp for Yazidi people to provide a self-sustaining solution. We are also trying to set a school for 5,000 local children on the Lebanon-Syrian border.”
Now that’s a service to God in the true sense. We are so proud of you.