CAUSEWAY BAY | HONG KONG - The clock was exactly 19:00. Suddenly, there was an incoming message on the WhatsApp group for the DDHK Media Team. The sender, Ustadz Muliadi. He is Dai Cordofa Dompet Dhuafa Hong Kong who that night had just finished giving tausiyah at two remote locations: Yuen Long and Tai Po.
"Want to ask, ladies and gentlemen. Are the demonstrations at Causeway Bay still going on, or are they over? The other passengers and I were all dropped off at Central. I don't know how to go home. What's good about riding? " he asked.
Instantly, we who were still active in the group panicked. Moreover, based on the monitoring of the DDHK media team, at that time there were demonstrations on the streets and several locations between Causeway Bay and Central. Even more panicked, at around 19:00 there were clashes between the Hong Kong police apparatus and the protesters. The police, too, we know, have started firing tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
There are no more buses passing in Causeway Bay. Likewise the tram. The road was alternating with demonstrators and police cars. When the police arrived, the demonstrators scattered and scattered. If the police leave, hundreds of demonstrators will gather again.
Some of us advised Ustadz Muliadi to just walk. In fact, we don't know where he was dropped off by the bus driver 307 from Tai Po. If when he sent his message he was at Statue Square, or at the final terminal, Central Ferry Pier, that means there is a distance of about 3 kilometers that he has to cover.
The problem is, because it has not been even a month in Hong Kong, Ustadz Muliadi does not know the direction. "I've tried to walk. Still looking for directions. I walked slowly, while exercising at night, ”he said, a few minutes after the first WhatsApp message.
To make matters worse, Ustadz Muliadi's cellphone battery is low. Meanwhile, the two assembly members who initially accompanied him had parted ways a few moments before Dai Cordofa DDHk from Medan, North Sumatra, was deployed.
"My battery is only 1%," he said.
After that, we lost contact with him for hours. We could only wait, until finally at 22:34 the good news came.
"Alhamdulillah, I was at home (the place to stay in Hong Kong). New HP is charged. Thank you for the attention and prayers from everyone. I want to take a break first. It's a bit (read: sore) his legs. It rarely goes, ”he said.
The Ustadz, who is currently pursuing his doctoral education at the University of Malaya, Malaysia, also recounted the events he had experienced for about 3 hours, while we were waiting anxiously for news. Here's what he said:
“When I arrived at Wan Chai, I inhaled tear gas: my eyes were stinging and tight. While running too, dodge tear gas. There is mineral water, I use it to wash my face. But it still hurts. Then there are some Hong Kong people who help clean their faces: spray them and wipe them. Alhamdulillah, the light is back and the pain is gone. "
"Fortunately (by the board committee) I was brought (provided) bread and food. Tired of walking, I stopped, eat first. After that continued walking, and finally met the demonstrators. Before long, I saw how they were running. Apparently, tear gas was fired, and in the end I got there too. "
"I continued walking. Out of curiosity, what was the situation in (around the shopping center) Sogo, I had a look before going to the DDHK office. Finally, (after several weeks in Hong Kong) for the first time I watched them demonstrate, but it was already rioting, I was chasing it with the authorities. "
The missionary journey that Usatdz Muliadi has to go through may still be long. The experience of being trapped in a demo and exposed to tear gas will probably always be remembered by him. But what is certain, in the end that night he could sleep soundly. Although, the roar of helicopter blades in the dark skies of Causeway Bay, the area where he was staying howled, was loud. [DDHKNews]
