Every year, the world witnesses thousands, if not millions, of refugees, evacuees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons fleeing their homes due to circumstances that adversely affect their quality of life.
Around 12% of the world's population is desperately searching for a new place to rebuild their lives. As the leading authority on Muslim travel, it is part of Crescenrating’s vision to lend a helping hand in the ongoing global humanitarian crisis. For our 2021 Halal in Travel Global Summit, we have invited key figures to shed light on present humanitarian conditions. We also enable sectors of the Muslim travel industry to support these causes for our webinar, "Lending a Helping Hand to the Humanitarian Crisis".
This 30-minute virtual session includes Mehdi Zidani (Private Sector Partnerships Officer of the Islamic Philanthropy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Ifran bin Tarmizi (CEO of GlobalSadaqah), and Chris Abdur-Rahman Blauvelt (Founder & CEO, LaunchGood.com) as its panelists.
Crescentrating’s very own Nurul Ain Azhar, the "Curriculum Manager and Partner Engagement Lead", serves as its moderator.
The Neglected Travelers, as mentioned in the earlier portion of this blog, recent crises have led roughly 12% of the global population to look for new countries and homes to stay in. It account for about 82.4 million people from different parts of the world. According to Mehdi Zidani of UNHCR, they are often collectively referred to as the ‘neglected travelers’. Mehdi Zidani mentioned that not everyone has the luxury of travel to enjoy wherever they go. These neglected travelers, who account for 82.4 million people worldwide, have been forced to leave their homes. Mehdi also pointed out that 40% of these numbers happened to be children, numbers which he described as both 'alarming and frightening'. "These figures are frightening and truly alarming; unfortunately, children are also paying the price," he said.
Unpredictable events, ranging from political unrest and violent armed conflicts to natural disasters, have led people in some areas and countries to look for other places to live. As a result, they become refugees who cannot return to their places of origin. They can also be asylum seekers who have fled their countries but have yet to find another place to live. Internally displaced persons, or those who seek new homes in the same country from which they came, are also the victims of humanitarian crises.
All panelists agreed and stressed that significant attention and support need to be provided to help those in need of new homes and ways to rebuild their lives. Fortunately, programs and other initiatives are in progress to aid refugees and other displaced people. Furthermore, innovation has served as a unique opportunity for individuals and groups to make social causes more accessible to the average person.
In this way, not only can they spread awareness about the humanitarian crisis to more and more people. Also, they have made supporting and sending relief to those in need easy and convenient without compromising transparency and legitimacy. Crowd-funding for the common good are the goals of the people behind crowd-funding initiatives like GlobalSadaqah and LaunchGood.com.
In their mission to help refugees and other people caught in humanitarian crises such as war, GlobalSadaqah and LaunchGood.com have provided the much-needed bridge connecting Muslims and established non-profit organizations that aid humanitarian causes. Chris Abdur-Rahman Blauvelt of LaunchGood.com emphasized the potential for the more privileged population to make significant contributions to addressing humanitarian crises.
Image Source: Unsplash
"It is our opportunity to do that help," said Chris. GlobalSadaqah’s Ifran bin Tarmizi also shared the same sentiments and added that crowd-funding efforts like GlobalSadaqah and LaunchGoodcom can potentially open up more opportunities to help refugees. "We’re not just talking about financial support; but support in terms of mental, emotional, and even spiritual health," said Ifran. Ifran shared GlobalSadaqah’s role in providing the Quran's translation into the Rohingya language, to at least 300 Rohingya children enrolled in a Malaysia-based school that supports Rohingya refugees. The translated Quran came in audio and video formats.
Suggestions, developing initiatives and, campaigns to support humanitarian causes, however, can be complicated, especially for starters. However, the panelists all agreed that those planning to should not be discouraged.
During the webinar, they shared several valuable insights and suggestions on how businesses and organizations, particularly those involved in the Muslim travel industry, can efficiently and effectively extend their support to these causes. "Campaigns must be made clear and concise", says Chris. Contributors need to know not only the core objectives of a cause.
They should also be properly briefed on where their donations go and how they manifest. Another factor organizers and future supporters must consider is its transparency. Transparency, as panelists pointed out, is the key that enables individuals to distinguish legitimate initiatives from dubious ones. As Ifran stressed in the virtual session, giving benefactors timely updates on their contributions must be considered a 'default standard' in any crowd-funding and other similar humanitarian causes.
Future organizers of humanitarian efforts should also identify the needs of the people they want to help, as this would likely result in a more efficient way of delivering support. "You need to learn what and how you can support those you want to help, the people who need help," said Mehdi.
The travel and tourism industry is more than just sightseeing and immersing in the world’s wonders. They can also be drivers of change and help victims of humanitarian crises get back on their feet.
We hope this session of the 2021 Halal Global Travel Summit provided necessary insights on how the Muslim travel sector can lend a helping hand in the humanitarian crisis.
Click on the video, if you want to know more.
