- 8 months ago
- #agendaawani
Despite easing the blockade, Gaza’s death toll continues to rise - now also due to starvation. Aid is entering, but insecurity and poor coordination are blocking its distribution. Don’t miss our exclusive interview with Sheikh Dr. Shadi Zaza, founder of Rahma Worldwide. Tonight at 9pm on #AgendaAWANI.
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00:00This is Ajanda Awani with me, Nala Huda.
00:10Despite easing the total blockade on humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory,
00:15we're still seeing the death toll in Gaza continue to add up.
00:19And despite Israel begin allowing limited goods into Palestinian territory,
00:24humanitarian groups are still facing significant challenges in delivering aid
00:28either due to insecurity or coordination issues.
00:32So, on Ajanda Awani, at this hour, we want to get a better understanding
00:36of what's actually going on on the ground with humanitarian efforts.
00:40So, we're very honoured to be joined by Sheikh Dr Shadi Zaza,
00:44Chairman and Founder of Rahma Worldwide.
00:46Rahma Worldwide is one of, if not the first American relief organisations
00:51to conduct consecutive medical missions to Gaza
00:54and one of the few NGOs allowed to bring in medical supplies and doctors
00:58even when faced with a major blockade.
01:01And since the war broke out, Sheikh Shadi has been in and out of Gaza five times now.
01:06And at home, he's also the Grand Imam of the Franklin Grand Mosque.
01:10We're very happy to have you join us today.
01:12I did read that your organisation, Rahma Worldwide, started all the way back in 2014 with just $200.
01:22And now your team has served, I believe, over tens of millions of beneficiaries
01:28with an annual budget exceeding tens of millions of dollars as well.
01:32Can you tell us a little bit of the story of how Rahma Worldwide started and came to be?
01:36I arrived to the U.S. in 2009 as an Imam.
01:41In 2011, the Syrian revolution started and I started working voluntarily with the organisations
01:48that already exist in America to be able to help my country.
01:53In 2014, we saw that the problem will be for long.
02:00It's not going to be short as we expected.
02:04So me and the group of volunteers, we decided to found Rahma, $200 in the Bank of America at that time.
02:15It was started and people look at me saying, like, what you are doing?
02:21You know, there is, like, organisation have 20 years old and I said, like, this is what I can do.
02:31This $200 become half a million in the first year, then three million and a half in the second year,
02:39seven million in the third year and we kept going up and up and up.
02:44We moved from helping Syrian to helping Yemeni in Yemen in 2016.
02:52We opened our office in Gaza in 2017.
02:56And now the organisation exists in 20 countries around the world.
03:02Wow.
03:03This is our story.
03:05No, that's an impressive journey, yeah, from just $200.
03:09And I believe Rahma Worldwide was also the first American relief organisations
03:15to set up and conduct consecutive medical missions to Gaza.
03:20After the war.
03:21After the war, yes.
03:22And this has involved over 300 doctors.
03:25What does this mean to you representing American civil society
03:29and perhaps just international civil society at large, right, in Gaza?
03:33Two messages.
03:34Number one, American people have sympathy and they are moved to help humanitarian.
03:44And that's nothing to do with the politics side.
03:50And we have a duty as Muslims coming from Middle East to America.
03:58And the Americans themselves, they want to work with us.
04:02They encourage us to provide humanitarian and they're helping us a lot.
04:08The second message that we're not going to leave our cases, our people.
04:14We're going to support them with any possible way that we can.
04:18And this is why Rahma opened offices in Gaza and in major conflict zone and war zone.
04:27We were very good in doing emergency response.
04:31As of the recent war taking place in Gaza, we were the first organisation to send medical missions.
04:41We were equipped with medicine, medical equipment, anything possible from Egypt at that time.
04:51And after the crossing of Rafah from Egypt to Gaza, we are working from Jordan, sending also medical mission.
05:01The medical mission number 35 just entered Gaza three days ago.
05:08And more than 571 doctors entered and served.
05:14Spent a lot of hours in the hospitals and helping saving lives of the Gaza people in this very critical time.
05:25Yeah. You mentioned having the support of the American people, that community support.
05:30And oftentimes what we're seeing in media, in social media as well, this can be easily portrayed as a political or even a religious issue.
05:39Right. But it's all of that and more than that as well.
05:43It's at the heart of it, a humanitarian issue, isn't it?
05:47Humanity makes us united. Politics makes us divided.
05:52And Rahma's vision that focusing on what makes us united.
05:59And we have the shared identity that we have a human right.
06:04And we need to focus on helping the women, the kids, saving the future.
06:10Because this is the only way that we make a change in the future of our nation and on this earth.
06:19And this is the message that we have.
06:23And mosques, churches, a lot of culture center from everywhere hosting us, supporting, donating to us.
06:35And we've been very good in documents and show really the donation arrived to where intended to be sent.
06:44And through this message, we made a lot of connection, network supporting, raising awareness.
06:53People want to know about Gaza, what is the real story behind this, why there is a fight.
07:00And by doing our work, we are showing the real case and the deep story on what's happening inside Gaza.
07:12Yeah, no, it's really inspiring to see the sort of support, the traction that it's gained in American society now, extending to even cultural areas.
07:22We've seen reports of Miss Rachel, a very famous teacher on YouTube that's teaching kids.
07:28She's also showing support. So it's very inspiring really to see what it's become.
07:33We believe when American doctor went with us to Gaza to see in his own eyes what is happening there and come back to U.S.,
07:45that might be more effective in defending and showing the real story, you know, in America.
07:55And I know many doctors who went in medical mission. They went back to do advocacy work about what they are witnessed in Gaza and give the clear picture of the conflict on the ground.
08:12And this is really achievement, I believe, because not a lot of media focusing and showing what's happening and taking place in that conflict.
08:23Yeah. I mean, like you say, it's really what we're seeing all the time, right?
08:26People who come in and out of Gaza, they come out a different person.
08:29For you yourself, you've been in and out just, I think, over five times now since the recent war.
08:36What do you think has changed, what hasn't, from your first visit to the most recent?
08:42Unfortunately, 75% from Gaza demolished, the destruction behind the belief.
08:51I remember the first time I went in January 2024. My last trip was before Ramadan, last Ramadan this year.
09:04The amount of destruction is really horrible. But the people and how they are holding on the ground,
09:16saying we either live here or die here. And this is the Palestinian because they believe in their cause.
09:25They believe they have the right to live. They have a tool and inspiration related to their land.
09:35They believe that this is a blessing land and they will not give it up. And it's really amazing.
09:44When you see someone who lost 39 persons from his family and he is really hold on his home and saying,
09:55I'm going to stay here no matter what. I believe God wants us to see a real example of patient people,
10:05a sovereign we call it. And this is really make us look at them as heroes.
10:12And we will continue taking care of these people, standing with them, representing the case in a very high professional way and make the generation get to know.
10:31Our kids in the U.S., they are searching to find out what is really the story of Palestine, which is something make us really like,
10:43how come those who live in America, born in America, they don't know anything about the case,
10:50but now they are very curious to know what is the real story and to make them understand and they stood strong with the Palestinian land and Palestinian case.
11:04Yeah, no, their resilience is something we can all look up to and admire.
11:09Just going into your time there, either just recently or throughout the years, what has stayed with you to this day?
11:19What sort of perhaps powerful or impactful image that comes to mind when you are talking about Gaza?
11:26I was visiting one of the hospitals and I visited one who was injured from bombing and he lost his leg.
11:38And I asked him, how do you do? And he was smiling and saying, I'm not mad because I believe this part of my body went ahead of me to Jannah.
11:53And that's really for me, it's like, what is this, you know, how people think about losing their life, sacrificing everything they have.
12:05And they still insist to continue. And the inspiration, the charge that you have from them, you go there, you feel mad because of what happened.
12:19You come back with this spiritual feeling that, oh my God, those people are different than us.
12:26Because a human being, when he believes in his case, he believes in what he has, that he has a right to live, become strong no matter what.
12:38Not all the bombing or strike can make him weak or change his perspective of life.
12:49And this is what makes me amazed about the people of Gaza.
12:54Yeah. I can't imagine the sort of emotional or mental toll it has on you and your team when you're there.
13:02But we also want to understand the sort of more physical, logistical challenges that you also face, Rahmaa Worldwide, your team face when trying to deliver aid into Gaza.
13:12Because, you know, we're obviously hearing there's still challenges on the ground when delivering this humanitarian aid.
13:18What is it actually like?
13:20We went through a lot during this war. But the recent situation that only 12 organizations, INGOs, have been approved to work inside Gaza.
13:36Five of them, all are Americans, can have their own distribution point inside Gaza. Rahmaa is one of them.
13:47And we are the only Muslim organization working and having their own distribution point.
13:54We have team increased 40 members with the volunteers maybe past 100.
14:05And we get permission to send 20 containers every day to purchase from inside the Palestinian territory, the West Bank, Jerusalem, the land of 48,
14:19and then deliver it within 48 hours to inside Gaza.
14:24The Israeli propaganda using that and marketing that no organization can work.
14:32And this affect the donors and the one who really want to send aid.
14:38But we are here to say, no, we have access, we have permission.
14:43We are a U.S.-based organization and we've been able to achieve a lot.
14:50More than 3,371 containers we delivered since October 2023 till now.
15:0035 medical commissions, as I mentioned, and a lot of medical equipment, medicine.
15:07And we need to keep doing this. We cannot work alone.
15:12So we need the help of everyone. We were in Indonesia last week and we get a lot of support.
15:20And hopefully here in Malaysia we're going to continue to encourage everyone and let them know about our existence and our mission
15:31and what we can do to help the people of Gaza.
15:50What is it actually that you guys need that's still lacking?
15:54I mean, you say there's a lot of, you know, these logistical mechanisms are already in place.
15:59But what's still lacking?
16:00So the problem is now we only allow to purchase from inside Palestine.
16:06We have a lot of aid in Egypt. We have a lot of aid in Jordan.
16:11But they are not allowing us to bring out from other countries.
16:17The only way that we have to purchase from inside Palestine.
16:22So we need help because if we couldn't secure a fund to be able to send 20 containers every day,
16:31those minus containers will affect the life of people in Gaza.
16:36At the same time, the 20 containers will be counted on them.
16:41So this is very important that we can find a lot of partners can help us in this very critical time
16:51to send as much as we can to inside Gaza.
16:56You mentioned there's obviously propaganda. There's a lot of confusion about what's actually happening.
17:02What do you think is the biggest misconception, myth about what actually is happening on the ground?
17:08Misconception when organizations sending aid from outside and they are documents the aid
17:16and claim that the aid arrived to Gaza, but it's really, actually it is on Al Arish from Egypt site.
17:24That's great confusion. So this is not an aid arrived to Gaza. It's on the border.
17:31So we want other partners to be aware that if you have the right to channel, you can still deliver the aid.
17:42And I am calling upon all organizations that we can help them as when we have the door open for us
17:53to deliver from Egypt, from Jordan, because we work in this way.
18:01And it's about time that we can gain access again to be delivered from outside Palestine.
18:11It's very interesting. It's very important that to work with the right people because today any misinformation will confuse.
18:22And the one who paying price of that, that child who is waiting the aid inside Gaza.
18:30Yeah. To, I guess, help demystify some of these misconceptions, can you walk us through what a typical medical mission actually looks like?
18:42From assembling the team, from the planning to actually crossing the borders and to deliver aid to those in need.
18:49So we have a special department in U.S. Dr. Farashin, she is the one who lead that department.
18:59She is the head of medical mission. And she is the one who receive all applications from all doctors around the world.
19:08And then put in each medical mission, the specialties needed, and put the priority in these specialties,
19:18and then put it together in one list, send it for approval.
19:22There is a security check that should be done before they arrive to Amman, from Amman to the bridge of King Hussain,
19:33then to Karam Shalom, the border of Gaza, and then they have to spend two weeks inside Gaza and then come out.
19:42That's a long process.
19:44Very quick. It is a long process.
19:46Now, we have just about a few minutes left and I hope it's okay if we get a little bit personal.
19:50I think our audience would like to get to know you as well.
19:53But, you know, you mentioned a lot about the sort of emotional, the mental aspect of actually being there.
20:00And, you know, you're both, you know, not just a humanitarian leader, you're also a religious figure, of course.
20:05How do you, I guess, sort of reconcile this moral, this emotional weight of the pain and the suffering that you witnessed?
20:13How do you go to sleep at night, basically?
20:15Like, I am now three weeks away from home, from country to another to secure opportunities of partnership.
20:27And this is make me really miss my four kids and my wife back in US.
20:36But I always telling them that you need to understand that we have bigger mission in life and not a lot of people can do this job.
20:46And maybe God wants me to do this type of work and you are sharing with me the same reward.
20:55Being connected to Gaza and hearing from your team every day a lot of stories, a lot of challenges, it's really make you live there.
21:09So your body out of Gaza, but your heart is there.
21:14But by the achievement you have, you feel that you make a change.
21:21And this change gives you feel of happiness and that I'm trying to help as much as I could.
21:31And this will make your life different.
21:34And it will ease the difficulties, the challenges, a lot of, you know, sadness.
21:41Sometimes we have because of the news, because of what we are saying, there is silence in the world about this genocide.
21:51And that's make us feel responsible and serious about the work that we are trying to provide and help and support inside the Gaza.
22:04As you mentioned, Rama Worldwide also has some presence in Syria.
22:08Yes.
22:09And of course, what we are witnessing in Syria these past few months has, I guess, become a beacon of hope in the region, right?
22:16For sure.
22:17What are your thoughts on that?
22:20And what do you think about what we can expect from the region?
22:24I want to mention a very interesting story related to Gaza and Syria at the day when Syria gets the victory and people announced Syria is free now from the dictatorship.
22:41I was in my way from Detroit to Istanbul to enter Gaza on that trip.
22:48So my staff called me, they said, Syria is free. Are you going to, like, change your schedule?
22:54I said, no, I have to go to Gaza and keep everything on schedule.
22:59But maybe after I finish Gaza, I will go to Syria.
23:02When I entered Gaza, I saw people of Gaza very happy.
23:07They're really happy.
23:09And I said, like, why are you happy? You still live in the war. What's going on?
23:14They said, we are happy for Syria.
23:17And we believe that our victory will come from Sham, from Damascus.
23:23So seeing Syria change now, it's a big thing for us.
23:28And, you know, it's one country at the end. It's very close to each other.
23:34So the cause is one, you know.
23:37And now I'm leaving from Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul and Syria.
23:42We have a conference in Syria for early recovery projects.
23:46We invited all partners that we are working with them around the globe to come to Syria and help us rebuilding the country.
23:56So I believe that there is hope. There is a lot of changes.
24:03And we need our brothers and sisters from everywhere to come and have a share of the achievement and reward building the future of this nation.
24:17That's very inspiring to hear. And obviously it's been a beacon of hope really to see what's happened in Syria.
24:25And I'm sure for the people of Gaza, they can also share in that sort of enthusiasm.
24:30We're coming to the end of the show now, but on that optimistic and positive note, what is your hope?
24:38Both for the people of Gaza, for the entire region at large and for the global community and how they choose to respond moving forward.
24:47I was the first one who made the trip from Gaza to Damascus.
24:55And I believe this is the hope I have that one day we're going to see no border in our way.
25:08And we become one nation that become one hand.
25:14Nothing makes us divided and focusing on what makes us one nation in humanity,
25:22sharing the value and the real meaning living together on this earth.
25:29For a region that's been marred with so much conflict for so long now,
25:35I think what the entire global community is looking forward to, peace and unity in the region.
25:43I guess we'd like to end on that note. Thank you so much for sharing, Sheikh Shari.
25:48And thank you so much for joining us today. That's all that we have on Agenda Awani.
25:53With me, Nala Huda, we'll catch you another time.
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