Jordan Times
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Queen urges citizens to assist
Lebanese, Palestinians
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Tuesday said Jordanians are expressing
their sympathy with Lebanon and Palestine through action, rather than words.
During a visit to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), the Queen
said the Jordanian people are struck by “grief, pain and sorrow when they see
what is going on in Gaza and Lebanon... the killings and the destruction of
civil installations.”
However, she added, “they do not stop at [expressing] sentiments; but rather
translate these feelings into deeds.”
The work of the charity, she said, has helped Jordanians “translate their
feelings into action.”
Jordanians feel proud that JHCO has succeeded in breaking the blockade imposed
on Lebanon, she told the meeting, which was attended by HRH Prince Rashid,
JHCO’s chairman of the board of trustees, and its president, Abdul Salam Abbadi.
She said the charity, which is Jordan’s relief assistance arm, has built high
credibility and proved to be an effective link between Jordan and other
countries as a relief agency.
“Returning the smile to the faces of the Lebanese who lost their family members,
houses and interests is worthy of such efforts and more,” Queen Rania said.
But the JHCO still needs publicity.
Awareness campaigns, she said, should not be designed only to target the general
public on the work of the charity, but also to attract them as partners in the
philanthropic efforts of the agency.
Queen Rania thanked the private sector for its role in supporting the mission
and goals of the JHCO, and praised the remarkable contributions to JHCO’s
efforts by the Jordan Armed Forces, especially the mobile hospital the army has
set up in Lebanon, which has so far dealt with thousands of cases, offering
medical care to Lebanese affected by the ongoing Israeli attacks.
The Royal Jordanian Air Force has for years been working hand-in-hand with the
charity, putting its C130s at the disposal of the charity’s campaigns.
Abbadi said at the meeting that so far, Jordan has dispatched 22 planes laden
with relief aid to Lebanon, while a total of 210 convoys have been sent to
Palestine over the past few years.
The charity has also cooperated with the Jordan TV for a telethon during which
it raised hundreds of thousands in donations for the Lebanese and Palestinian
peoples.
The Queen underlined the efforts exerted by His Majesty King Abdullah to work
out peaceful solutions to regional conflicts through a unified Arab stand.
At the onset of the meeting, Prince Rashid briefed the Queen on the mission and
structure of the JHCO, noting that catastrophe-hit countries like Iran, Pakistan
and Sudan have been recipients of the organisation’s services, in addition to
Lebanon and Palestine.
Upon directives of the Queen, another civil society institution, the Jordan
River Foundation, has embarked on a campaign to raise donations for Lebanon and
Palestine.
Her Majesty has also recorded televised public messages, broadcast on several
satellite channels, urging people to help Lebanon.