I sat in a tea shop in a buzzing part of the city. I watched as many Rohingya men returned from their morning shift, unloading, unwrapping, and carrying goods around the many wholesale stores in this area.
The small teashop sat under a makeshift roof of corrugated metal held together by a few large wooden bars and the trunk of a big tree. This was the place where many would have their second breakfast or pause to sip some tea and chew betel nut.
Next to me at the table sat a young man. His cheeks were covered with sandalwood paste, or thanaka, as people from Myanmar call it. He smiled at me. I smiled back, and we began to chat. I introduced myself, and he said his name was Hussein. In decent English, he explained that he had only arrived in Malaysia four months ago after his father sent him away from Myanmar. He was only seventeen! Now, he would stay with his uncle and work at one of the small local shops to earn money. “I wasn’t able to finish my education”, he shared with sadness in his eyes.
The military had begun to draft young men, even Rohingya men, to fight for the army against the rebel forces in Myanmar. Hussein would not be the only young man to flee conscription, as I would learn in the coming weeks. Many thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar, and others are still on their way to Malaysia.
Please join us in praying:
- Ask God for an end to the civil war in Myanmar and a stable democratic government to be installed.
- Pray for young Rohingya men who are newly arriving in Malaysia. They don’t know the language and are often fearful of authorities because they are unregistered.
- Pray for work and schooling opportunities for these young men. They will be the future fathers, husbands, and leaders of the Rohingya community in Malaysia.
- Pray that they would encounter Jesus in this new country.