In the recent global events, the war between the Israelis and Palestinians (commonly knows an The Gaza War) has worsened increasingly. The effects of this war have been both devastating and horrifying. However, the biggest victims are not the men nor the women but the innocent children who have to witness their friends and family or even themselves getting injured or dying. Some of them lose siblings, a parent or both parents.

Many have risen to the occasion to lend a hand in aid of these victims. One of them is none other than our very own Yang Berbahagia Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir. She is the founder and chairperson of the campaign “To My Friend in Gaza”. Quote Datin Paduka’s blog.

“The basic idea is to get Malaysian children to write letters cards/postcards or make drawings for the children of Gaza to show their support, provide encouragement and let them know that they have friends here who are thinking of them and praying for their safety.”

- rantingsbymm.blogspot.com

On 20 February 2009, Datin Paduka graced Sri Cempaka Damansara with her presence as she accepted 2,500 cards made with love by our very own Cempakans. This was followed by various performances such as the passionate recital of poems dedicated to the victims by Aminah, Syarifah and Kunendra of Form 3 while Alyssa Aisyah hit every note in “The Greatest Love of All”. Cempaka’s nightingale Joanne Ng sang a duet alongside Jes Ebrahim as he strummed his guitar to an acoustic version of “Imagine”. The series of performances ended with harmony as Cempaka Voices took the stage with “We Are The World”.

Last but not least, there was a live screening of the latest episode of Cempaka Scene which featured an interview by myself with Datin Paduka which was conducted that very morning. I was given an exclusive pass to get up close and personal with Datin Paduka regarding her campaign.

Datin Paduka was encouraged to do her part after reading about the suffering of the victims in the local newspapers. This led her to realize that the children just needed support from others and the only way was to do it the old-fashioned pen and paper way. Datin Paduka had gotten the idea in the middle of the night and had teamed up with UNICEF to send the letters over to Gaza while ‘+wondermilk’ is responsible for the lovely logo of “To My Friend in Gaza”. Many wonder how just sending words in the form of letters can contribute to the aid of the children. Datin Paduka told us that during the Civil War, East Timur received letters form Japan which gave them hope that someone out there was worried about their welfare.

The problem faced initially was that the children in Gaza do not understand the Malay or English language. This was where the volunteers to translate the letters to Jawi came in. When asked about her father’s, Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Mahathir, views on the campaign, she chuckled and replied that she hasn’t asked him yet but mentioned that he was supportive.

“To My Friend in Gaza” was Datin Paduka’s way of doing her part for the children in Gaza. How can we, Malaysians and Cempakans, do our part for them as well? Datin Paduka stated that many have come out to raise funds but the most important thing was to know and understand what is really happening in Palestine. To know that it is not a religious war and that it is about occupation and human rights. Basically, they just need to know that someone cares.

Let us do our part.