Every drop counts: Muslim community assists drought-affected Queenslanders

• Caption: The southern Queensland town of Stanthorpe is on the brink of running out of water. Credit: Muslim Aid Australia:Supplied

A drought-stricken southern Queensland town has cherished a substantial donation of hay and water from Australia’s Muslim community. 

The generous relief was provided courtesy of Muslim Aid Australia, was  embraced with open arms by Stanthorpe locals who are on the dire brink of running out of water over the approaching summer. 

The town fears this to occur as early as December or January in what rural Queensland communities are regarding as its worst bone-dry drought in living memory.

The parched landscape has devastated the state of Queensland. Not only has it created a downturn in the local economy but has also ravaged its ecosystem as well.

A recent decision by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science has haltered the 2020 kangaroo harvest, as millions of the animals starve to death from the prolonged drought.

Furthermore, similar disastrous scenes can be found right across the Murray Darling Basin which predominately supplies northern New South Wales, but also extends to Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the ongoing drought in the Murray Darling Basin is now the worst on record. Climatologist David Jones said the drought had now exceeded the Federation Drought, the WWII drought and the Millennium drought, in terms of its severity.

Muslim Aid Australia delivered 438 bales of hay and 190,000 litres of water, which arrived on 20 semi-trailers to Stanthorpe on the first weekend of November.

The most welcomed aid was sourced from overseas organisations, including Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well as local mosques and Muslim-run businesses.

Images of the scene went viral on social media, as stunned locals expressed their gratitude for the trucks rolling into the town.

Members of Australia’s Muslim community who have previously donated to rural towns expressed that they were delighted to be of service to their fellow Australians.

“At the end of the day, we don’t need the ‘thanks’. We do this because we love it,” shared Riyaad Ally. 

Indeed, the Holy Quran highlights the significance of treasuring water, instructing for the efficacious use of our planet’s finite natural resource.

 “And have you seen the water that you drink? Is it you who brought it down from the clouds, or is it We who bring it down? If We willed, We could make it bitter, so why are you not grateful?” [56: 68-70]

Similarly, last year the organisation began its work for drought relief, donating dozens of truckloads of hay to the outback Queensland town of Goondiwindi.

“We’re all part of the same family and we’re all trying to help each other out,” commented Riyaad Ally.