To All Racists, Here's What You Owe Refugees

Freddie Mercury - ironic how so many
idolise him, a refugee, yet persecute
refugees with their miniscule mindset and racist attitudes. 

With the book, Managing Yaa-hoos! newly-released, it certainly has raised enough eyebrows. One of which is that for every book sold, it contributes to one hour of free training for an underprivileged youth or refugee.

"Why should you train refugees?" Because every child is my child. Even one who doesn't belong to me. Even one who looks nothing like me.

"We've got enough of our own poor children." I'll share with you what one donor said to me when I told her she could channel her money/free training to poor youths - it's much popular as Malaysians prefer that rather than refugees. She said, "It's because it's easier to raise money for orphans, or local causes that I want to support more difficult, less popular ones."

"I don't trust Africans." My question is: Were they refugees?

The sole Somali refugee I met had to mix with Arab refugees because he didn't want to get involved with his own race, whom he admits is so involved in crime... he wanted a different life for himself. And the Arabs accepted this 'stray' because in essence, aren't they all in the same boat?

He was a boy who wanted a chance at real change for his life. A refugee who saw the nonsense his own people were up to, and decided he wanted nothing to do with it. And yet, Malaysians sit in their high, ivory tower and deny this boy a chance, because of his colour.

SO...

Here's what history will show. That some of the greatest minds that ever crossed the face of this earth... were once refugees:

Lord Maurice Saatchi & Charles Saatchi - Founder of Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency. Their father was an Iraqi Jewish refugee.

Peter Carl Faberge, the famous Russian jeweller and whose namesake Faberge eggs and other jewelleries take after. He fled Finland.

Aristotle Onassis - need we say more on who this tycoon is? Formerly richest man in the world who was a Greek refugee.

Supermodel Alek Wek, she fled Sudan with her family.

Bob Marley - A Jamaican refugee. All Rastafarians, bow down right now...

Freddie Mercury, who else but Queen would've made it so good. He fled Zanzibar during the Indian Massacre.

Gloria Estefan, iconic Latin American singer in the late 80s and 90s. Her father was a Cuban refugee.

Sir John Tenniel, a descendent of Huguenot refugees who was a cartoonist and book illustrator.

And my personal favourite: Marc Chagall, the painter who revolutionised the art world. And always left it to the viewer to draw their own meaning from his dream-like deft-defying style. A personal favourite is his painting posted somewhere in our previous entry. But then again, there are so many to choose from. But perhaps the most fitting for this post is The Wandering Jew.

It epitomises the plight of all displaced persons, people who have fled their country in search of peace, a better future, freedom, persecution... Where would we be without them?