'People are suffocating': Lebanon’s faiths unite to help feed the poor during Ramadan


Sunniva Rose
  • English
  • Arabic

Muslims and Christians are coming together to help support Lebanon’s poor during Ramadan, while politicians continue to fan the flames of sectarianism amid the financial crisis.

The price of food in Lebanon - where more than half the population live below the bread line - is now more than four times higher than it was a year ago, and the local currency has lost over 80 per cent of its value.

Now more than ever, low-income families rely on charity to feed themselves during Ramadan.

“My situation is terrible. At home, the fridge is empty,” said Dounia Shehadeh, a 27-year old mother of three, as she picked up free rice, chicken and salad, as well as a handful of dates, traditionally eaten to break the Ramadan fast, from an NGO near Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-largest city.

Recent months have been hard for the people of Tripoli, with thousands of people taking to the streets in protest at worsening poverty.

Desperation has set in among a population that has struggled for years with wild price fluctuations and unparalleled uncertainty during the financial crisis.

That desperation spilled over into violence on Tuesday, the first day of Ramadan, when a young man was killed as shots were fired during scuffles over the distribution of free meals.

The state does little to support those in need.

The country’s top Christian and Muslim leaders are busy bickering over positions in the future cabinet. They regularly stoke sectarian tensions during their political infighting.

Last week, a member of the President’s Christian political party said on live TV that Muslims will “eat us Christians”.

With people struggling to feed themselves, many in Lebanon have rejected these inflammatory remarks and have banded together to help those in need.

Ramadan is a month of consolation, of generosity, and of thinking of others and the poor

“We don’t think: Muslim, Christian. We are neighbours, friends. We serve people with dignity,” said Sheikh Majed Al Darwish, as he sat down to rest after heaping food into hundreds of plastic containers for low-income families to eat at sunset on Tuesday.

“Politicians have personal ambitions. They have goals. Unfortunately to achieve this, they try to stir people with religious discourse,” he added.

“Ramadan is a month of consolation, of generosity, and of thinking of others and the poor.”

Sheikh Al Darwish, 59, represented the Sunni Muslim mufti of Tripoli, Malik Shaar, at a local NGO called Think of Others.

The NGO runs a free restaurant called The Table of Love in the small harbour town of El Mina, on the outskirts of Tripoli.

Opened in 2018 by Robert Ayoub, who runs a customs clearance company in Beirut’s port but hails from El Mina, the restaurant had to close due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bur after lockdown measures eased, Mr Ayoub decided to shift his model to take-away food, which is donated by locals.

Mr Ayoub, 52, is a Christian, and his NGO employees follow a mixture of faiths.

The cost of food in Lebanon has risen dramatically in the past year. EPA
The cost of food in Lebanon has risen dramatically in the past year. EPA

Adapting to Ramadan came naturally, he said. The only difference is that volunteers must operate quickly to distribute the meals before sunset.

“Our guests are mixed. They represent the demographics of the city. We’ve never had a problem with this,” he said.

Over the past two years Mr Ayoub has noticed the level of desperation increasing around him.

“You used to see people searching garbage bins at night so that nobody would see them. Today, they don’t have a problem with doing it in broad daylight. The situation is so bad,” he said.

Bader Raiyeh, 34, has relied on the restaurant to feed his family since it opened, despite earning Lebanon’s minimum wage of 650,000 Lebanese pounds a month as a concierge.

This used to be worth over $400 but now is barely the equivalent of $55. Half of this money goes to buying medication for diabetes and high blood pressure, said Mr Raiyeh.

"The situation is getting worse by the day. People are suffocating," he told The National. "They need to eat and drink, they have families and children. The crisis has destroyed them."

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Ultra processed foods

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;

- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,

- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.

The five pillars of Islam

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2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

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Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020

Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.

The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020. 

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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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Healthy tips to remember

Here, Dr Mohamed El Abiary, paediatric consultant at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, shares some advice for parents whose children are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan:

Gradual fasting and golden points - For children under the age of 10, follow a step-by-step approach to fasting and don't push them beyond their limits. Start with a few hours fasting a day and increase it to a half fast and full fast when the child is ready. Every individual's ability varies as per the age and personal readiness. You could introduce a points system that awards the child and offers them encouragement when they make progress with the amount of hours they fast

Why fast? - Explain to your child why they are fasting. By shedding light on the importance of abstaining from food and drink, children may feel more encouraged to give it there all during the observance period. It is also a good opportunity to teach children about controlling urges, doing good for others and instilling healthy food habits

Sleep and suhoor - A child needs adequate sleep every night - at least eight hours. Make sure to set a routine early bedtime so he/she has sufficient time to wake up for suhoor, which is an essential meal at the beginning of the day

Good diet - Nutritious food is crucial to ensuring a healthy Ramadan for children. They must refrain from eating too much junk food as well as canned goods and snacks and drinks high in sugar. Foods that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and proteins, like fruits, fresh meats and vegetables, make for a good balanced diet

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The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning. 
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In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
 

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