"To me, it's not just the job of driving people. I am concerned about people, and I see this as one way that I can help people."
"To me, it's not just the job of driving people. I am concerned about people, and I see this as one way that I can help people."
Today marks his last day with UNHCR.
Name: Tharjuddin Mustaffar, 64, from Malaysia
Job title: Senior Driver
Years at UNHCR: 41, working in UNHCR Malaysia
Tharjuddin started working with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in 1977, as a driver. He was 22 years old then.
He had just spent four years before that working with the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS), first as an office boy, and later as an ambulance attendant, and working closely with refugees.
Tharjuddin was therefore already familiar with the world of humanitarian work. He already understood very early on that a refugee was different than other categories of foreigners - and that refugees were fleeing war and conflict and could not go back.
"This was one of the reasons why I wanted to keep working in this area,” said Tharjuddin.
When a job opened at UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur, it was a natural move for him. MRCS was one of the national NGOs appointed by the Government of Malaysia at the time to manage the refugee situation. Working there provided Tharjuddin the exposure to refugees.
When Tharjuddin started at UNHCR, his job at the time was mainly to help in the protection and assistance work of UNHCR by driving the staff to the various camps and meetings. He was also often involved in the distribution of aid to refugees in various places.
"As a driver, my job was to make sure the staff were able to get to their appointments on time and able to do their job,” said Tharjuddin. “This was my contribution to the work of UNHCR, and it is a contribution that I am proud of."
When asked what he found most interesting about his years on the job, Tharjuddin replied, "I meet many different people, and I really enjoy that. They are all from other countries, and they talk to me about how they are managing refugees around the world. I really like meeting people, and in this job, the people I meet are very interesting. I learnt a lot from them about the world."
He has been in this work for over 40 years now, and is the longest-serving UNHCR staff member in Asia, and one of the longest-serving in the world.
"I tell my wife about this work, and about the people we are helping, and I encourage her to help others. I encourage my children also to not be wasteful and to think of people like refugees who do not have anything,” said Tharjuddin.
“It makes me feel grateful for the life I have. I teach my children to always be prepared because bad things can happen. Anyone can be a refugee, you never know. So I teach my children to be prepared to take care of themselves if something happens to me. I tell my children - look at the world, at what is happening. We are lucky."
In 1993, Tharjuddin became the Senior Driver at UNHCR Malaysia, and was given the responsibility of driving the UNHCR Representative.
"In my job, I have to be discreet and I have to understand confidentiality,” said Tharjuddin. “The Representative must be able to trust me, to know that whatever is discussed in the car will not be repeated by me. Even a small word, it will not get out. I have been given this trust and I cannot betray it. The driver of the Representative must be trustworthy.
And I like to be on time. That is important, I think, especially in my work, to be on time and to make sure others get to their appointments on time."
Tharjuddin explained that his family has accepted his unpredictable work hours.
“I tell them that this is my job, there is no option. My job comes first. They understand this. I like to be reliable, so that the Representative can rely on me at any time,” said Tharjuddin. “Even at midnight, or even if it is raining heavily, I will be there."
Today marks Tharjuddin’s last day as a UNHCR staff member, having dedicated over four decades of his life to serving refugees.
"I do not have one specific experience that has impacted me. I think the whole experience has been meaningful to me. But one of the things I value most about working here is the people I work with. I think this is an environment where people respect you, no matter who you are. I feel respected. When I go home, I feel happy that I am working at UNHCR,” said Tharjuddin.
"To me, it's not just the job of driving people. I am concerned about people, and I see this as one way that I can help people. People tell me I have a soft heart, maybe I do. All I know is that I like helping people.”
