The United Arab Emirates leads the Gulf region in providing aid to war-torn societies
UNIPATH STAFF | Photos by EPA
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose gleaming financial towers and richly stocked shopping malls mark it as one of the world’s most prosperous nations, has donated billions of dollars to reconstruct societies torn by conflict.
More than 154 schools rebuilt or renovated in Yemen’s Aden governorate. New maternity hospitals in Afghanistan. Enough food parcels, winter clothing and medical supplies to sustain thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.
His Royal Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, reiterated his country’s commitment to regional stability in an announcement that 2017 would be a “Year
of Giving.”
Coming just weeks after terrorists murdered six Emiratis serving as charitable workers or diplomats in Kandahar, Afghanistan, this declaration signified the UAE’s unwavering support of countries suffering from terrorism and sectarian strife.
These charitable and redevelopment efforts are typically led by civilian agencies that, in conflict zones, often coordinate with the nation’s military forces. The UAE is part of the coalition fighting Daesh and has contributed air power to defeat terrorists in Syria and ground forces to stabilize Yemen.
One such endeavor was the Emirates Red Crescent’s donations toward the reconstruction of Al Mukalla Radio in the Hadhramout region of Yemen after al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula torched the operation in 2015. The reopening of the radio station, whose programs have served the public for decades, was a cause for national celebration in late 2016.
Among its other charitable work, the Red Crescent team also bought food, bedding and medical equipment for Mukalla’s University Hospital of Gynecology, Childbirth and Cardiac Catheterization.
In January 2017, Emiratis began distributing school bags to Yemeni schoolchildren, part of the relief effort in the Aden, Abyan, Lahij and Dhale governorates.
The country estimates it has poured more than $775 million in development aid into Yemen before and during the recent crisis.
“The UAE considers provision of aid as a humane duty and within the framework of a number of key values and principles on which the UAE’s vision was based,” Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, noted in December 2016.
To relieve the stress facing Syrian refugees, the Red Crescent focused on camps in Mafraq, Jordan, where Emiratis provide food, clothing, blanket and medical supplies at a joint UAE-Jordanian field hospital.
“ERC visits the underprivileged and needy families at their residences and provides aid for them in implementation of the Year of Giving initiative,” said Abdullah al-Mehrezi, director of the Emirati-Jordanian Camp.
Afghanistan has also benefited from UAE generosity, estimated at close to $700 million of the billions of dollars in foreign aid the country provides each year. UAE has financed the construction of hospitals, schools, airports, mosques and roads; supplied aid to earthquake victims; and established businesses for women.
Six Emiratis in Kandahar — including Ambassador to Afghanistan Juma Mohammed Abdullah al-Kaabi — gave their lives for their mission in January 2017, the victims of a terrorist bomb. But UAE organizations such as the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation vowed to continue the work of helping to stabilize the country in the face of military conflict.
“What happened is really sad because these are people who work in the humanitarian sector and help the needy,” said Ahmed al-Dhaheri, director of the foundation. “It’s unimaginable that when you are coming to help a community, somebody comes out of nowhere and wishes ill on it, so it does not develop further.”
Despite the attack, “we are still there,” he said. “We hope others will understand that Afghanistan needs help, and to allow whoever can help to contribute to bettering the country.”
In May 2016, the foundation opened the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Kabul. Another important development program is the Sheikha Fatima bint Mohammed bin Zayed Initiative launched in 2010 to help female Afghan carpet weavers market their handmade goods.
The UAE broadened its charity to include Lebanon in early 2017. With money provided by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment, Syrian refugees in southern Lebanon — nearly 13,000 families — received food packages, household utensils and blankets.
Emirati officials stressed that the billions of dirham the nation has dispersed serve multiple purposes, including the all-too-crucial goal of lessening the likelihood of violent conflict that would otherwise draw on the services of regional militaries.
“For a long time humanitarian work had the image of charity and goodness, and out of faith and social responsibility,” Mohammed Agha, programs and development director of the International Humanitarian City in Dubai, told attendees at a charity conference in 2016. “Today it is an essential element of economic cycles, preserving security, the economy and the environment.”