Lonely but still meaningful Ramadan, Hari Raya abroad

Since moving to Switzerland, Azhan, Anna and their family have managed to celebrate Raya with their families in Malaysia twice. Photos: Azhan Abdul Rahim

THE first Ramadan that Azhan Abdul Rahim, Anna Makajil and their family spent in Switzerland, was 16 years ago. It was Autumn, the days were shorter and fasting was “relatively easy”.

“Ramadan came a couple of months after we arrived in Switzerland with our baby girl, Lana, who was six months old at the time. It reminded me a bit of my Ramadans in Britain during my university years in the 1990s,” says Azhan. “The days were shorter and it was quite easy to manage. Ever since then, however, it has gotten increasingly tougher due to the shift of the months (of Ramadan) moving towards summer. Around 2011 and 2012, Ramadan was right in the middle of summer, and it wasn’t until close to 10pm that we could break our fast – it was tough.