Thousands of people have donated time, money and books to help rebuild a bookshop in Gaza that was destroyed by Israeli missiles in May.
After a "visceral" reaction to seeing a photo of the bombed site, writer and human rights lawyer Mahvish Rukhsana contacted the shop’s owner, Samir Mansour, with an offer of help.
"It wasn't just his bookstore. It was the medical bookstore next door and it was multiple bookstores and this whole street called University Avenue," she told The National at her home, where the rooms are now stacked with donated books.
This has been my life. I established it and built it and in a split second it's all gone.
Samir Mansour
“Knowledge is a source of empowerment and a means of escape and I felt that, as a book lover myself, this was an easy way for everybody to tangibly feel how these people must have felt. It was such a huge loss.”
Rukhsana requested help to rebuild Mansour’s shop and thousands of books flooded in to several collection points across the world, including London.
“It's not about race or religion," said Farah, a volunteer in the UK capital. She said that because people were "taking away the little that these people have, if we can help in any way or form then it’s fantastic”.
The Samir Mansour Bookshop had been running for 21 years and employed 10 people. Up to 90,000 books were destroyed in the air strike during the 11-day conflict that killed more than 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
Standing amid the rubble that used to be his shop, Mr Mansour told The National he was in complete shock after the attack.
“This has been my life. I established it and built it and in a split second it’s all gone,” he said.
He was only 200 metres from the two-storey shop when he saw the missile hit and his life’s work disappear.
“I felt my soul leave my body when I saw the building come down,” said Mr Mansour, holding a partially shredded book that he salvaged from the rubble.
An important pillar of society in Gaza, Rukhsana was concerned that the bookshop would not be a priority in any post-conflict relief and rebuilding efforts from international organisations.
A 14-year Israeli blockade on Gaza means the import of any raw materials is subject to approval, meaning goods can be limited and expensive.
It's just a tragedy and it's one we've got to redress.
Clive Stafford Smith
After getting fellow human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith on board, the organisers set up a GoFundMe page and raised $100,000 within three days.
Thousands of donations later and that figure has passed $200,000. The money will go towards rebuilding the shop as well as establishing a new project – the Gaza Cultural Centre, a library where books are free to borrow.
"Gaza has so little and the people there who want to make something of their lives have so little opportunity," Mr Stafford Smith told The National. "Here is Samir doing a tremendous service for all the youth and other people in Gaza. It's just a tragedy and it's one we've got to redress."
The two are now trying to identify missile fragments in the rubble and hold the manufacturers responsible for the destruction.
“I think these people don’t just need to be held to account, they need to be shamed that they’re making a big profit out of this madness, so that perhaps we can move people to a rather more civilised world,” Mr Stafford Smith said.
Heartened by the widespread generosity, the organisers are now hoping to use the campaign as a way of creating links between people in Gaza and the rest of the world by asking for short messages and email address to be written inside the books donated, “so that the recipient in Gaza ... has a contact with the outside [world]".
"And hopefully those human contacts will make us view the people of Gaza as human beings as opposed to just targets.”
Mansour says the generosity and kindness he witnessed since the bombing has helped him recover and look to the future.
“It really does lift our spirits and helps me to go on when I see people helping me in this way. It pushes me to rebuild and hopefully it will be better and stronger than before,” he said.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
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11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
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The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
