Middle East

Events relevant to the Arab and Middle East region

How to Support the People of Syria and Turkey

Categories Middle East, News and Events, Social Media, WorldLeave a Comment on How to Support the People of Syria and Turkey

In the early hours of the 6th of February, Turkey and Syria were struck by a strong 7.8 earthquake. Due to this and hundreds of after shocks, buildings have collapsed and villages have crumbled. Since then, crews on the grounds have been attempting to pull survivors from the rubble in below zero temperatures.

Sadly, over 20,000 people have lost their lives in both Syria and Turkey. Young children have been orphaned and parents have lost their precious children. Over 300,000 people have been deemed homeless, many sleeping in their cars or nearby makeshift shelters hoping to hear word on a missing loved one.

In Eastern Syria where humanitarian aid was already needed before the earthquake, it’s even more dire now than ever due to the on going civil war.

There is a dire need for financial donations, winter clothing, bedding, shelters, food assistance, and volunteers to help with an already strained situation in both countries.

There are many groups on the grounds now helping find survivors and providing urgent care. Our help towards those causes, as listed below, goes a long long way!

The White Helmets dubbed “Syria’s Heros” are the main rescue workers on the ground since the civil war. They’ve been pulling survivors, including their own members, from the rubble since Monday. Our help to them goes a long way! Donations made in USD via credit card vs other methods can be tax deductible.

The Red Crescent of Turkey, an affiliate of the American Red Cross, has been known to provide relief efforts around the world. It’s now our turn to help them at home, which they’ve tweeted here.

Islamic Relief are currently on the grounds helping provide aid and relief support to those in both Syria and Turkey. Their hardworking teams’ amazing efforts do not go unnoticed as reported by BuzzFeed.

There is a Launch Good campaign by Professor Khaled Beydoun to support Droplets of Mercy‘s efforts in Syria and Turkey. They are delivering emergency kits to those in need, including food packs, blankets, coats, and hygiene kits.

International Medical Corps has to date delivered 15 metric tons of medications and medical supplies to Syria’s ministry of health warehouses in Aleppo, Hama, and Lattakia. Their emergency response teams in Turkey are partnering with local teams to assess the needed supplies and support. Donate to support their efforts to provide life saving care to the region.

As always, our friends at World Central Kitchen has already made it to Turkey, providing meals to survivors and first responders. Also standing ready to support the affected areas is World Food Program of the UN. They are reaching tens of thousands of people and with our help, can reach many more with urgently needed food assistance.

For those of you in Qatar, you can donate directly to Qatar Charity and Qatar Red Crescent‘s relief efforts in Syria and Turkey. Per ILoveQatar.net, it’s been reported that Qatar Airways has flown necessary materials as well as the Qatari National Search and Rescue Team, aka Lakhweya, to the region.

For those of us in the Bay Area, the Turkish Student Association of UC Berkeley has been working with Turkish Airlines to deliver much needed materials such as blankets and winter clothing to those in need. Follow them on Instagram for donation updates or Venmo funds towards these materials.

Adding to the page that the American Humane just authorized an emergency grant yesterday to International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to save and support the animals in need. As an animal lover and cat mom, this made my heart smile. Kudos!

Adding to the page that Humanity First is also on the grounds proving medical and food assistance. You can follow Qasim Rashid on Twitter who will be on the grounds in Turkey volunteering with the organization.

I will be updating this page with more verified resources as they become available. So if you know of any other organizations providing relief support and assistance that can use our donations, please share them in the comments or tag me (@mshalaco) on any social media platforms.

May God have mercy on the beautiful people of Syria and Turkey, amen.

Quote of the Day

Categories Middle East, News and Events, Quote2 Comments on Quote of the Day

“I chose journalism to be close to people. It may not be easy to change the reality, but at least I was able to make their voice heard in the world.” -Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian American journalist

May she rest in God’s eternal peace, not found on earth, amen 🤲🏻🙏🏻

How to Support the Beirut Relief Efforts

Categories Middle East, News and Events, World

As you many all be aware, on August 4th, at 6pm local time, a massive explosion took place at the Seaport of Beirut in Lebanon. It appears the cause of the explosion was due to the accidental ignition of over 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely for many years at the ports.

This very preventable explosion has taken over 125 lives, injured over 3,000 people and destroyed the homes of more than half the city’s residents. There is a dire need for blood donations, volunteers, and funds to help with an already strained healthcare system due to COVID-19.

If you are in Lebanon, you can safely go to any local hospital or clinic to donate blood and see if there is a need for volunteers. There are many groups gathering to help with the cleaning and rebuilding efforts as well. Every little bit counts.

View this post on Instagram

Keeping the beautiful people of Beirut, Lebanon in my prayers. If you are in Lebanon, safely donate blood, volunteer, provide rides or shelter as needed. If you are outside Lebanon, please support @impact.lebanon and @lebaneseredcross. Links in respective bios and stories. "To God we belong and to Him we shall return" — #Repost @impact.lebanon (@get_repost) ・・・ We are all in shock witnessing the massive explosion that happened at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020. The extent of the damages is devastating. Our people in Lebanon have been suffering through a difficult financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. – We are calling on the world, our friends, our fellow Lebanese in the diaspora to donate to help us provide disaster relief. We are reaching out to the Lebanese Red Cross and various NGOs who will need our help and we will update the page providing exact details on how your money will be spent. We will be diligent in making the donations and will be able to provide more clarity as soon as possible. – Link in bio to donate. – #impactlebanon #lebanesediaspora #diaspora #connecting #lebanon #impact #fundraising #beirutexplosion #prayforbeirut #relief

A post shared by Ms. Hala (@mshalaco) on

For the rest of us outside of Lebanon that can donate, the best resources I’ve found so far are the Lebanese Red Cross and the Impact Lebanon crowdsourcing initiative through Just Giving. You can search for your local NGOs that may be offering assistance but I’ve listed a few I’ve come across below.

Kindly note that when making a donation to Lebanese NGOs, do not make it in the country’s currency (Lebanese Lyra/Pound), as it sadly has been collapsing over the past year. Your best bet will be to do so in either US dollars or the Euro.

Baytna Baytak has been helping house healthcare workers and first responders across Lebanon during the pandemic response. Now they are working to help the more than 300,000 displaced residents of Beirut find temporary shelter.

International Medical Corps is helping survivors get life-saving care, deploying medical units and mental health care efforts in support of the damaged facilities and overwhelmed healthcare.

Islamic Relief has an office in Beirut and thankfully their staff is safe. Now they are working to bring much-needed aid and relief support to Beirut.

World Food Program of the UN is helping bring food to the area after the major food sources, like the grain silos, were destroyed at the Beirut port.

If you know of any other organizations providing relief support and assistance that can use our donations, please share them in the comments or tag me on any social media platform, my handle for most is @mshalaco.

May God have mercy on the beautiful people of Lebanon, ameen.

The Birthday of the Orphan Who Adopted the World

Categories Islam, Middle East, World

This is truly a holiday week for more than just Thanksgiving! This also happens to be the month of Rabi’ AlAwal in the Hijri calendar, which is considered the birth month of Prophet Muhammed* (pbuh). It is perceived that his birth date is on or between the 12th and the 17th of Rabi’ AlAwal, and thus throughout this week many Muslims across the globe acknowledge and celebrate the blessing that is the birth of Prophet Mahmad (pbuh).

Countries like Egypt, Indonesia, Sudan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Tunisia, Iraq and Fiji will celebrate with the distribution of charity, food, host street carnivals, perform hymns and conduct lectures. These types of festivities are seen as a celebration, respect, admiration and love for Prophet Muhamad (pbuh). Don’t forget that the prophet is revered not only as the last prophet in Islam, but one that cared for his people, fought to defend their right to worship and taught through his practices on the best mannerisms of a Muslim. Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) is almost always revered as “the orphan who adopted the world“.

I’m sure many of my readers are asking, “but why is the date conflicted?” The date is conflicted because the Hijri calendar was not established until Prophet Mehmet (pbuh) was in his early fifties, about a decade or so before his death. It’s believed he was born in the year 570 AD and passed in the year 632 AD, at the age of 62. Even then there are some historical evidences of many celebrating the prophet’s birthday.

However, as more scholars studied the teachings of Islam, and mapped out the lunar events -on which the Hijri calendar is based on- differing schools of thought have determined it in the month of Rabi’ AlAwal. Sunni scholars believe it to be the 12th day of the month whilst Shia scholars believe it’s the 17th of Rabi’ AlAwal. True the exact date various but with the few Islamic holidays almost always celebrated for three to five days, rather than one and done, the entire week is used to celebrate.

Other schools of thought don’t believe it is appropriate to celebrate the prophet’s birthday. Countries with majority following the Wahhabi schools of thought do not observe it as a national holiday or host any particular festivities. However during my time in Qatar, I remember during the Friday of the birth week, sermons highlighting the prophet’s migration and struggles as a way of remembering why we as Muslims are to ask God to bring peace and blessings upon the prophet.

Personally, I love celebrating and learning more about the orphan who adopted the world. If he taught anything, it was always be kind, respectful and to be the best version of yourself. With that, I ask you all during this holiday week to do a kind thing for someone out there. Many this week have lost their homes in the California wildfires. I’ve listed ways you can help here.

Here’s to a blessed and joyous celebration of the birth of Prophet Mohamed, peace and blessings be upon him.

*There are many variations of the English/Latin lettered spelling of the prophet’s name and I wanted to showcase that in this post.

A Four Month Report

Categories Middle East, Ms. Doha, My Expat Life1 Comment on A Four Month Report

Happy Eid everyone! I pray you are all enjoying the blessed Eid AlAdha weekend.

As for me, right now, I’m spending the wee hours of the morning in Terminal 2 of the Dubai International Airport (DXB) for my bi-monthly visa turnaround, an attempt to renew my “visitor” visa, hopefully for the last time. Tomorrow marks four months since I’ve landed in Doha, Qatar. Four long, exhausting, fulfilling, exciting, and at some point dangerous months. In the last four months, I’ve been caught up with work, trying to get settled into a  place I can call my own, and develop some form of a social life.

They call me Doha, Ms. Doha.

As of a few weeks ago, I attempted to get back to my short work outs and walks just to keep my energy level up. I was able to somehow get back to reading Aleph by Paulo Coelho which was my first non-food purchase in Qatar. Then the other day, a cute little kitty followed me home and adopted me. She now goes by Ms. Doha.

With all the time I have on my hands right now before I check out the tiny duty free section, I shall rant away at some of the events that have taken place in my first four months in Qatar…

Cool British Accent — After calling a few landlords to inquire about available apartments for rent, I received a text message (or SMS as it’s called here) stating how one very nice man liked my “really cool British accent”. I had to respond because I thought this was a joke but it turns out, that wasn’t the case. I mentioned how I wasn’t British but thanks for the kind words. His exact response (misspellings and all), “I want us to get to know echother more and I promis you I get you discount in very nice apartment. ;-)” I didn’t even know how to respond without being rude so I left it at that. However, a few more call outs over a course of a few days garnered me 3 more similar SMS’ and 2 call backs asking about my marital status.

I did realize that with all of them, I had spoken straight English. To test out the theory that if I spoke in Arabic none of this would’ve happened, I called back some of these same people speaking in my great Egyptian dialect. Of course as always, I was right! Over the course of my search, I now speak only in Arabic unless English is necessary. Now my hurdle is having someone rent out to a single lady but that’s for another post.

Right now, I’m not getting much compliments on my British accent.

I Swear They’re Real — Shopping and minding my own business one day, I caught a young lady looking me up and down. I flashed her a smile and we exchanged “salams”. No little chit chat, she just straight up asked me, “Where did you get your chest and lips done?”

“God, this is all done by God.”

“They’re real? No silicone? No surgery? Padded bra?” she whispers.

“Nope, just good wholesome fat!” I whispered back giggling with the gal. I showed her that all I’ve had “done” was my lip piercing. She’s still fascinated that I haven’t had any work done. She started telling me about how she’s debating getting her chest done before she gets married. I advised her against it and to work with what she’s got rather than agonize over it. Of course, the decision is hers and I had to remind her that no one gets the final say over her body but her.

Twenty minutes after our conversation, we crossed paths where she flashed me a smile and whispered to another lady walking with her. I’m sure she’s caught up on our little conversation. I couldn’t get my wholesome fat ass out of there fast enough.

Yes, I Can Be Both — In my recent dealings with people, I’ve noticed this odd form of racism and need for a nationalistic identity. I have friends that were born and raised in Qatar but they can never call themselves Qataris. They don’t even have a Qatari citizenship or passport and every year must renew their legal status in the country. I know the government is working on changing these laws (for economical and sports reasons) but my question is, “when exactly?” The idea of keeping it as pure as possible is a bit far fetched to the point of silliness in my opinion. Remember, historically the people of Qatar came from either Saudi Arabia or Iran.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being proud of your nationality, your heritage and it being part of your identity. However, there’s a difference between being proud and being arrogant; enforcing your opinion of one’s identity.

In dealing with Arabs, particularly Egyptian expatriates here in Qatar, they make it seem as if I can only pick one identity, either I’m Egyptian or I’m American. I just look them straight in the face and say, “but I’m both, proudly so.” I’ve even had arguments with random strangers after it was noted that I shouldn’t identify myself as an American.

For the record, I was born in San Francisco, California, USA. My father immigrated from Egypt in the 70’s and my mother followed suit after they got married. To deny myself the right to identify as an Egyptian American would not be doing myself justice nor my parents for the many dreams they had for their family in America.

Just because most of the world, including Americans believe it or not, don’t agree with some of the American foreign policies, doesn’t mean  that we simply drop our identity as Americans. We are a nation that prides itself in being a melting pot. We come from all over the world, united with ideals and dreams. It is those ideals and dreams that has made the heart and soul of what is good in America today.

So yes, I can be both. I AM Egyptian American.

You’re all caught up and I’m still waiting for my flight back to my kitty, Ms. Doha!