UAE’s timely assistance to help Lebanon crisis

Last week’s horrific blast in Beirut has brought into sharp focus the need for the international community to step up and help Lebanon and its people at their time of crisis.

The UAE has always stood by its friends at their time of adversity and once again proved its benevolent nature by extending all possible assistance.

The announcement by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of The Big Heart Foundation and Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children at UNHCR, of “Salam Beirut”, an emergency aid and relief campaign from Sharjah, following the tragic explosion in Beirut port, which has claimed over 150 lives and left an estimated 300,000 homeless, is another shining example.

“Salam Beirut” aims to bring relief to the affected population whose numbers continue to rise as Lebanese officials pick through the wreckage.

The first phase will focus on providing medical aid, food and water supplies and shelter to victims, which will be mobilised by the Sharjah-based global humanitarian organisation, The Big Heart Foundation, TBHF, in coordination with on-ground relief operators in Lebanon.

Furthermore, TBHF officials along with their local partners will carry out a detailed assessment of the damage to property to implement targeted activities and provide affected households with rehabilitation support including rubble removal, in addition to solutions to boost vital services such as electricity, sanitation, plumbing and carpentry.

Announcing the campaign on Twitter, Sheikha Jawaher wrote, “What has hurt Beirut has hurt us all”, and called on all individuals and organisations in the UAE and worldwide to lend a helping hand. “Our brothers and sisters in Lebanon need us and we must do our best to fulfil our moral and humanitarian duty towards them. We know no other way but to stand firmly beside those who lost everything overnight — their loved ones, their homes, their livelihoods and their safety — to this shocking tragedy.”

Separately, the ‘UAE Volunteers’ campaign has also launched an urgent national humanitarian initiative for Emiratis and residents of the UAE called “From UAE For Lebanon” in collaboration with relevant authorities as part of the UAE solidarity and support for the Lebanese people to mitigate the aftermath of the devastating explosion that affected several people, families and homes.

The initiative calls on all Emiratis and UAE residents to volunteer and support the Lebanese people by registering in the national volunteering platform “volunteers.ae”. The assigned tasks include the collection of essential supplies for the Lebanese people between August 10 — 25.

It may be recalled that Dr. Hamdan Musallam Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, last week announced that he and his family were donating Dhs1 million to provide for the humanitarian needs for victims of Beirut’s port explosion.

As Dr. Al Mazrouei pointed out, “We saw what happened to Lebanon and the destruction that took place, and we remember the words of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, ‘The wellbeing of Lebanon is just like the wellbeing of the UAE and any other Arab country’ and we shall follow the path of the Founding Father, as Lebanon’s wellbeing shall make us happy and whatever harms it will make us sad. That is why the UAE presidential aircraft was among the first to arrive in Beirut with medical and humanitarian aid for the Lebanese people.”