RIYADH, 28 July 2006 — A Saudi television appeal has raised about SR109 million to help the Lebanese people ravaged by the continuing Israeli air and land onslaught on their country.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah donated SR10 million to the campaign while Crown Prince Sultan contributed SR5 million and Interior Minister Prince Naif SR2 million. Riyadh Governor Prince Salman and his sons contributed SR2 million.
The daylong telethon continued until the early hours of Thursday with Saudis and residents coming in hordes to donate money and goods at collection points across the Kingdom. A total of SR108,801,295 was collected by 1 a.m. yesterday.
“This historic Saudi campaign attracted a large number of people of all nationalities and they wholeheartedly donated whatever they could for the war-torn country,” said an official associated with the telethon.
As part of the campaign, the Kingdom has announced plans to establish medical facilities in Lebanon to treat victims of the Israeli attacks, especially women and children with serious injuries.
Twenty trucks left Riyadh for Lebanon yesterday carrying the field hospital to be set up in Beirut, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The trucks will travel via Jordan before crossing into Lebanon from Syria tomorrow.
The field hospital will be set up in the Museum area in the center of the Lebanese capital and offer facilities ranging from operation rooms to an intensive care unit.
A 100-strong team of physicians, nurses and technicians will operate at the hospital, which will be run by the Saudi Red Crescent.
This medical assistance as well as the telethon follows a massive aid package announced by King Abdullah on Tuesday to help Lebanon cope with the devastating Israeli onslaught which has killed hundreds and smashed the country’s infrastructure since it was launched on July 12.
The king pledged a $500 million grant for the reconstruction of Lebanon. King Abdullah also promised to deposit $1 billion at the Central Bank of Lebanon to help stabilize the country’s currency. The king had previously announced $50 million in aid to Lebanon, bringing the total assistance package to $1.55 billion.
Sheikh Ahmed S. Al-Salman, a local businessman, said that a large number of Saudis and foreigners came forward and gave donations. Ibrahim Al-Touq, chairman of Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF), was among the first to announce his donation of SR1 million on Wednesday. That was followed by a donation of SR75 by a Pakistani expatriate, Arif Shahzad.
Many children came with their parents to donate in cash and kind. Men and women brought in valuables such as jewelry, watches, footwear, dates and clothes. Cars, pickups and small trucks with full loads of provisions formed queues at the Malaz Stadium until early morning waiting to offload.
Officials said cash raised during the telethon would either be handed over to the Lebanese government or channeled through aid agencies.
Asked about the donations raised by the Lebanese community living in Saudi Arabia, Kassem Mazloum, CEO of Wetico Water Treatment Co., who fled Lebanon via Damascus a couple of days ago, said Lebanese businessmen and workers in the Kingdom were pooling whatever resources possible to alleviate the sufferings of their countrymen.
