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Help the Victims of the Beirut Port Explosion

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Tonight, as we sleep in our snug beds, safe and with full bellies, across the world in Beirut, a beloved pet dog is still waiting for his owner to come home. A baby who just turned one is waiting for her dad to come home. A young sister sleeps by the front door in case her big brother comes home, she wants to be there to greet him. A mother’s cries for her young son are being heard across neighborhoods. A father aches for the return of his only son.

What started out as a mission to help 2 families get through an unimaginably difficult time has transformed into a bigger mission, one that I cannot possibly accomplish without your help. 

On August 4, 2020, shortly before 6PM, 10 first responders (1 paramedic and 9 firefighters) were called to respond to a fire at the Port of Beirut, little did they know, it would be their last mission. At 6:08PM, a massive explosion tore through the city of Beirut, a blast fueled by some 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a hangar. This blast could have been prevented had there been a competent, accountable government! 

Hundreds of innocent men, women and children were killed, thousands injured and hundreds of thousands left homeless. I grew up in Karantina, a city hard hit by the explosion.  The explosion brought back horrific memories of my own childhood years during the war. I had to do something, anything, to help. In desperation, I reached out to my family, friends, neighbours and neighbourhood Facebook groups to solicit their help. With their support and generosity, I was able to raise close to $4000 Canadian dollars. That money has been transferred to the families of 2 of the first responders via Western Union. I covered the transfer fees. It is imperative to me that every penny raised goes DIRECTLY to the hands of the families, no middleman, no government involvement, no chance of any interference, period! 

Throughout my personal fundraising efforts, I received feedback, some good, some bad, some ugly and I took every word of it in. Hence the reason that I have now launched a gofundme campaign. This is way out of my comfort zone, I have never done anything like this before and I am terrified. But the need is far greater than my fears. As human beings, we have to do what we can to help. I am on a mission to help all 10 families, TOGETHER WE CAN.  

Before you say that millions of dollars in humanitarian aid has already been sent to Lebanon, hear this.  According to the families of the 10 first responders I have spoken to and according to my research, they are not receiving aid money. Why? Because, according to the same neglectful Government who killed their loved ones, they were not affected by the explosion. Yes, you read that right. They didn’t lose their homes nor were they injured so they don’t qualify for aid. They lost their children! They lost their husbands! They lost their brothers! But that’s not enough to qualify for aid. So these families, already barely surviving in a collapsed economy, are left to pay to bury their children, husbands, sons and brothers and continue to pay bills, put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. HOW CAN WE NOT HELP!  

Whether it be $5, $50, $500 or anything in between, no amount is too little, let this mission be OUR mission. Share the heck out of this campaign and lets be the support that these families need!

 “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”― John Bunyan

Organizer

Grattout Ta
Organizer
Kanata, ON

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