Skip to main content

A hero's welcome

Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) members Juana Jaafar and Ram Karthigasu were given a hero's welcome on their return home.

They landed at Kuala Lumpur International Ariport slightly after 2pm today looking tired but happy to be home.

The pair were given an enthusiastic welcome as they walked out of baggage clearance towards the waiting area at the airport.



For the parents of Juana and Ram the wait is over: their children are safe and that is all that matters.

Relief is written all over Azizah Dahlan's face -- Juana's mum.

Vanaja Ramachandran says the family can rest easy: Ram is home.


 

Juana, 28, and Ram, 29, were part of the International Humanitarian Aid convoy under Viva Palestina, a British-registered charity, to Gaza.

The convoy departed London December 6, 2009 and arrived in Gaza January 6, 2010.

What an accomplishment for these young Malaysian heroes!

There will be stories to tell and books to write.

All that can wait.

They can relax safe in the knowledge that they are at home with their loving families.

Congratulations Ram and Juana!

We are very proud of you!


Labels:

Comments

Unknown said…
Oh, so nice! Thanks for this, Kak F.
11 January 2010 at 13:23
Unknown said…
Thanks for the opportunity!
11 January 2010 at 13:58
Juana Jaafar said…
dear Kak Faezah,

sorry i missed this post. baru tengok hari ni.

thank you so much for writing this! we were proud to carry the Malaysian flag with us on our journey, but heroes we are not! eeek! we're just regular Malaysians doing our small bit for Palestine.

thank you to you, your team and NST for giving us space. Viva!
25 February 2010 at 02:57
Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Who am I?

Malaysian artist Jeganathan Ramachandram will be exhibiting his paintings in Singapore if a deal with a company to display Human Watching: A Visual Poetry on the Science of Human Watching in the island republic is successful. The intuitive artist told Survey that the move is still under negotiation. Human watching made its debut at Galeri Petronas in March, 2009 and was well received by both art critics and art lovers. Fourteen portraits representing females and males born on each of the seven days in a week were put on view. The depictions (acrylic on canvas) were based on his observations of human behaviour for the past 14 years. Images of seven females and seven males inform viewers through symbols of their strengths and weaknesses and their relationships with other people. Those who have seen Human Watching identified with their profiles almost immediately. Admit it: you are curious about yourself! Males, who were born on Sunday ( bottom picture ), were pleasantly surprised to dis
5 comments
Read more

When a card came out of the blue ...

This post is prompted by a remark made by my good friend Wei Lin. She saw me reading a card I had received from a friend recently and said: "Traditional cards are so old-fashioned." I wondered if that was true and decided to probe into the issue. A Google search revealed numerous articles on the debate between traditional paper-based cards and e-cards. Tracey Grady's examination of the pros and cons of each type is informative. In my opinion, e-cards are not substitutes for the real (traditional) ones and they shouldn't be. I treat e-card e-mails with suspicion because spammers could be using them to download viruses and software onto my computer. I have never sent anyone an e-card and I don't plan to; I dislike the cold impersonality of conveying greetings electronically. I have always liked sending and receiving cards the traditional way. The ritual of going to a bookshop, browsing at the card section, picking a suitable one for the recipient and then walking to
7 comments
Read more

Protect our parents from elder abuse

All's well that ends well. At least that was how Harian Metro , the number one Malay tabloid in Malaysia, portrayed it. Amir Mohd Omar, who abandoned his paralysed mother to the care of strangers at a budget hotel at Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, has accepted a job offer from an entrepreneur and Malaysians have high expectations regarding his filial duty. Would he be able to hold it together this time and not crack under the strain of managing his day-to-day life which includes looking after his aging mother? I would like to think that he would do the right thing now. Anti-Amir sentiment ran high when the public read that he had walked away from his physically incapacitated mother, Faridah Maulud, 66,  after checking her into the hotel. His distraught mother was discovered by hotel staff a few days later when they found out that he didn't pay the hotel bill. Her gut-wrenching photo on the front page of the tabloid touched many readers of the new
Post a Comment
Read more