British imam Adam Kelwick sought moments of joy amid the desolation during his humanitarian trip to Syria which included an iftar in Homs.
The Liverpool-based chaplain who heads the city’s Abdullah Quilliam Mosque – the UK’s oldest – travelled to Damascus and other Syrian cities this week to give out food parcels and money as part of the charitable work that Muslims undertake during Ramadan.
On Thursday, he hosted 120 street cleaners from Homs, in western Syria, for the meal to break the Ramadan fast. “These are the people who work hard day and night in the service of others, and the people who cleaned up the city after the previous regime had left,” Mr Kelwick told The National.
They came in their light blue uniforms and danced at the end of the meal, singing: “You are Syrian and free.”
Mr Kelwick was struck by the hope and optimism of Syrians as they try to pick up the pieces and recover their homes in a country that was torn apart by civil war and the Assad regime for decades.
“The feeling on the ground is that anything is better than former regime. Even if people have issues with the new one,” he said.
This month, clashes in Syria's coastal region between fighters loyal to deposed president Bashar Al Assad and forces of the interim government resulted about 1,000 people – including many civilians from the Alawite minority – being killed. This has raised fears over how the government will treat the country's minorities.
The visible destruction and depopulation of major cities like Homs, which had remained under the control of the Assad regime, is overwhelming, says Mr Kelwick.
“I was expecting the situation to be bad but it’s much worse than I can ever imagine. You’re going past gutted building after gutted building,” he said.
Mr Kelwick travelled as a volunteer with Action for Humanity, a UK charity previously known as Syria Relief. Though the charity had received British government funding in the past, much of this has been “substantially cut and reduced”, he said, as priorities shifted to Ukraine in 2022.
He called for more aid funding to Syria, stressing that this should come “without strings attached”, despite Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cuts to foreign aid announced last month.
Mr Kelwick is known for having defused far-right riots outside his mosque last summer following the Southport attacks, by inviting in some of the rioters.
Days before his trip to Damascus, he attended an iftar at Downing Street with Mr Starmer.
Mr Kelwick had been to Syria before during the civil war that began in 2011, but only to the north-western region that was held by the opposition to the Assad regime. He had worked for years with refugees in northern Syria, including on a project to build villages for people living in tents in the towns of Afrin and Azaz, in Aleppo governorate.
This week marked his first trip to areas formerly controlled by the Assad regime, where Mr Kelwick witnessed the thousands of people returning to their devastated homes.
Upon his arrival to Damascus, he went straight to the village of Jobar on the outskirts of the city, which came under heavy shelling by the Syrian army during the civil war.
“We didn’t see a single building suitable to live in. The population there was 350,000 and now it’s empty,” he said.
They met the cemetery’s caretaker Abu Fahd, who told them how he’d stayed behind after the bombing to bury hundreds of bodies, including his own father and son. Throughout the visit, women came to Abu Fahd to ask where they could find their husband’s burial place, said Mr Kelwick.
Another stop was the town of Kafr Zita in western Syria, north of the city of Hama and south of Idlib, where residents were returning after more than a decade of displacement. The Assad regime launched a chemical attack there in 2014, and most of the population fled to Atma tent camp in Idlib.
But there was very little left of the town for them to go back to. Raifa, a resident who lost her husband and son among other relatives during the war, told Kelwick that she felt “a mixture of happiness and sadness” about returning to her destroyed home. “Our homes are damaged and we’ve lost so much,” she said.
He compared the destruction to what he had seen in Mosul, in northern Iraq, which was seized by ISIS In 2014. Much of the city was destroyed in the battle by US-led coalition and Iraqi forces to remove the militants in 2017. Mr Kelwick visited in the aftermath of the war. “You feel like they’re playing a computer game where the aim is to destroy everything,” he said.
In Syria, residents told him how their applications for building permits to rebuild their homes were repeatedly ignored under the former regime. Regime forces would loot the steel reinforcements of destroyed homes to sell as scrap.
A silver lining is that this neglect serves as evidence today of the Assad regime's war crimes. “Now the evidence is everywhere,” Mr Kelwick said.
And though he has yet to meet any of the returning families he had known from earlier trips to north-west Syria, he expects to bump into them soon. “It’s only a matter of time,” he said.
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Ashes 2019 schedule
August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
