Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Popular, International Responses to King Salman’s Call for Launching National Campaign to Aid Syrians | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Syrian refugees receive aid packages at Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, January 20, 2016. REUTERS/ Muhammad Hamed – RTX237VR


Riyadh- Coinciding with the launching of the national campaign to aid Syrians, the Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia called the people to contribute in the campaign, which was launched by King Salman to collect 100 million Saudi riyals ($27 million) to help those suffering in Syria.

The council, in a statement, maintained that the Syrian brothers have been divided by unjust policies, displaced and became refugees by oppressive powers and have been living in difficult conditions.

The council also prayed to Allah Almighty to grant the best rewards to King Salman for his benevolent efforts to serve humanity.

King Salman also donated 20 million riyals of his own money to the campaign, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef had donated 10 million, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had contributed 8 million.

The King Salman Humanitarian and Relief Center will be supporting the majority of the work and has said it will coordinate with other NGOs in the kingdom to help with the campaign’s goals and objectives.

The campaign, which is active on Twitter, announced that donations can be made via SMS from Saudi Arabia; 10, 20, or 30 Saudi riyals can be sent through a message to 5565.

Alternatively, money can be sent through bank transfer to Ahli Bank using the account number SA2310000020188888000100.

For his part, Walid al-Jalal, director of the “Saudi Campaign to aid Syrians” in Lebanon said that this campaign was launched on time.

Al-Jalal explained that Syrians do not deny the relief role played by Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the crisis in 2011 – as it has been serving refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the crisis has entered its sixth year, which is putting extra burden on these neighboring countries, explaining that the campaign is providing necessary food and medicine aids in addition to sponsoring the seasonal projects that are associated to winter.