Rapid Relief for Beirut Explosion
WHAT IS THE SITUATION:
We are calling to you this evening, August 4th, 2020, just hours after a massive explosion in the capital of Lebanon, Beirut.
Thousands of people are injured, dozens dead, toxic fumes spreading across the area and the damages unprecedented.
The source of the explosion is not exactly known, and yet, shocks were felt in a 10 mile radius, causing loss of life and destruction as if it were a deadly earthquake. Injuring countless people all around the Beirut area. Destroying hundreds of homes, cars. Ripping the city apart. Because of the level of destruction, the city's health infrastructure is taxed, and even ambulances are unable to tend to all, and hospitals already on edge trying to care for those struck by the pandemic are stretched thin.
2020 has been rough, on many levels, for many people across the world. One of the places that has been hit more than others, is the small country Lebanon (more info on Lebanon and the current situation there at the bottom of the page).
This might be the first time you have heard of Lebanon or its struggles. For us, it hits incredibly close to home as we have many loved ones in the country. Struggling, hurt, and now, literally, bleeding.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
We are asking for your financial support to assist in the much needed aftermath and recovery.
WHERE YOUR DONATION WILL GO:
All donations will go to organizations on the ground.
We will make sure that the people affected by this disaster will directly benefit from your donations.
Our main priority for the donations is short to mid-term support as we would like families to go back to their homes as soon as possible and feel safe.
What do we mean by that?
Short-term support;
-Providing food for volunteers.
-Relocating displaced individuals who have lost their homes to the blast.
Mid-term support:
Rebuilding homes in the Beirut area.
We have approached 4 NGOS that are targeting these initiative:
Offre Joie : https://linktr.ee/offrejoie
Rebuild Beirut : https://livelove.org/donate
Bayetna Baytak : https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/impact-lebanon?utm_term=dXEJkepP7
Food Blessed : https://foodblessed.org/donate/
HOW WILL NGOs RECEIVE DONATIONS:
I will receive the money on my personal account (Alexandre Farah) and then transfer all donations to the NGOs either through a bank transfer or through the donation page on their websites.
We will be transparent in sharing the receipts with all our donors if we can do so by email after the campaign is over.
A BIT OF BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT:
Starting in October 2019, protests erupted across the country. People took to the streets, tired of the government failing to provide for its citizens. Tired of mass corruption, tax-increases, lack of electricity. This was quickly followed by an economic recession and mass devaluation of the currency. Leaving many unemployed with 50 percent living under the poverty line, hungry, and struggling to get by.
At the beginning of 2020, as we all know too well, COVID-19, struck, hurting more, bringing people further despair. The country went in lock-down for well over 3 months, bringing the economy to an even deeper recession.
THE EVENTS OF AUG. 4 2020:
And now, truly, horrifying, unbelievable, like salt in an already deep wound, a mass explosion hit in the Port of Beirut, located in the center of the city.
*Information and estimates are coming in live, we will update this daily with the newest numbers*
Words just cannot describe the hurt seeing our loved ones, our beloved Lebanon hurt.
FACTS & STATS:
Al-Jazeera English Huge explosions rocks Lebanon
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/huge-explosion-rocks-lebanon-capital-beirut-live-updates-200804163620414.html
The Guardian: Lebanon Economic Crisis social catastrophe
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/30/candlelight-lebanon-economic-crisis-social-catastrophe
Economist Why Protesters firebomb banks in Lebanon
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/05/09/why-protesters-firebomb-banks-in-lebanon
New York Times Bartering Child’s Dress for Food: Life in Lebanon’s Economic Crisis
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/12/world/middleeast/beirut-lebanon-economic-crisis.html