Dubai: Syrians in the UAE have been touched by the Big Heart campaign and said they are happy that such an initiative exists because Syrian children need all the help they can get.
Dr Abdul Kader Sankary, Head of the Dubai Business Council in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, said that he personally, along with the business council in Dubai, which has 220 members, fully support the initiative of Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. Shaikha Jawaher is also the chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children.
“I will personally donate Dh1 million to the campaign and I urge my fellow businessmen in the council to do the same.” he added.
Sankary said, “We are sure that the money we are donating will reach the right people … Shaikha Jawaher has conducted several successful charity events in the past and the current Big Heart campaign will be a success for sure.”
Syrian children, he said, are in need of the support of the initiative and Shaikha Jawaher is the right person to conduct such an initiative. “The need is growing daily and there is no better cause to donate than the refugees who left everything behind.”
“We at the business council will convey the message to the Syrian community, which we hope to be the biggest supporters of the campaign… we also call upon different nationalities to support this humanitarian cause,” Sankary said.
Nour Al Ali, a 20-year-old Syrian student said, “This is phenomenal. Syrian refugees need all the help they can get.” She explained that there has not been “an exodus this drastic since the 1948 Nakba. I think starting initiatives like this prove that humanity and the kindness of others prevails above all else.”
She said that she has heard terrible stories about the dire conditions refugees live in and she is happy to see Shaikha Jawaher working to help people of her country.
“I don’t urge people to donate because I am Syrian but because all humans are equal and deserve to live in proper circumstances. Less than five years ago, the term ‘Syrian refugee’ was non-existent. The amount of loss those refugees have suffered above all other Syrians is indescribable. We should set aside our political differences and look at the big picture.”
Nour said that donating as little as Dh10 may not make a difference to most people “but it could feed a starving family for a day”.
Osama Abdul Hamid, 34, who works in the media said that it is a great initiative and that he is thankful to Shaikha Jawaher for this initiative .
He added that it is not new for her to launch such humanitarian initiatives as she has always been among the first to help those in need.
“You also cannot separate what Shaikha Jawaher did and is still doing from what the UAE has done and is also still doing, to help out people in need over the world. Such initiatives from Shaikha Jawaher or the UAE do not come as a surprise,as they have always been among the first to help, ” Abdul Hamid said.
Abdul Hamid said that he thinks the real number of Syrian children affected by the conflict inside and outside Syria exceeds the numbers quoted in reports, and that they need all the help they can get to rehabilitate themselves and their lives.
Riem Al Azem, 23, said that it is an “amazing” initiative as the children need this support. “Syrian refugee children are going through rough times; this would set an example for other prominent figures to take such an initiative.”
She added that children around the world need people like Shaikha Jawaher.
