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In the latest sad milestone for Syria, the United Nations has appealed for US$6.5 billion -- the biggest amount in history ever requested for a single humanitarian disaster. This comes as Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, UNHCR Eminent Advocate, visited a UAE Red Crescent camp in Jordan to explore collaborations that would reach the highest possible number of desperate refugees.
Her Highness went further to tour the refugee school and playground, and had heart-to-heart conversations with the children to hear their deepest needs, hopes and fears. Meanwhile more women humanitarians have been inspired to visit Jordan, with the Red Crescent welcoming a delegation of UAE women police officers led by Major Amina Al Balushi, who will help to upgrade the medical services.
Speaking to Red Crescent representatives, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher said: “There is no such thing as ‘too many aid organizations’, because Syrian refugees need all the help they can get. Having visited refugees in different camps, I am proud to say the UAE Red Crescent’s campaign -- ‘Our Hearts Are With The Syrian People’ -- is doing great work in serving the refugee families in need. I wish to see the camp expand and provide refuge to even more refugee families, which is what the Red Crescent team in Jordan is aiming to do. Thanks to our very supportive UAE leadership, we are showing the world that now is not the time for donor fatigue, but for whole-hearted sacrifice. Red Crescent officials have assured me that they will continue to expand their work for greater impact and will collaborate with other international organisations, specially UNHCR, to reach refugees in other camps and help in providing shelter for families and educational facilities for refugee children outside the Red Crescent camp. I have full faith in the abilities of Red Crescent to take on this great task and believe that they will lead the path in collaborating with other organisations working in Jordan to increase the impact of humanitarian aid on the Syrian refugee population.”
A living example of this selfless sacrifice is DrSaif Al Kaabi, an Emirati who has volunteered for the Red Crescent’s missions in Jordan, Yemen and Pakistan. He explained why: “I left behind my comfortable life and job in Abu Dhabi because these suffering refugees need me more. This is not something you do for your CV; it’s something you do for your heart, and for your fellow humankind.”
Like the Big Heart Campaign, the UAE Red Crescent was instrumental in saving countless refugees from the freezing winter, raising over AED120 million from telethons and other fundraisers. Led by its Chairman, DrHamdanMusalam Al Mazrouei, the organization has sent 18 consignments from Abu Dhabi to Jordan and Lebanon; including over 3,000 tons of food, shelter and medical supplies for the UAE-Jordan Camp at Mreejab Al Fohood and Zaatari Refugee Camp.
Meanwhile the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres has warned that by the end of the year, internally displaced and refugee Syrians will outnumber the few Syrians who are lucky enough to still have a home.
Donors are urgently requested to send funds through ‘Salam YaSeghar’, endorsed by HH Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi (Wife of His Highness, the Ruler of Sharjah and UNHCR Eminent Advocate).
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