Arabs must stand up and support Lebanon: Sultan
Direct Line raises Dhs30.74m on live TV event; UAE sends more medical aid; Russia, Saudi Arabia pledge help; Beirut blast damage cost tops $15b, says president.
Less than 24 hours ater The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), a Sharjah-based global humanitarian charity, announced a global campaign to provide emergency relief for victims of the devastating explosion that struck Beirut last week, a 90-minute live fundraising event hosted on Wednesday on Sharjah TV’S popular Direct Line (Al Khat Al Mubasher) programme, has successfully raised Dhs30.74 million with dozens of charitable individuals and organisations calling in to make generous contributions.
His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, called on Arab countries to stand up and support the Lebanese people in their ordeal so they are not let as other countries were, pointing out that Arabs can heal their wounds with their own hands and that Lebanon was and is still part of the Arab nation and not absent from it.
“I thank Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of The Big Heart Foundation and Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children at UNHCR, for her leading efforts in garnering overwhelming support for our brothers and sisters in Lebanon. I pay tribute to the precious lives lost to this tragedy and wish those who were hurt a speedy recovery,” His Highness continued.
Also on Wednesday, the UAE has dispatched more aid to Lebanon to help emergency relief efforts in Beirut. The move follows the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
Dubai’s International Humanitarian City (IHC) airlited aid material worth $1.4 million on an Emirates Skycargo plane. The aid included almost 25 metric tonnes of medical supplies and personal protective equipment, PPE, including surgical masks, goggles, gowns, coveralls, N95 respirators, stretchers and thermometers, which had been prepositioned within International Humanitarian City by the World Health Organisation ( WHO).
The massive blast at Beirut port on Aug.4 caused more than $15 billion in damages, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Wednesday.
“Preliminary estimates of the losses suffered following the port explosion top 15 million dollars,” he was quoted as telling Spain’s King Felipe in a phone call, in a message on the presidency’s Twiter account.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, pledged help on Wednesday to Lebanon following last week’s devastating blast in Beirut port, the Russian foreign ministry said.
The two men also agreed during a telephone conversation on the importance of creating “beneficial external conditions” for the Lebanese people to form a new government based on dialogue between all ethnic and religious groups.
A Lebanese prosecutor will question several ministers and former ministers in the coming days over last week’s deadly chemical blast at Beirut port, a judicial official said Wednesday.
“The interrogations will begin with former public works minister Ghazi Al Aridi,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Lebanon buried more of its dead on Wednesday from the huge explosion at Beirut port that disfigured the city, toppled the government and deepened a painful economic crisis.
Top foreign diplomats kept streaming into traumatised Lebanon to show solidarity over its worst peacetime disaster and push for reforms to curb the corruption blamed for causing it.
Survivors and volunteers were still sweeping rubble-strewn streets a week ater a large depot of industrial chemicals blew up in an explosion so powerful it was dubbed “Beirutshima” on social media.
The official death toll from the colossal blast that evoked memories of the Hiroshima atom bomb blast rose to 171, while 6,500 were injured and 300,000 let temporarily homeless.
In a passionate plea made on Tuesday, at the launch of “Salam Beirut,” an emergency aid and relief campaign from Sharjah, Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of TBHF and Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children at UNHCR, had called upon individuals and organizations in the UAE and around the world to stand in solidarity with Lebanon and to extend their moral and humanitarian support to the victims of the Beirut port blast.
Less than 24 hours ater The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), a Sharjah-based global humanitarian charity, announced a global campaign to provide emergency relief for victims of the devastating explosion that struck Beirut last week, a 90-minute live fundraising event hosted on Wednesday on Sharjah TV’S popular Direct Line (Al Khat Al Mubasher) programme, has successfully raised Dhs30.74 million with dozens of charitable individuals and organisations calling in to make generous contributions.
In a passionate plea made on Tuesday, August 11, at the launch of ‘Salam Beirut’, an emergency aid and relief campaign from Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of TBHF and Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children at UNHCR, had called upon individuals and organisations in the UAE and around the world to stand in solidarity with Lebanon and to extend their moral and humanitarian support to the victims of the Beirut port blast.
A total of Dhs30,741,000 was pledged on the show with Sharjah Islamic Bank donating Dhs6 million; while Bank of Sharjah, Humaid Jaafar, and an anonymous philanthropist donated Dhs5 million each.
His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah called on Arab countries to stand up and support the Lebanese people in their ordeal so they are not let as other countries were, pointing out that Arabs can heal their wounds with their own hands and that Lebanon was and is still part of the Arab nation and not absent from it.
“I thank Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of The Big Heart Foundation and Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children at UNHCR, for her leading efforts in garnering overwhelming support for our brothers and sisters in Lebanon. I pay tribute to the precious lives lost to this tragedy and wish those who were hurt a speedy recovery,” His Highness continued.
“We thank everyone who has come forward to help Lebanon cope with this unprecedented tragedy through their good deeds and words. This is the time to stand with the Lebanese people, not the time to meddle with politics or past issues. We will be there until you get back on your feet. We are with all those who are calling for reform to end the turmoil in Lebanon,” the Sharjah Ruler added.
“Lebanon, the land of culture and giving, the nation that was once home to all Arabs and has given us numerous poets and artists, is not unknown to anyone,” His Highness continued.
“We are rooting for you Lebanon. We will never abandon you,” His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi asserted.
His Highness concluded the address with the message: “I hope whoever hears my words will support, even if it is with the word. We need to feel that we can heal each other’s wounds, support each other. I wish all of you success until we meet at the celebration that will mark Lebanon’s freedom. That day will come…”
Following the launch of the ‘Salam Beirut’ campaign, Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA) announced the unification of broadcasting on all its channels and radio stations on Wednesday, August 12, through the live The Direct Line (Al Khat Al Mubasher) show in support of the efforts to help those affected by the disaster. Accordingly, this popular plaform devoted its broadcast hours from 1.30pm to 3pm exclusively to raise funds for this noble initiative.
Mariam Al Hammadi, Director or TBHF stressed that the entire world, not just the Arab region, was deeply saddened by the Beirut incident. “The innocent victims of this tragedy were caught in a deadly explosion as they were labouring to provide for their families, just going about their day. In seconds, their lives turned upside down.”
“The campaign launched by Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi aims to bring emergency aid and relief to the affected, and represents our humanitarian duty towards Lebanon — a nation that has played a key role in shaping the history, literature, art, culture, and the sciences in the Arab world,” she added.
“We are working meticulously with on-ground organizations and agencies in Lebanon to ensure all donations directly reach the affected.