MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, JAKARTA – Muhammadiyah established a Task Force to evacuate Muhammadiyah members and Indonesian students following clashes between Sudan’s military and the country’s main paramilitary force of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday (15/4).
Due to the collaboration among the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture, the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs, the Indonesian Ministry of Health, the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh, the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah, and the Saudi Arabian government, 129 Muhammadiyah members were evacuated from Sudan.
According to the press release Number 001/TFS/SATGAS/IV/2023 on Saturday (29/4), the first group of 385 Indonesian nationals began to evacuate on Friday (28/4). Then, to assist them, Muhammadiyah deployed 69 health workers from the Islamic Hospital Jakarta (RSIJ) Pondok Kopi. They were also supported by 40 volunteers -25 men and 15 women- from the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC), Lazismu (the Muhammadiyah zakat management body), the International Relations and Cooperation Office (LHKI), the Muhammadiyah Council for Education, Research, and Development, Aisyiyah, RS Islam Jakarta Sukapura.
Health Services and Psychosocial Support
Muhammadiyah health workers, in collaboration with the Crisis Center Team of the Ministry of Health, have done swab and antigen tests to the evacuees arriving at the Hajj Dormitory as of the release of this news. “In general, the results showed that they were in good health and strong enough to continue their journey to return home,” said Abdoel Malik, Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Task Force as well as a representative of the MDMC. The evacuees’ origins were recorded to arrange their return schedule.
Besides, the Muhammadiyah Task Force deployed a psychosocial support team to accompany the evacuees. Together with the medical team, this psychosocial support team examined the evacuees’ health and psychological conditions so they could return home in good health.
For information, the first group of Indonesians evacuated from Sudan comprised 51 Muhammadiyah members, including students who performed Umrah in Mecca (seven people -five women and two men), two pregnant women, and four toddlers. “Alhamdulillah, they arrived at the Hajj dormitory in good condition,” said Malik. Some returned home by paying their own transport cost or getting support from the provincial government of Riau and Central Java.
The Muhammadiyah Task Force hoped that the entire evacuation process would run smoothly, and this task force would always be ready to support the government in serving the evacuees at the Hajj Dormitory since the arrival of the first group on April 28, the second group on April 30, until the third group on May 1.
