I
looked outside of the window. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. There is
something about the place that makes me feel…well, inspired. I could and see
the whole City of Kuala Lumpur from here and yet I am far away from all the hustle and bustle of metropolitan
life. Surrounded by jungle, the sound of the birds chirping and the freshness
of the morning air breeze makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs, if
only this is my home.
Suddenly
a soft voice interrupted my thoughts. “Enjoying the view?” Emerged from the
back of the majestic timber door is a middle aged woman. She was wearing a blue
and white scarf and a blouse with sky blue pants but what attracted me the most
was the warm smile that she put across her lovely fair face. “Stay calm, Nay” I
said to myself. As she approached me, I immediately extended my hands and shook
hers and exchanged greetings. This is the woman who I have been longing to see;
a woman who has inspired me immensely to become a better person who is ever
willing to extend help and assistance to those in needs and to the less
fortunate.
“Malaysians had become such materialistic
people. The world around us is suffering and we are not doing our part as a
responsible citizen, yet we claimed to be caring people. We measure success and
development by material wealth and construction of tall buildings”. These
powerful words came from a woman who left her good life in an effort to thwart
global poverty. She is none other than Malaysia’s very own Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah
Mahmood. She is well-known for being the founder of a non-profit organization
in Malaysia, MERCY Malaysia. Born on the 3rd of December 1959, Dr.
Jemilah was raised by her parents in Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya. She went to
Assunta Girls School and it was there that her desire in becoming a doctor
started to develop. She worked day and
night to become one and has earned the membership of the Royal College of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the United Kingdom. Dr. Jemilah got married
to a fellow gynaecologist, Dr. Ashar Abdullah and has two beautiful sons.
Being
an inspiring role model is one thing but being a mother to her children is
another challenge. People around her never stop asking how she managed and
balanced her life pursuing her passion and making time for family; how does she
do it?. Her answer is simple. Her family is her backbone. Unlike a salaried
occupation where her work could be assessed, she does not get regular feedback
on how she is doing as a mother. That is why, to Dr. Jemilah, the highest
recognition in her life is knowing that her beloved family especially her two sons
looked up to her more than anything else. “I can fly to two countries in a day
and meeting new people every minute but nothing can compare to even a single
second with my family,” she added.
Growing
up, she has always felt the need to help others. It is as though the urge of
doing so runs in her blood. Her parents taught her the meaning of sympathy and
empathy early in her childhood by bringing in homeless people to stay with
them. These people were given sufficient food and temporary shelter until they
were sent to shelter homes. As a kid, her curiosity always leads her to her own
self-empowering. She chatted with all the homeless that were brought in to her
house. According to Dr. Jemilah, “In order to understand their situation, we
must first understand what they have been through. Put ourselves in their shoes
and walk in it!” She also said that the thought of these homeless trapped in
homes riddled with damp and infested with rodents makes she appreciates her
life more than ever.
However,
Dr.Jemilah’s world literally crumbled when her father passed away when she was
only nine years old. She lost her role model; a figure who used to protect her
and give her undivided attention. Since then, she was trained by her mother to
be independent. At the age of 14, Dr. Jemilah’s mother started sending her to
Singapore to give a helping hand to their family members who requires help in
terms of taking care of them. A big responsibility for a little girl, I say.
It was her husband who is also her
backbone, Dr. Ashar Abdullah who gave her the idea to establish MERCY Malaysia,
which is also known as Malaysian Medical Relief Society. She founded the
organization in June 1999 and Dr. Jemilah became the president until 2010.
Throughout the eleven years of her being the leader of the team, she managed to
gather Malaysians and some non-Malaysians from all walks of life to serve the
same purpose and that is to save those in need.
Dr.
Jemilah managed to do this regardless of race, religion and cultural
differences. Her first big mission was to lead a team of MERCY workers when the
tsunami hit Acheh, Indonesia back in 2004. Food, medical care and rescue teams
were sent to help the people there. Being the closest and the main team to help
in the disaster, MERCY Malaysia helped the citizens in restoring what they have
lost, like rebuilding homes and providing medical supplies to those in need.
That help contributed a lot and made a difference in Acheh and also its
citizens.
Dr. Jemilah is not only generous but
brave. She has outdone herself when she and the MERCY team decided to volunteer
in helping people in Baghdad in 2003. The sound of exploding fireballs and
rapid machine gun fire still haunted her till now. Not forgetting all the faces
she has met and almost most of them have turned into blood, bandages and also
dead body the very next day. She was so devastated when she saw the look of
their remaining friends and families who have been left with the agonising
emptiness of the loss of their loved one.
They
say if we love somebody, we would not mind to take a bullet for them. Her love
for humanity has been proven when she literally took a bullet for the people
she is helping. On her way to offer medical relief and supplies to Baghdad
hospitals, she was shot in her left hip by the Iraqis themselves. The Iraqis
mistook the MERCY’s ambulance team with Syrians, after experiencing rocket
fires in the village. An Iraqi hospital staff and the Syrian driver
accompanying them were killed in the tragic incident. Two other doctors
suffered grievous injuries but Dr. Jemilah alone, survived.
Doctors
at Chiwader hospital wanted to remove the bullet from her hip but she refused to
do so as she did not want to take up their time and medication. She felt that the
medication was needed more by the patients in the hospital then her own need.
She put others need before herself, that is what she was taught since she was
small by her parents. Even after five days being shot, she was still walking
around with a bullet in her hip. Her resiliency can be shown in critical
moments when she dug the bullet and sewed up the wound herself. “They deserve
the health treatment more than I do. I can do it myself,” she said while
laughing.
Right after that, she got back on her two feet
and helped a woman deliver a baby. To top it off, a few days after the incident,
the shooter, who happened to be a young boy, came up to her personally and
apologized for shooting her. Without being hesitant, Dr. Jemilah forgave the
boy without a moment of hesitation and not even an ounce of hatred towards the
young boy. She said it happened because of one misunderstanding. This is what
wars have done to people. They make all of us live in fear and ignorance;
without knowing who we can trust anymore.
Dr. Jemilah recently won the ISA
award, Services To Humanity, in
Bahrain for her efforts in disaster prevention and relief, education, community
service, environment protection, climate change and poverty alleviation. She
was named the first recipient of the prestigious award amongst hundreds of humanitarians
from across the world. Dr. Jemilah has shown that resiliency, perseverance and
passion is all it takes to change the world. Dr. Jemilah has also proven that
one man, or women, can change the fate of so many lives.
Before
we ended our conversation, with a deep concern shown on her face, she said that
with all the wars that have been going on for years, it serves as a warning to
all mankind that humanity is at the peak of non-existence. This might be
happening because despite the constant screening to the world by the media on
the bad images of wars, we are often anaesthetised and insensitive to their
effects. Our brains have been tricked and numb to think that wars have become a
normal tragedy. It is no longer a concern to humanity as it does not involve
everyone’s lives. Dr. Jemilah further lamented “Do you want your children to
live in a world without having the emotion of sympathy and empathy toward
others? What if it happens to your
children and family?”
