A Rohingya-Malaysian love story

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” 

-  Dr Martin Luther King Jr

A few years ago, a friend of mine met a young Rohingya man at a street stall. He was working there as a dishwashing boy. On that day, the stall owner was short of hand, hence he got the Rohingya man to clean tables and take orders as well. And that was how they met.

As my friend frequented the stall on the following days for her daily meals, the Rohingya man and my friend started bumping into each other quite often. From exchanging nods to exchanging smiles, they soon developed a friendship.

My friend is a well-educated woman with a good career and future. The Rohingya man, Mohammad, is a refugee from Rakhine who followed his family to Malaysia when he was younger. He only had basic education and was in no way a match for her.

Throughout the first few months of their friendship, my friend was impressed with his good character and cheerful personality. Mohammad worked very hard and was dedicated to his job. He had developed a sense of loyalty to the stall owner for giving him work when he was so desperately in need of one.

Mohammad also provided for his family. Having lost their home, belongings and a few family members back in Rakhine, Mohammad took good care of his elderly parents and younger siblings. Although they didn’t have much, he made sure they had everything they needed.

These qualities in Mohammad made him attractive in the eyes of my friend. When she told him how she felt, Mohammad began to cry. He too had developed similar feelings but did not know how to pursue them. After all, like other Rohingya refugees, Mohammad was always made to feel small and unwelcomed by most Malaysians.

Too bad for my friend, her family were among those who thought Rohingya refugees had no place in the country. As expected, they opposed the marriage. They could not understand why my friend could not have just fallen in love with a local man who matched her beauty, education and status.

The wedding

Long story short, a few months later, Mohammad wedded my friend in a simple aqad nikah ceremony, attended by his family and a few of her friends.

Soon after their wedding, my friend decided to invest in her husband’s future. She sent him for night classes and signed him up for weekend courses. And the ever so diligent, Mohammad absorbed everything like a sponge.

It has been nearly eight years since they have been married. Mohammad is a supervisor now with a road construction company while my friend has climbed a few ladders in her profession. They both are still deeply in love with each other and not to mention with their two beautiful sons.

Today, my friend’s family accepts Mohammad like one of their own. His devotion to his family won them over. They no longer see Mohammad as a refugee – he is now the loving husband to their daughter and the dutiful father to their grandchildren.

There are many people like Mohammad out there. Good people who are made to feel worthless and unwelcomed simply because of their status as refugees. It takes a wonderful human being like my dear friend to recognise potential in a fellow human being and giving them a chance in life to be empowered.

This tale of Mohammad, to me, is proof that Rohingyas can assimilate and be contributing members of our community if we would just give them a bit of support.

After all, they were not born to be refugees. They too were born to achieve their greatest potential.

For the sake of all the Mohammads out there, please, have a heart, Malaysia.

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a director, a struggling producer, a photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot. - Mkini