MAKKAH, 25 April 2008 — Burmese community leaders in Makkah have refuted an “inflaming” report published in a local newspaper that said Bangladeshis were obstructing the progress of Burmese people in the Kingdom. They said the report had created tension between the two communities.
“The newspaper should reveal the source of their false information, which nearly brought the two communities to clashes,” said one Burmese community leader. He added that several community leaders visited the newspaper’s Makkah office to protest and met representatives of the Bangladeshi community to dispel misunderstandings.
He added that the situation would have become volatile if it was not for an anti-crime awareness campaign called “Makkah Sans Crimes,” undertaken by Makkah police between April 1 and 17.
As part of the campaign, police visited various suburbs of the holy city — mainly those with high concentration of Burmese and Bangladeshi residents — stressing the need to abstain from crime. The campaign was also used to help improve relations between the two communities.
Ayoub Al-Jamal, a Saudi businessman of Burmese origin and one of the sponsors of the campaign, told Arab News that the idea for the campaign came up during a meeting held at the governor’s office attended by local community leaders.
“In that meeting Abdul Aziz Al-Khudari, undersecretary at the governor’s office, suggested the idea of launching an awareness campaign to rid the city of crime. It was also decided that the campaign would start in districts where Burmese and Bangladeshis live in large numbers,” said Al-Jamal. He said that following consultations with the Burmese community, the campaign was launched with the help of the Islamic Education Foundation (IEF).
“Some people with vested interests spread a rumor that the campaign was a trap laid by the Passport Department to arrest Burmese people. Despite the rumors, the campaign was a success with people attending in large numbers,” Al-Jamal said, adding that more than 8,000 people attended the campaign’s first day.
Abdullah Marouf, head of the IEF for Asian communities in Makkah, said he hopes the campaign will educate people to stay away from crime.
Ataallah Shaqdar, the public relations director of the campaign, said 22 events took place in 17 districts with large numbers of Burmese and Bangladeshi residents. “The campaign was successful with more than 60,000 people attending,” he said, adding that 6,000 volunteers, 200 administrators, 25 police officers and eight district heads participated in it.
Imran Fallata, director of the Misfala district, which is close to the Bangladeshi and Burmese neighborhoods, said that a similar awareness campaign is to be held for African communities in the city.
Abud Shama Al-Burmawi, a researcher at the Muslim World League and former head of the Committee for Burmese Affairs at the Passport Department, said the rate of crime had fallen since the campaign began. “I wish the campaigns were launched 10 years ago,” he said.
