Doha: Visitors at Doha’s famous Katara Cultural Village were urged to spend big on food earlier this month and do their bit in supporting the under-siege Syrian city of Aleppo.
Seventeen restaurants and cafes located at the waterfront venue participated in the Aleppo relief drive by donating 100 per cent of their cash revenues from the day’s sales towards the #Relieve_Aleppo fund.
“We have been informing all incoming customers about this drive personally and by distributing leaflets around the restaurant,” Jiju Paul, manager of Saffron Lounge restaurant, told Gulf News.
Additionally, several participating outlets also placed donation boxes to ensure all means of fund collection were covered.
Being host to a number of recreational activities, cultural events and eateries, Katara Village is thronged by families and groups in huge numbers at the weekend. When Gulf News spoke to some of the visitors, they showed mixed levels of awareness about the campaign.
“We weren’t aware of this drive as we just got here, but we will definitely make sure we pay in cash and help with the relief efforts,” said Sulaiman Najmi, who was drinking karak chai (tea) with his university friends at a famous tea joint.
Bigger sums were expected from the more luxurious restaurants, which were packed to capacity on a balmy Doha night.
According to Paul, as the weather gets hotter restaurants see their sales go down but weekends are always a safe bet for a full-house.
Exiting a popular, upscale seafood restaurant, the head of a Qatari family proudly admitted to having left some extra cash with the bill as part of his donation.
“We must dig deep into our pockets and help our Syrian brothers and sisters in whatever way we can. I am happy that businesses in Qatar are taking such steps to create awareness and collect funds for Aleppo,” Jaber, who only gave one name, told Gulf News.
Paul, who has seen his restaurant participate in similar fund collection drives in previous years, is full of praise for his clientele’s largesse.
“Qataris are very generous people. The moment they find out we are donating our sales to a relief fund they leave behind big sums of money at our tables.”
