Friday, July 17th, was a black day for employees of Lebanon’s most prestigious medical institution. The American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) had to fire over 800 employees in the middle of a harsh economic crisis.
Enraged by the unfair decision, former employees and Lebanese citizens protested in front of AUBMC’s gates.
Anticipating the people’s reactions, AUBMC requested earlier the Lebanese Army to be on-site during the scandal.
People took to Twitter to express their anger and disappointment in such decisions believing that it is their right to protest.
The Lebanese are fed up from the current circumstances, power outage for several hours per day, daily increased prices, and all these compounding crises. This scandal seemed to be the cherry on top.
But, here is some good news for these health workers who have been Lebanon’s heroes for months. Some Lebanese, who are able to help, are stepping in to offer them job opportunities in their field.
A Certified Transformative Life Coach, holder of a Masters in Community and Public Health Nursing, took to Instagram to do just that.
Her name is Cynthia Rizkallah, an AUB graduate herself, and she’s using her Instagram to spread the word about providing the laid-off nurses with new jobs.
“Job opportunities for nurses who lost their jobs yesterday,” she captioned her video post.
“A lot of moms are asking me about nurses, and specifically nurses who lost their jobs yesterday, if they would be willing to come and help with moms who just gave birth.”
Cynthia Rizkallah
Interested nurses need to contact Cynthia with their full name, gender, age, years of experience, and willingness to travel.
For more information, visit her Instagram page and check out her story highlights “Nurses” for more details about the job vacancies.
In parallel, a fitness personal trainer named Khalil Msann is now using his Instagram to help the AUBMC’s laid-off nurses.
He urges people looking for nurses to contact him so that he’ll post the available positions. “Together we can help,” he concluded his public message, encouraging all to do something about the nurses’ plight.
Check out his Instagram profile and click on the “Let’s Help” story highlights for more information.
If you or anyone you know are looking for health workers, or are among those who lost their jobs, you know what to do. These are the first two Lebanese stepping up to help and, knowing our nation, more will, soon enough.
If you just want to help, share these posts or this article with your network. As coach Msann said, “Together we can help.”
