For Sheila Rahman, statelessness is no barrier to love

Free Malaysia Today

Sheila Rahman Natarajan has transformed the lives of five stateless children in her neighbourhood.   Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/11/04/super-sheila-gives-her-heart-and-hope-to-5-stateless-children/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Rn6xEV Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2OCwH8a  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2OKJbc6 Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3cpbWKK Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/2VUfOrv Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3B1e8lN Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/39dBDbe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #SheilaRahman #Stateless #Love #NationalPressClub

Transcript

00:00 A home is more than just four walls and a roof.

00:04 For many property owners, their home is a castle and they're the kings.

00:09 They can kick back, relax, and do as they please.

00:12 But this is not the case for Sheila Rahman Adarajan.

00:16 Her home is a sanctuary for five stateless siblings living in the neighborhood.

00:21 The children, born to a Malaysian father and an Indonesian mother, were kept hidden in

00:25 a room in their home, unable to even make a peep.

00:29 The parents feared that their children, who were born out of wedlock, would be taken away

00:33 if the authorities knew of their existence.

00:36 But in 2016, their mother abandoned the family.

00:39 When the mom left, the father of course has to go to work.

00:44 The children were growing up so they were allowed to be playing on the streets.

00:48 We noticed it and saw that they were around most of the time and knew something was wrong.

00:56 We found out they were not going to school.

01:00 Finally, one of my neighbors who speaks the same language as the father went to the home

01:09 and expressed our concern.

01:13 And so we offered to look after the kids while the father was at work.

01:20 Sheila's house became a second home for the kids.

01:23 The former journalists would cook for the kids, teach them, play games and even take

01:27 them to the cinema.

01:28 They even go on holidays together.

01:31 Two years ago, Sheila and her husband, Abdul Rahman Ishak, took the children to Penang,

01:36 where they saw the ocean for the first time in their lives.

01:39 Still, there were challenges and it wasn't always smooth sailing.

01:44 I didn't know so many things.

01:46 I didn't know they didn't know what a 2B pencil is.

01:49 My husband and I teach them how to use the washroom.

01:54 They would never take anything or eat anything without being given.

02:00 They didn't know how to own anything.

02:03 But she never gave up on the children and her selflessness went beyond sharing her home

02:07 with the kids.

02:09 Sheila and her neighbors made it their mission to make sure these children, now aged 11 to

02:13 18, could lead normal lives.

02:16 The biggest obstacle to this was that the children lacked documentation as their father,

02:21 E Son Seng, had no custody over them.

02:25 Once more, Sheila and her neighbors stepped in and helped E obtain adoption papers and

02:29 birth certificates for the children.

02:32 This helped the kids enroll in an NGO-run school for marginalized children.

02:37 Still, the children have not been granted citizenship.

02:40 We have put in application for all five.

02:45 It was quite a process and we did that one and a half years ago.

02:50 While the children are still waiting for citizenship, they no longer have doubts that they belong

02:54 thanks to Sheila.

02:55 This is the only country they know.

02:58 They were born here and they don't know any other country at all.

03:03 They love wearing shirts with our flag and "Abang" is a football fanatic, "JDT."

03:13 They speak the language, our Bahasa, that's their first language.

03:18 Sheila's kind-heartedness has not gone unnoticed.

03:23 On October 31st, Sheila was honored the 6th and final National Press Club Macro-Kiosk

03:27 Mujiba Award for her remarkable contribution in transforming the lives of five stateless

03:32 children whom she now considers her own.

03:35 Natasha Bust, FMT News.

03:37 [MUSIC]

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