Some of the Syrian refugees that Zeshan helped
Written by Zeshan Rehmani
The Syrian refugees on the border between Syria and Lebanon urgently need support as they live in tents that offer little protection from winter weather and storms, with no food and minimal clothing.
Senior Clinical Pharmacist Zeshan Rehmani of Cheetham Hill, Manchester, ran a relief effort to help these refugees and wrote the following article to raise awareness of their plight:
Imagine if the UK currency crashes, there is social unrest and political disorder. You had £ 5,000 in savings in the bank which is now worth £ 1,000. The government puts restrictions on how much of your own money you’ve earned you can withdraw from the bank each month, save for some elites who don’t seem to be. In addition, food prices have tripled. The amount of money you can withdraw does not cover your daily expenses to the extent that some of you are starving. That is basically the situation here in Lebanon.
I was last here in response to the Beirut explosion as part of the Syria Relief disaster relief team in August. I am deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in this country. Since late 2019, Lebanon has been grappling with the worst economic crisis in decades, social unrest and political turmoil. With the arrival of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns and explosion in Beirut, thousands of Lebanese have been pushed into poverty. Capital control laws have been put in place in the country, restricting ordinary people’s access to their own hard-earned money from banks. With the Lebanese pound dropping rapidly (by almost 80%) due to the economic slump and the spiral in food prices, the restrictions on withdrawals mean that large numbers of people do not have enough money for groceries.
But compared to the 1.5 million Syrian refugees in this country, they are the lucky ones. The next month marks 10 years since the beginning of the Syrian conflict. Over 6.6 million Syrians have been forced to flee their country since the conflict began, with no sign of sustained peace in sight. Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capita in the world. A United Nations report published in December 2020 showed that the number of Syrian families living in extreme poverty in Lebanon is rising sharply, from 55% in the previous year to 89%. In addition, these Syrian refugees await one of the coldest winters this year with a severe storm that will hit Arsal and the Beqa’a Valley within a few days. Zeshan sees it as his duty as a Muslim to help others and has traveled to Lebanon to help the refugees. As a Muslim, I feel obliged to help others wherever I can. So I decided to take a break from my work as a Muslim, the frontline clinical pharmacist in the UK is traveling to Lebanon with Syria Relief, running a fundraising and distribution campaign over the winter to support the plight of the Syrian refugees living in Live in tents and live below sub-zero temperatures. Many don’t know where they are. The next meal is from.
Just yesterday I visited the tent of an elderly couple named Mustafa and Amina and asked them if they were worried about the coronavirus. The answer was, “We are too worried about having enough food to survive. The only time we think of coronavirus is the hope of catching it and dying because the thought of death offers more comfort, than living like that. ” When I heard this, my heart broke, but thanks to the donations I received, we were able to cover her rent for the next year.
I spoke to another woman today who told me that in the past ten days she had not eaten because of poverty and was seriously ill, but had no money to pay for medical aid. Thanks to the donations we received, we were able to give her the support she needed.
I have seen countless children who have told me that they have spent their entire lives in these refugee camps, walking around in cold weather with only slippers or even barefoot! Access to distance learning is very limited and, unfortunately, child labor is also increasing. Thanks to people’s donations, I was able to provide winter clothing to many of these children to bring relief.
I was blown away by how many people supported my fundraiser. At the time of writing, I’ve managed to raise over £ 50,000 which means tens of thousands of people can now receive food, heating, clothing and rent payments. I am very grateful because I know that the situation in the UK has been very difficult for many people who are struggling with themselves or who are on leave and yet have supported this cause. It inspires me so much at home that even in our time of need we can recognize people in immeasurably worse conditions.
Please donate to my fundraising page:
www.justgiving.com/appeal4syria21
