Maldivian efforts to assist the people of Palestine will culminate in an unprecedented 33 hour telethon aired across multiple participating broadcasters.
Numerous media organisation have initiated a telethon titled ‘I will also help’ to raise funds for victims of the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. It will air from 2:30pm on Friday (August 8).
The organisers will also assist in arranging a joining of hands across the capital Malé at 5pm on Saturday, while the fundraising – with over US$350,000 already in the Help Gaza Fund – is set to grow as both state and private companies urge staff to donate wages to the fund.
All TV channels and radio stations taking part in the telethon will air the same live program with content – produced by a joint content committee – on the current situation in Gaza to be broadcast through out the programme.
Live updates of donations and details of fundraising and solidarity events organised by councils and NGOs across the country will also feature.
Solidarity
This week Maldives Customs Service and Maldives Ports Limited jointly opened a joint fund where employees of both institutions agreed to donate one day’s basic salary. Faafu Atoll Hospital has also decided to join this campaign.
In addition to one day salaries of their employees, newspaper Haveeru has decided to donate the total revenue generated in advertisement on their online and print news this Thursday (August 7). The paper hopes that this will allow people to donate by placing advertisements on the paper as well.
The state owned State Trading Organization (STO) has announced it will donate a percentage of its two major shops’ sales on on August 8 and 9, five percent from STO Home Improvement, and two percent from STO Super Mart.
STO is also coordinating with the media telethon group for the joining of hands event during which people will stand holding hands across Boduthakurufaanu Magu in Malé starting from the tsunami monument.
Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir, an organiser and President of the Maldives Journalism Association, requested everyone dresses in black for the event to show that “we are taking part in their sorrow”.
“Remember how we felt when the tsunami hit the Maldives and how we requested foreign aid? Now our brothers and sisters in a situation where they need our help. I request everyone to donate to the best of their ability for this cause,” he said.
The telethon group is also selling fifteen ‘Help Gaza’ t-shirts for MVR100,000 each. Two have already been booked – one by the STO for President Abdulla Yameen and another by Kooddoo Fisheries Maldives Limited for the first lady.4
Joining of funds
After the Adhaalath Party endorsed the telethon, both parties have agreed to join their funds, with the party’s Help Gaza Fund being pooled with the telethon collection from Friday.
The Help Gaza Fund has received over MVR5.48million (US$355,600), the party said today. Collection of funds is on halt for now and will begin again with the the telethon on Friday, explained an Adhaalath spokesperson.
The donations from the joint fund will be handed over to the Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) – chosen because they have worked with Adhaalath in previous fund raising events such as the 2010 Pakistan Relief Fund to help flood victims and the 2009 Gaza Fund.
QRCS has assured that these fund will reach the people of Gaza in the form of food and medicine through their relief efforts in area.
Meanwhile, the Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC) are also raising funds in response to an emergency appeal for US$14.7 million by the Palestine Red Crescent Society on July 14. The MRC Palestine Relief Fund was established on July 20 will continue collecting until August 15.
Funds will be raised through MRC Emergency Relief Fund bank accounts, donation boxes and door-to-door collection across the country.
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Hamas runs out of cash every 4 or so years like its predecessor Fatah was at one time. Strategy is then to instigate Israel and get bombarded by them. Result: countries pour in aid in sport of Gaza/Palestine with billions - at the cost of a few thousand lives. And Maldivains are at a new frontier when it comes to helping Gaza, but what we are unaware is that Israel itself is giving more money and support to Gaza than any Islamic country. And why Gaza? Why not Syria, or Iraq or Burma? Isn't it naive that we help one Muslim while ignoring another. It's a show not of Muslims helping Muslims, but a thirst for blood - of Jews.
It’s very good for a tiny nation that they all can unite and agree on good curse. Hopefully this will unite the different fraction and make it a good and noble tradition, the world is full of tragedies and Gaza is some of the worst at the moment .The money needed to rebuilding Gaza will cost over 6 billion dollar,
(6 000 000 000 dollar.) so every dollar helps , but large country’s as well as aggressors has to contribute
Yeah nice collecting, but who pockets are going to be filled up,who going to enjoy led tv's and car's on this money!!!!!
All funds raised by the telethon and Adhaalath will be handed over to Qatar Red Crescent. This means it will be combined with all other donations that Qatar Red Crescent receives and donated to Palestine in the name of Qatar Red Crescent.
On the other hand, donations to Maldivian Red Crescent will be directly sent to Palestine Red Crescent in the name of Maldives.
Why go through Qatar when we have a Maldivian Red Crescent?
As long as the money is deliver to people that really need it, its always a good initiative.
The sufferings of Gaza residents is truly heartbreaking.They are in desperate need for help. However, we must remember that Syrian Muslims are going through the same thing.Why aren't we concerned about Syrians too?? Why aren't we having telethons for them too???
Instead of raising all this money for Gaza which will inevitably be spent on building yet more tunnels and crude rockets.....why don't you give the money to your bankrupt government so they can pay the salaries of the civil servants? They need your financial support because after compensating GMR, they will be flat broke.
You don't seem too concerned about the victims of muslim atrocities in Northern Nigeria, Iraq and Pakistan.....its always GAZA GAZA GAZA.
Why does the Gaza issue bother you so much?.....is it because the other party are Jews?
@Mohamed please keep in mind, unlike other Muslim countries, Land of Palestine and Jerusalem is first Qibla of Islam and Israel doesn't belong to that Land. We Muslims will never consider Israel as a legitimate country in that land, Also please note that we Muslims are not thirst for Jews blood, we just want our land back . Also They are not real jews, they are impostors a Khazarian a barbaric people now ukraine. they were defeated by Russia before and scattered in europe. Rotschild is their patron
@ MissIndia NewDelhi,
You seem not to realise that Gaza/Palestine has been occupied by Israel for over 45+ years, illegal settlements being expanded through forced land crabbing, it's peopled massacred at will as and when the IDF feel like, their leaders assassinated at a single phone, missiles taking down whole neighbourhoods, as if that wasn't enough the countries been under siege and complete blockade for 7+ years with no trading, no food, no medicine, no building materials... Going into the country with out Israeli's permission, which is denied at will with out explanation and you think the problem is just because they are "Jews".
Which planet are you living in!?
How did it feel when the British Empire colonised India and enslaved most of the Indians and killed many of the people in the process?
Must hurt!? Otherwise why would Indians still to this day demand an apology? Is it because they are British?
@missindia: We care because genocide is not okay, and the IDF is murdering innocent civvilians and children and tdestroying their homes and school while keeping them walled in. Its almost like a morbid game where people are put in a huge arena and then murdered from outside. We care because we're human.
If you don't have anything progressive to contribute and are just looking to spread hatred and bad grammer(seriously, enough with the '...'s), just keep off the internet.
@MissIndia
I warn you to leave Maldives because I worry you will not be safe here. All Maldives stand with Palestine. These other issues like Nigeria or Syria that you mention have all been cooked up in a psywar conspiracy by CIA and RAW.
Inshallah one day India will be Muslim as well. The way of truth stands open to you!
Antisemitic rubbish with incitement and hatred and threat of violence by rabid isis fanatics