When sectarian violence such as the crises in Manipur in India erupts, the message from Dubai by a smattering of global celebrities is unanimously that of spreading the peace across religious and party lines or rather ignoring them.
India’s pioneering pop singer Usha Uthup, world famous artist Sacha Jaffri and Ahmed Al Falasi, the Hope-maker of the UAE and the country’s go-to man on matters pertaining to charity and relief, spoke to Headline.ae on the sidelines of the Mother Teresa International Awards which were held for the first time outside India in felicitating those who have served the society, especially the minority and weaker sections.
A glittering function saw achievers get recognised for their efforts at the Conrad hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road in the UAE emirate on Saturday. Addressing the media, the local patron of the awards ceremony and businessman-cum-cricket enthusiast, Shyam Bhatia, and Uthup both recalled their association with Mother Teresa and the common message that she left with them. “If you have to help in giving back to the society, give me your time, not money.”
Jaffri, who counts Nelson Mandela, Mohandas K Gandhi and Mother Teresa among his idols, drew a painting spontaneously within 20-odd minutes to highlight the spirit of giving and “sending positive energy to the society we live in.”
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To answer a question on what would be the reaction to a crises that is unfolding among minority and weaker sections of the society in various parts of the world, including the north-eastern state of Manipur in India, Uthup said: “Firstly, it is all about politics and religion and nobody should care when it comes to these two factors. But it all boils down back to long ago from what Gandhi stood for – the message of peace. It should be everyone’s interest to find a peaceful solution rather than indulge in whataboutery and what not.”
Al Falasi is famously known for running from pillar to post and burning the midnight oil to set up a kidney dialysis centre in Kenya with his own personal financial resources. He travelled overnight to Japan from Kenya, stopped over in South Africa enroute on his return and arranged ahead for a kidney dialysis machine and the accompanying RO water plant to be ordered and delivered in less than a week’s time.
“When we go to an area where help is needed, we don’t look at who is doing it, who is the cause for it? We don’t look at the religion, nor do we ask,” Al Falasi said. “Our focus and priority is to help those displaced, needy or those affected and make sure food supplies, ration and shelter are provided for. What religion they come from, what is the reason the crises has unfolded … we don’t care for those details.”
Uthup, wearing her fashionable and still trending Kanjeevaram saree fashioned shoes, then added a cliché but pertinent line. “Ultimately, everyone on a deathbed or fighting for his life will need blood to save his life. And that comes only in one colour – red – and it does not differentiate.”
