São Paulo – This week saw further donations shipped from Brazil to Lebanon. The Port of Beirut, in the namesake capital, was hit by a major blast on August 4 that claimed 191 lives and left 6,000 injured and 300,000 homeless. The tragedy stirred people into action in Brazil.
A Brazilian Air Force (FAB) plane took off for Lebanon in early August carrying six tons’ worth of donations, some from the government and some collected by organizations comprising the Lebanon Humanitarian Aid Movement. Brazil’s government also sent out 4,000 tons of rice via a ship to help replenish Lebanon’s inventories.
This Thursday (3), another 6 tons of medication and hospital material were flown to Lebanon via DHL courtesy of the Brazilian federal government. Two shipping containers with food and clothing are on board a ship that’s slated to depart next Tuesday (8).
The information is from the president of the Federation of Muslim Associations in Brazil (Fambras), Mohamed Zoghbi. According to Zoghbi, two more tons of medication will be flown into Lebanon courtesy of Turkish Airlines.
The donated items had been stored in Fambras and Red Cross warehouses. This Thursday, former Brazilian president Michel Temer looked on as the containers were loaded up at the Red Cross facility. Temer was tasked by the Brazilian government to lead a humanitarian aid mission alongside other authorities, including religious ones. Pictured above is the group in front of a shipping container. They traveled to Lebanon to deliver the donations.
According to Zoghbi, the campaign for Lebanon will continue, but going forward the focus will be on cash donations to help rebuild hospitals and homes that were torn down or damaged in the explosion. The president of Fambras said work will be done to find the optimal way to get the resources to Lebanon.
“This is a display of solidarity on Brazil’s part. Brazilians are typically helpful, especially when it comes to Lebanon, since there are lots of Lebanese descendants in Brazil,” he told ANBA. A survey released recently by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) has shown that 6% of Brazil’s population are either Arabs or Arab descendants, and most of them hail from Lebanon.
The Lebanon Humanitarian Aid Movement comprises Fambras, the ABCC, the Association of Jurists of Lebanese Background – Instituto Kanoun, the Lebanese-Brazilian Medical Association, the Brazil-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, Clube Atlético Monte Líbano, the Red Cross in Brazil, the Maronite Eparchy in Brazil, the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo, the Christian Foundation of the Lebanese Diaspora, the Brazilian federal government, Hospital do Coração, Hospital Sírio-Libanês, Mesquita Brasil, the Embassy of Lebanon in Brazil, the São Paulo City Hall, the Muslim Beneficent Society, and União Nacional Islâmica.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
