KUALA LUMPUR – As millions of Ukrainians flee their homeland to escape neighbouring Russia’s invasion, humanitarian aid for those seeking refuge has come one way or another from every corner of the world.
A living embodiment of how empathy knows no borders is Malaysia’s very own Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai, a medical practitioner who has taken a hands-on approach in volunteering at a Ukrainian refugee centre in Poland.
As Russian attacks showed no signs of abating, a concerned Dr Muruga headed over to Poland on March 3 to be with his three children and two brothers who are all students at the Medical University of Warsaw.
“After making sure that my family was safe and spending a few days with them in Poland, I decided to contribute my services as a medical volunteer at the Warsaw Central Station here, which is sheltering thousands of Ukrainians.
“Since I am already here, I wanted to be able to help the less fortunate who are going through incredibly tough times right now,” he explained to The Vibes, before going on to share some observations of the harrowing conditions on the ground.
Incidentally, Dr Muruga, is set to be the next president of the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) in September this year.
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In the weeks following the Russian assault, which has since seen the loss of hundreds of lives, Ukrainian citizens have left behind everything in search of safety, with more than 1.62 million crossing into Poland with minimal belongings or just the clothes on their backs.
“The sad part for me is that a lot of people who arrive at the centre from Ukraine are almost always emotionally distressed, and they have every reason to be,” Dr Muruga said.
“Many of those who are here, including children, are separated from family members and some even had to make the journey without any of their personal documents with them because the situation in the country was just so chaotic.
“The stress and anxiety levels of everyone here is definitely running high, especially since there is no definite date for when they will be able to return to their homeland,” he added.
As part of the medical team. which operates around the clock on shifts, he said that he and other volunteers on duty attend to the needs of upwards of a thousand people in a day, as they stream into the centre from early hours of the morning to late hours of the night.
“Some refugees have gone up to two weeks without their blood pressure or diabetes medicine, while others will show up with all sorts of ailments and there are also Covid-19 positive individuals who require medical assistance.
“We will treat them to the best of our abilities and give them the necessary medications before sheltering them at sick bays in the centre where food and other necessities are provided,” he said.
He added that massive supplies of donations from the public have helped keep the centre up and running.
Carrying out his tasks with the help of translators, he takes pride in being the only Malaysian volunteer in the entire centre flooded with various other nationalities.
“I am proud to be representing my country and I will keep on doing whatever I can to help the people here with the knowledge and skills that I have,” he said.
He added that before he flies back to Malaysia on March 21, he is looking forward to joining the humanitarian convoy that will be offering direct assistance to Ukrainians by heading into the nation and extracting residents from areas affected by the war.
“I have already added my name to the list of volunteers willing to travel into Ukraine and I hope that I will be able to go with them to provide the necessary medical support.” – The Vibes, March 13, 2022
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