ABU DHABI // Thousands of Syrian refugees are to benefit from life-saving medical treatment thanks to a US$3 million (Dh11m) donation from a UAE campaign.
The money from the Big Heart Campaign, under the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, will help 10,000 Syrians in Lebanon.
It will facilitate secondary health care, including life-saving surgery, for 6,000 of the most vulnerable refugees, as well as 4,000 others with treatable chronic conditions, such as hernias and cleft lips.
Although the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is doing its best to pay 75 per cent of the medical costs for refugees with life-threatening conditions, it is a struggle to raise the remaining 25 per cent.
This has led to refugees being detained in hospital with their IDs confiscated, leaving them unable to access other services and stripped of their human rights and identities, the Big Heart Campaign said.
It added that many “mild” conditions have also deteriorated into life-threatening emergencies.
Ahmed, a 34-year-old refugee, said: “When you see me in these ragged clothes, you would never guess that I used to own a thriving legal firm in Hama, Syria.
“My home – and my dreams – literally went up in smoke after a deadly artillery strike. My mother begged me to flee the country for my own safety, and my cross-border ordeal eventually took me to the olive fields of Al Koura, in Lebanon, hoping to scrape together a living for my family back home.”
Ahmed is full of gratitude for the generosity shown by the Lebanese people.
He said: “My neighbour was an amazing Lebanese lady named Majida, who gave me this bed that I sleep on. Even this shirt on my back is from her. She gave me more than she had left for herself.”
When his pregnant wife came to join him, he named their newborn daughter Majida.
Sheikha Jawaher, a UNHCR eminent advocate for Refugee Children, said: “Some refugees used to be doctors and nurses in Syria, saving lives daily yet, tragically, they now can’t get medical treatment when they need it themselves.
“This donation – made possible by the generosity of the Big Heart Campaign’s donors – will bring relief to thousands of refugees. But there are many others in desperate need and we appeal to the humanitarian inside each of us to make a contribution and make a life-saving difference.”
People can donate to the campaign by texting the word “donate” to the following numbers: Etisalat users should send the text to 2000 to donate Dh10, 2002 for Dh50, 2003 for Dh100. Du users can text 9965 to donate Dh10, 9967 for Dh50 and 9968 for Dh100.
ecleland@thenational.ae
