Investigation: We Looked Into Where The Millions In Aid From Canada Went After The Beirut Explosion – Here’s What We Found
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متوفر باللغة العربية
On August 4th, 2020, an explosion at the Beirut Port ripped through the capital of Lebanon. The origin was a warehouse containing 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate.
Many had tried warning officials, including the President and successive Prime Ministers, of the dire dangers of improperly storing these materials. But no action was taken.
The source of the materials is still convoluted. But the population blames the governments over the past years for negligence.
The Beirut Blast killed at least 235 people . However, the confirmed number differs based on who you ask. There’s no official singular count to date. There are still people unaccounted for and missing.
Another 7,000 people were injured and 77,000 homes were damaged, leaving 300,000 people displaced.
According to the World Bank, the Blast caused an estimate of $3.8 to $4.6 billion in material damage.
Immediately after the explosion, private and public fundraising campaigns from around the world popped up to help the victims. They aimed to go through trusted NGOs and organizations, bypassing the Lebanese government due to the general lack of trust and fear that the money would be pocketed.
In Canada , there were countless campaigns from individuals, private companies, and organizations, and then the government of Canada to raise money for the Beirut Port explosion victims.
One of these fundraisers was initiated by ourselves through our registered nonprofit in Canada, The961 Foundation . We raised 52,659 CAD for the Lebanese Red Cross .
Another initiative, Lebanon Strong, launched by Toronto-based Dina Bakhit, created a constant aid route of donated goods for Lebanon that is still running till today.
It initially collected all sorts of donations for the people impacted by the Beirut Blast and rescue workers, including clothing, medicine, and even firefighting equipment.
It has since evolved to donate much-needed baby formula and women’s health and hygiene products. Lebanon Strong worked with local organizations and charities to ensure the aid got to where it should.
While we were fundraising for the Lebanese Red Cross , a group of Lebanese business leaders in Canada created the Lebanese-Canadian Coalition (LCC) with the aim of fundraising and lobbying the Canadian government to increase their support for Lebanon and the victims of the explosion.
They were able to convince the Canadian Government to match, dollar for dollar , every dollar raised, towards the Lebanese Red Cross .
At that moment, our fundraiser was completed so we considered donating it through the LCC in order to get it matched by the Canadian government.
However, we were told it wouldn’t directly go to the Lebanese Red Cross but to the Canadian Red Cross first, which wasn’t an issue but we stayed pending.
We were then told that the raised funds would go to the Humanitarian Coalition (HC) to be distributed in Lebanon.
The Humanitarian Coalition (HC) is an alliance between a dozen or so Canadian aid organizations and charities:
Action Against Hunger
Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR)
Care Canada
Doctors of the World
· Humanity & Inclusion
Islamic Relief
Oxfam Canada
Oxfam Quebec
Plan International