JAKARTA — Indonesia and Palestine are inseparable brothers. Even when it comes to qurbani, the relationship between the people of Indonesia and Palestine is very close. Through Dompet Dhuafa, the qurbani donation from the people of Indonesia will be delivered to their brothers and sisters in Palestine. The moment of qurbani can be an effort to provide food supplies in Palestine that are running out.
This year, the implementation of Tebar Hewan Kurban (THK) in Palestine is not easy. It cannot be done like in previous years. Of course, there will be some adjustments in the management of the implementation, starting from where the animals are obtained, the slaughtering location, to the technical distribution.
“If in the past we could slaughter the animals directly in Palestine, then maybe this year it will be different. Some of the animals will be slaughtered in countries outside Palestine, and then distributed to Palestine,” said THK 2024 Chairman, Bobby P. Manullang to the media crew at the Media Briefing session entitled ‘The Urgency of Qurbani Distribution for Palestine’, at Lokananta Cafe, South Jakarta, Thursday (13/06/2024).
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Bobby continued, until this afternoon, Thursday (6/13/2024), there have been 100 qurbani cows that have been collected from donors for Palestine. This means that there are already around 700 qurbani performers and will be distributed to 7,000 beneficiaries there. This data is of course still ongoing. Dompet Dhuafa hopes that more and more people will be involved in distributing their qurbani to their brothers and sisters in Palestine who are currently in dire need.
For the distribution location, Dompet Dhuafa will target beneficiaries in three areas, namely in the Gaza Strip, Al-Quds, and the West Bank. Meanwhile, through a partnership with Hayat Yolu Dernegi, the qurbani distribution for Palestine will target residents in the Gaza Strip.
The THK collaboration between Dompet Dhuafa and Hayat Yolu is not the first. In previous years, the two have collaborated together, not only in the THK program.
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Muhammad Maik Jovial Dien, Representative of Indonesia for Hayat Yolu Dernegi, said that what really needs to be done now is to share strengths and portions, to support and complement each other. Because it is impossible for one party or group to do everything alone. He also explained that the urgency of qurbani distribution for Palestine should not be questioned anymore. When Indonesia was hit by the earthquake, aid from the international community came in droves, including from Palestine.
“I remember in 2022, Hayat Yolu distributed qurbani animals in eastern Indonesia. What was astonishing was that some of the donors were from Palestine. We know that at that time, the Palestinians were also experiencing difficult conditions,” he said.
This is one of the proofs of the connection between the people of Palestine and the people of Indonesia.
Hayat Yolu is committed to working, even guerrilla-style, in Israeli-controlled areas to provide aid to the Palestinians. Of course, lives are at stake here. There have been many Hayat Yolu teams who, Insha Allah, have been martyred while carrying out humanitarian missions.
On the same occasion, Arif Rahmadi Haryono, GM of Response and Advocacy at Dompet Dhuafa, also spoke about the humanitarian aid for Palestine. He explained that, until May 2024, Dompet Dhuafa has distributed no less than 15 billion humanitarian aid. The largest allocation is for food, health, and warming equipment in the form of clothing or shelter tents.
According to Arif, after the Israeli invasion of Palestine in October 2023, until now, the situation is getting worse. The takeover of Rafah gate by the Israeli army has completely halted the flow of humanitarian aid. Previously, 70 to 80 trucks of humanitarian aid could enter Rafah, or up to 100 trucks could enter Rafah in cold weather. This is one of the things that affects the distribution pattern of Dompet Dhuafa’s qurbani animals. In addition to the availability of animals that are not available because they were burned by Israeli rockets.
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Not only that, if in the previous year the implementation of THK could be directly monitored online by Dompet Dhuafa in the country, then this year of course that will not happen. Plus the security and safety of the distribution team is highly threatened.
“We and the partners who have been connected there, have tried to find animals everywhere, be it cows or sheep/goats, it is very difficult. Meanwhile, the Rafah route is paralyzed. These two things are the main reasons why we are changing the THK distribution pattern in Palestine. This year, we will distribute qurbani meat in the form of processed meat in cans,” explained Arif.
Dompet Dhuafa considers this pattern to be the wisest, considering that with processed meat in cans, the meat will have a much longer shelf life. This is a solution to the uncertainty of the opening / closing of the entry point in Rafah. In fact, the distribution that will be carried out by Dompet Dhuafa through Hayat Yolu partners will become a Food Management System for survivors in Palestine.
A musician who is very active in advocating for Palestinian independence, Chiki Fawzi fully supports THK’s efforts for the people of Palestine. She also appreciates Dompet Dhuafa and Hayat Yolu for their endless ideas and ways to distribute qurbani to Palestine. She also agrees that everyone is capable of supporting Palestinian independence through various things that can be done. Just like him who also voices the rights of the Palestinians through art, both visual and musical. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photo: Riza Muthohar
Editor: Dedi Fadlil