Lebanese company Skaff to give away fabric to cover broken windows: 'people have been calling in tears'

Lebanese fabric company Skaff is offering free textiles to residents whose windows were broken by the Beirut explosion. Instagram / Skaff

A popular fabric and interiors company in Lebanon has vowed to help residents left living in homes with broken windows and ripped-open facades.

Following two massive blasts in Beirut's port on Tuesday evening, which killed more than 130 people, an estimated 300,000 people have been left homeless. Buildings have been shattered into rubble across the city and many homes have no working windows and doors.

Skaff, a fabric business founded in Lebanon, has offered to donate free textiles to residents living in destroyed homes.

"We'd seen that so many people had lost their windows, their doors, their whole facade, and they have nothing to cover up their houses and their interiors with," Cynthia Saab, an interior consultant at Skaff, told The National. "Some of these people are sleeping in an open house."

"We’ve had so many enquiries, people are calling at midnight, they are calling early in the morning, people are crying over the phone, we’ve got so many requests," said Saab. "We are gathering the stock available right now in our warehouse, and seeing the quantity that can be given to people in need. Hopefully we can help as many people as we can."

"To our beloved Lebanese community, if your windows are shattered and you cannot replace the glass, we are donating our fabric as an interim cover-up if you need it," the company posted on its Instagram account on Wednesday. Skaff added two WhatsApp numbers that people in need of fabric can contact, which you can find here.

The family-owned business, established in 1965 by Georges Skaff, sells fabrics and furniture, and offers interior design and upholstery services.

Three of the business's Beirut stores were damaged in the blast, which has left more than 4,000 in the Lebanese capital injured.

"All our staff are OK, alhamdulillah," Saab told us. "We have three branches that have been damaged, mostly the Ashrafieh branch as that is close to the area of the blast."

Following the explosion, Skaff staff on Wednesday came up with the idea of donating fabric to those in need, because people are facing a long wait to get their windows replaced or walls fixed.

The company hopes to start delivering textiles to residents within the next 24 hours.

A woman stands inside a damaged restaurant. AP Photo

People and employees attend a mass over the victims who were killed in the blast, at the Al-Roum hospital at Ashrafieh area in Beirut. EPA

Workers are pictured at the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. EPA

A man sleeps near a damaged car near the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area. REUTERS

Workers line at the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. EPA

French President Emmanuel Macron visits the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. EPA

People and employees attend a mass over the victims who were killed in the blast, at the Al-Roum hospital at Ashrafieh area in Beirut. EPA

A view of the port of Beirut on January 25, 2020, left, and on August 5, 2020, a day after the explosion. AFP

Bride Israa Seblani poses for a picture in the same place where she was taking her wedding photos at the moment of the explosion. Reuters

People stand with their belongings as they leave their damaged homes. Reuters

A Lebanese man shows injuries on his back after the massive explosion in Beirut. EPA

Men are seen sitting inside a damaged home, following Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area. Reuters

A pedestrian takes photos of a badly damaged building in Beirut. Bloomberg

Lebanese Druze clerics check damaged cars. AP Photo

A statue representing the Lebanese expatriate is seen in front of a building that was damaged by the explosion. AP Photo

People walk with their belongings in the area of Mar Mikhael and Gemayzeh. EPA

The curtains in the rooms of the Le Gray hotel in the Lebanese capital Beirut swaying in the wind. AFP

A view of a damaged Fransa Bank. EPA

People check damaged vehicles. EPA

Volunteers clean the streets amid the wreckage. Reuters

People carry belongings after evacuating their damaged housing units at area of Mar Mikhael and Gemayzeh. EPA

A destroyed Bank Audi SAL branch stands in Beirut. Bloomberg

A worker wearing a protective face mask stands at the entrance to a destroyed Fransabank SAL branch in Beirut. Bloomberg

Volunteers carry brooms as they walk to clean the streets. Reuters

A woman sits in front of a damaged building. EPA

A general view of the Beirut port area after the massive explosion. EPA

An aerial view shows the massive damage done to the Electricity of Lebanon building. AFP

A view of the damaged building of the Lebanese fashion designer Zuhair Murad. EPA

Volunteers gather aid supplies to be distributed for those affected by Tuesday's blast. Reuters

Lebanese men clears rubble, one day after the explosion at the Beirut Port, in the Gemayzeh area. EPA

Lebanese youth salvage a velvet sofa from a destroyed apartment in the Gemayzeh area of Beirut. EPA

Lebanese activists take part in a campaign to clean the damaged neighbourhood of Mar Mikhael. AFP

An injured Lebanese shop owner sits at her desk selling her wares. EPA

Aircrafts carrying emergency aid from the US and France are expected to arrive in Lebanon on Thursday. The aid will be substantial and directed to Lebanese relief organisations, not the government, sources said.

Egypt says it has already opened a field hospital in the Lebanese capital to receive the wounded and relieve pressure on the damaged and stretched local health services. Jordan's Royal Court announced it was flying in a military field hospital, and all necessary personnel, to Beirut on Wednesday to help.

A plane carrying 40 tonnes of medical equipment was due to take off from Dubai on Wednesday to help Beirut's hospitals treat thousands of wounded patients.

Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said the damage from the blast extended across half the city and is estimated to cost as much as $15 billion (Dh55 billion).