Skip to main content

A hero's welcome

Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) members Juana Jaafar and Ram Karthigasu were given a hero's welcome on their return home.

They landed at Kuala Lumpur International Ariport slightly after 2pm today looking tired but happy to be home.

The pair were given an enthusiastic welcome as they walked out of baggage clearance towards the waiting area at the airport.



For the parents of Juana and Ram the wait is over: their children are safe and that is all that matters.

Relief is written all over Azizah Dahlan's face -- Juana's mum.

Vanaja Ramachandran says the family can rest easy: Ram is home.


 

Juana, 28, and Ram, 29, were part of the International Humanitarian Aid convoy under Viva Palestina, a British-registered charity, to Gaza.

The convoy departed London December 6, 2009 and arrived in Gaza January 6, 2010.

What an accomplishment for these young Malaysian heroes!

There will be stories to tell and books to write.

All that can wait.

They can relax safe in the knowledge that they are at home with their loving families.

Congratulations Ram and Juana!

We are very proud of you!


Labels:

Comments

Unknown said…
Oh, so nice! Thanks for this, Kak F.
11 January 2010 at 13:23
Unknown said…
Thanks for the opportunity!
11 January 2010 at 13:58
Juana Jaafar said…
dear Kak Faezah,

sorry i missed this post. baru tengok hari ni.

thank you so much for writing this! we were proud to carry the Malaysian flag with us on our journey, but heroes we are not! eeek! we're just regular Malaysians doing our small bit for Palestine.

thank you to you, your team and NST for giving us space. Viva!
25 February 2010 at 02:57
Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Rumi's gift

You've no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to bring You. Nothing seemed right. What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the Ocean. Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient. It's no good giving my heart and my soul because you already have these. So- I've brought you a mirror. Look at yourself and remember me. Jalaluddin Rumi said it all.   That's her in the mirror. The face is the mirror of the soul.  She sees joy, despair, hope, doubt. This is the end of another year in her life. A time to reflect and express her emotions. Love, forgiveness, healing and trust dominate all kinds of thoughts. She did many things right but she wavered too. Listen to your inner voice. Pressure? Deal with it! Quiet successes inspire her with confidence. Failures provide just the spur she needs. As she looks back on the past year, she is grateful that she got through it. Rumi, thank you for your gift!
1 comment
Read more

A spot of rural tranquillity in Ipoh

Your nerves are frayed and you need a dose of pleasingly rustic ambience without having to leave the city. There is such a spot for you, if you are in Ipoh. All you need to do is head for a block of flats called Kinta Heights in Pekan Lama, Ipoh, Perak, which is next to the Kinta River, one of the main branches of the Perak River. Unbelievable, as it may seem, there are several nasi kandar outlets and sundry shops in the vicinity, set in the greenery, with a view and a walking path. I suggest that you have lunch at Ramli Nasi Kandar and after that, take a very short walk to the river bank for your rural retreat. You might be motivated to spend 10 minutes or more in total silence and tranquillity. This is the place I go to again and again. Ramli Nasi Kandar is next to the sundry shop A short bridge to the river bank  You will feel irritated by people putting litter on the ground but I refuse to allow that to distract me. There is a 'Do not litter' notice her
Post a Comment
Read more

In the waiting room

People are always waiting for something. They could be waiting for the train, an opportunity, promises to be fulfilled or the return of a loved one. But "what does waiting mean in our lives and what is life without waiting?" That question was posed by Danny Castillones Sillada in his article "What is Life without Waiting?" (The Metaphysics of Waiting). The passing of the old year demands another round of gloomy introspection and Sillada's article came at the right time, given the value of waiting in our lives. "Waiting," he explains, is "an emotional and mental state, which is preconditioned to anticipate someone or something to arrive at a particular time and place". Sillada tells us that there are two types of waiting: empirical and metaphysical. The empirical form of waiting is "where the certainty of the waited and the occurrence of event are tangibly expected to happen within a particular time and place of the waite
5 comments
Read more