The world of Tzu Chi June 2021 (Vol.135)

2021 • 06 12 eature One day at a time “We were bullied in our hometown… Our house was burned down, we could not go for prayers. Life was a struggle. I ran away with my wife and children to escape such an ordeal. With limited funds, I only managed to pay the deposit to travel to Malaysia where I had hoped to find a job and pay my debts.” – Harun W aking up each day—realizing you are still alive—is a miracle. Beyond the promising sunrise, you begin to feel the fog in your lenses when your father lies stricken with cancer and you feel you have hit rock bottom. They say there is a rainbow behind each downpour, but does reality obscure this childlike wish? As Onaisah nurses her father’s sores, she hears and feels his excruciating pain, and deep within, that pain resonates with her own. Her future seems dimmer by the day; she has dreams of getting an education which will help alleviate the poverty in her family. Now she wonders if this dream will be dashed. Faced with the compelling choice of saving a life, Onaisah has to put aside her personal goal. Isn’t this a familiar cry of not just Onaisah but the many refugees who have settled in a land not quite their own? Yet, there is no time to wallow in self-pity or regret. Saving her father’s life must come first. Translated by Ong Mooi Lin