When Qurban Meat Brings Joy to Refugees in the Land of Sham

DTPEDULI.ORG | BANDUNG – The midday sun shone fiercely over Deir Ballouth Camp, an arid area at the northern tip of Syria bordering Turkey directly. Dust swirled in the wind, slipping between thousands of tents lined up rigidly.

There, behind sheets of white tarpaulin that were beginning to tear and fade in color, thousands of souls struggled to survive. They are Palestinian and Syrian refugees. Those displaced from their homeland, enduring day after day in exhausting uncertainty.

In this place, meat is an extremely rare luxury. Something that perhaps only exists in memories of the past, before bombs destroyed their homes in Yarmouk Camp, Damascus, and forced them to flee north seeking shelter.

The gloomy atmosphere gradually melted when the sound of a logistics vehicle cut through the silence of the camp. Inside, there was a great trust from the Indonesian people channeled through the National Zakat Collection Institution (LAZNAS) Darut Tauhiid (DT) Peduli, in collaboration with the Indonesian-Syrian Humanitarian Organization (PISY).

"Alhamdulillah, DT Peduli is sharing sedekah meat for our Palestinian brothers and sisters in the Syria-Turkey border area, namely the Atma area. A total of 10 portions of sedekah meat from DT Peduli," said KH. Zulkifli Ali, Advisor of PISY, while directly accompanying the meat packaging process with full gratitude.

"May the deeds of our brothers and sisters who have entrusted their wealth through DT Peduli receive rewards that are manifold and multiplied many times over in the sight of Allah. We from PISY, may Allah accept our righteous deeds. Great is our reward, noble are we in this world and the hereafter," he said sincerely.

The journey from the slaughterhouse to the refugee camps is not an easy matter. Dusty terrain presents its own challenge for volunteers in the field. One PISY volunteer described how heartbreaking the condition of the refugee tents they visited was.

"This afternoon, we are already at the refugee camp in the Deir Ballouth area. Inside there are refugees from Palestine, and also refugees from Syria. The condition here, alhamdulillah the roads have started to be paved with stones, but the roofs are still made of tarpaulin. Many have already been destroyed too," he recounted while pointing to the rows of fragile tents around him.

The volunteer recounted that these Palestinian refugees originally settled in Yarmouk Camp, a fairly lively small town on the outskirts of Damascus. However, the brutality of the conflict and total destruction due to regime actions forced them to experience double displacement. They were thrown to the remote areas of Atma and Deir Ballouth, living under plastic and tarpaulin roofs that glowed hot during summer and froze solid when winter arrived.

"Alhamdulillah, we are very grateful to receive this qurban meat. Our families have not enjoyed meat for a long time due to the limitations we face. This assistance not only meets our food needs, but also brings happiness in the midst of difficult conditions," said one family head recipient, deeply moved.

He poured out prayers for the muqarib and donors who had entrusted their qurban to DT Peduli.

"We express our deepest gratitude to our brothers and sisters from Indonesia. May Allah reward your kindness and accept this deed in His sight."

The purest happiness radiated from the faces of refugee children. Dressed in tattered clothes, they gathered around the volunteers. Wide smiles were etched on their innocent faces, usually surrounded by the trauma of war.

Spontaneously and simultaneously, the shrill voices of the children pierced the silence of the camp, voicing a sentence that stirred the hearts of anyone who heard it, "I love Indonesia!"

Read also: Alhamdulillah, Finally Tasting Qurban Meat After Three Years of Waiting