Current Events

Khalsa Aid Delivers Langar To Refugees in North Iraq

GURMUKH SINGH [United Kingdom]



"The world must 'wake up' to the scale of the crisis in northern Iraq, warns [Sikh] British aid worker" – (The Independent on Sunday, August 24, 2014)





Truly “sava lakh” -- equal to a legion! -- Ravinder Singh of Khalsa Aid, popularly known as Ravi, is taking the great Sikh institution of Langar to parts of Northern Iraq where even aid agencies dare not go.



What a remarkable Sikh with the blue dastaar, walking around amongst thousands of refugees in the desert camps, in temperature close to 50C, while children flock around him.



Ravinder Singh has remained in touch by telephone since he launched Khalsa Aid mission in Kurdistan on 12 August, 2014.



After the Somerset (UK) floods early this year, once again Khalsa Aid is in the national news. To quote Jamie Merrill reporting in “The Independent on Sunday”:



“The international community must "wake up" to the "vast scale" of the humanitarian crisis in northern Iraq, a British aid worker has warned. Ravi Singh, founder of the Sikh humanitarian charity Khalsa Aid, described the struggle to provide food, water and shelter to hundreds of thousands of refugees, as the UN said the number of internally displaced people across Iraq had swelled to 1.45 million.”



Ravi Singh spoke on Sunday evening about the extremely harsh conditions under which the refugees and their children are suffering. Further to reports in the Sikh weeklies last week, he continues to arrange aid and assess the situation. One can only admire his compassion on reading the Independent report:



“As a lone, turbaned and bearded Sikh distributing disinfectant, milk and water, Mr Singh admits he's an unusual sight in northern Iraq. ‘I stick out like a sore thumb,’ he said. ‘I've taken to wearing a bright blue turban, not a black one, as the black turban is associated with the Islamic State and the horror these people have experienced.’ “



No mistaken identity with Islamic State terrorists here as children come running to him and, in affection, even reach out to touch his beard. The welcome for bearded and turbaned Ravi Singh has been heartening.



The scale of the help needed is too great a challenge for aid agencies to cope with. Also, these are some of the most dangerous places in the world.



Ravi is leading an initiative to open a bakery to make food for the refugees. He feels that in the true Sikh tradition, our focus should be on feeding the hungry in places where war and calamity create the greatest need. Sikhs should continue on their global mission to provide succour to the needy.



Gurmel Singh, Secretary General of The Sikh Council UK: “This is amazing! A show of sheer courage and compassion that befits a Sikh.”







August 26, 2014

Conversation about this article Comment on "Khalsa Aid Delivers Langar To Refugees in North Iraq" * Your Name



* Email



* City / Country



* Comments



To help us distinguish between comments submitted by individuals and those automatically entered by software robots, please complete the following. Submit Please note: your email address will not be shown on the site, this is for contact and follow-up purposes only. All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sikhchic reserves the right to edit or remove content at any time.

read other articles in Current Events