Six AUC students travel to Lebanon to aid with relief efforts
CAIRO: Six students from the American University in Cairo traveled to Lebanon from Oct. 19 to 24 to help with relief efforts for victims of last summer’s war and raise awareness about the destruction wrought on Lebanon.
On Sunday night, they presented their findings and spoke of their experience to members of the AUC community.
“In Lebanon, [we must] send the message that we do care, as civilians and as students … In Egypt, we must show what the Lebanese are really like and how they acted, and [show Egyptians] not to be limited to your own issues. We have problems but that doesn’t mean that we can’t help our sister nations, said Eman Elba, one of the students who went on the trip.
“As civilians, you don’t have government or military power, you’re not involved in such strategic decisions, continued Elba. “You can’t go punish Israel. You can’t stop superpowers from supporting Israel. You can’t pick up a machine gun and go to war. But you have to do something, you always have this responsibility.
Several AUC community service clubs, together with members of the AUC administration and Parents’ Association kicked off Nusrah, their campaign to help Lebanon, on Sept. 20, which they designated a “Day for Lebanon. Over the month between the start of the campaign and the Nusrah trip, the students raised 250 million Lebanese lira, or LE 1 million in cash and in-kind donations.
Working with the Arab Medical Union in Cairo to figure out where to give their resources, the AUC donations went to buying new clothes for Lebanese children and rebuilding a small medical clinic in the city of Sour, among other projects.
Over their five days in Lebanon, the AUC students visited the most damaged parts of the country, including the Dahiya suburbs of southern Beirut, the heavily bombed cities of Sour and Sidon, and the Ein El-Helwa Palestinian refugee camp. They also discussed the tragedy with Lebanese political leaders, including Baheyya Al-Hariri, sister of the late former prime minister, Rafik Al-Hariri.
The Nusrah campaign was not easy, though. At the beginning of Sunday’s presentation, Elba described the reluctance of many people in Egypt to help Lebanon. “Everyone told us that Lebanon is all about partying. And they said ‘Hezbollah paid each family who lost a house $12,000. Do you know how much that would do in Egypt?’ said Elba.
“The idea we had that the Lebanese are all rich and don t need our help, that s not true, Elba continued later in an interview with The Daily Star Egypt. “It s as if we were judged by observing the ruling class in Egypt and areas like Maadi and Zamalek. We would find Egypt a luxurious country then, but the fact remains that we are a poor nation.
All members of the Nusrah campaign felt that they had to fight to prove that Lebanon needed help from Egyptians.
Yet Milad Raad, consul at the Embassy of Lebanon here in Cairo, said that he has found most Egyptians to be very sympathetic and generous. “I understand their point, but the amount of donations made here by Egyptians – public, private, NGOs, individuals – was substantial, Raad said.
“We were always helped. We always felt that as Lebanese here in Egypt we are welcome. Especially in this time of crisis we noticed people ready to help. We collected 700 tons of in-kind donations, Raad continued. The Lebanese embassy also established a bank account to collect cash donations. Raad said that they had received a “significant amount of money, but declined to name an exact amount.
The destruction that AUC students found there proved to them how much Lebanon could use their and Egypt’s aid. One AUC student, Tamer Abd El-Aziz, compared the damage in Lebanon to the movie “War of the Worlds.
Listening to stories of the war from people in Lebanon was unlike anything the AUC students had seen on the news. “It was very strange, hearing about what took place, who died and the bombings from a 6-year-old, in the same way he would normally tell the story of what games he had played at school for example, said Elba.
“I’ll never forget when we went to the village of Marwahein, said Ahmed Fathelbab, an AUC student and the head of the Nusrah campaign. “One man we had iftar with saw a rocket kill his grandmother. He talked about how strong he is and said ‘we will stand up again.’ People [in Lebanon] are strong, have dignity. They will defend their rights until the end of their lives.
At Sunday’s presentation, AUC President David Arnold praised the students’ efforts. “Tonight I was reflecting on where we started on Sept. 20 and what tremendous work has been done, Arnold said. “It’s not just about hearts and collecting money. We need to raise awareness in order to deeply understand these events. This thoughtful and intelligent approach is unique to this effort.
Nusrah will continue to raise funds for Lebanon, and is also collecting donations for Palestinians in Gaza. Citing figures of over 1,000 Lebanese dead, and Israel dropping 1 million cluster bombs in the south, the students emphasized that the donations they had collected so far are only a drop in the bucket, and much more is needed to rebuild Lebanon.
In light of the recent government break-up over the UN investigation of Rafik Hariri’s death, and the assassination of Pierre Gemayel, many analysts are predicting further conflict and destruction in Lebanon.
The students ended their presentation by stressing the importance of Arab unity, and the resilience of the Lebanese people. “I want to show an example to Egypt of how Lebanon dealt with this. They didn’t cry over spilled milk. Okay, a tragedy happened. Buildings are on the ground. Will [they] just wait for aid? Or say, ‘Okay, I’ve been hurt,’ heal their injuries, and go back to work. This is their attitude and it’s amazing, said Elba.
Fathelbab added to Elba’s reflections, saying, “It’s the least a person can do. I came across a small thing one day on the news, a Lebanese woman standing by her house saying ‘Where is Egypt? Where are the other Muslim countries?’ This is something we can do to help people and ease our anger and send the message that we are one nation.
Captions:Picture 1: A woman crying over the graves of her family members in the village of Marwahein.
Picture 2: The AUC students who traveled to Lebanon over the Eid break as part of their Nusrah campaign, Ahmed Fathelbab, Eman Elba, Mohamed El-Bahareyya, Mariam Tolba, Anas Tolba, and Tamer Abd El-Aziz.
