ABU DHABI // An appeal to raise money to help rebuild war-torn Yemen has reached Dh64.6 million in five days.
While some of the money for the Yemen: We Care campaign came from large single donations, from companies and individuals, the majority has come in smaller donations from generous members of the public.
The financial contributions were made by SMS or through the purchase of coupons from Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) kiosks in shopping malls.
Fahad Abdulrahman bin Sultan, deputy secretary general at the ERC, said that a lot of goods had also been donated.
“We hope to achieve financial revenues that meet the needs of the Yemeni people and their many requirements,” said Mr bin Sultan.
“The finances from the campaign will be allocated to relief programmes and rehabilitation projects.”
The focus is on helping to rebuild the education and health sectors, as well as reconstructing water, electricity and sanitation networks, he said.
“The authority is accepting all kinds of donations and all are urged to give in any way they can,” Mr bin Sultan said.
While donations of all kinds were welcome, “we consider financial donations to be a priority as they directly help in the developmental phase of the country”, he said.
The ERC has made it a priority to provide relief whenever there is a crisis or catastrophe, Mr bin Sultan said.
So far, more than 15,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid have been sent to Yemen, including nine relief ships and land convoys through Saudi Arabia. This effort has benefited about 124,000 families, or about 620,000 individuals,” said Mr bin Sultan.
In the next phase, the ERC will focus on refurbishing 153 schools, which will provide places for 138,000 children.
The ERC’s efforts will also include the refurbishment of medical facilities – including five large hospitals and nine clinics – and 40 water wells in Aden, which serve 450,000 people, so that the population has clean drinking water.
“The authority is also studying the maintenance of sanitation facilities,” said Mr bin Sultan.
ERC officials have conducted a field survey in the province around Aden to find the areas that are most in need of assistance, with a focus on health, education, and basic services.
“The next phase will be the implementation process starting in Aden and moving to the nearby provinces that now are stable after the current events,” he said.
The ERC has a delegation of employees and volunteers based in Yemen, as well as using Yemenis to aid in executing the plans and supervising the processes “since they are more aware of the complications on the ground”, Mr bin Sultan said.
Next week, the ERC will also distribute donation coupons at UAE schools to give pupils the chance to participate in the charitable efforts.
aalkhoori@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Martin Sabbagh profile
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Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
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