Emirati humanitarian diplomacy...the Red Crescent is a model

Over the course of four decades, the UAE Red Crescent’s journey has constituted a pioneering humanitarian model in the Arab world and among the countries of the region, in terms of its ability to quickly respond and provide relief to the peoples of the world during crises without discrimination between one people and another.

This journey was not limited to crises, and although the Emirates Red Crescent launched exceptional campaigns during the circumstances of wars, calamities and natural disasters, it was also able to achieve an important principle in charitable work, that is, sustainability through humanitarian programs such as sponsoring patients, orphans, and poor families, And students, and guarantees for the provision of treatment, and other innovative programs within the UAE and in the Arab countries. Indeed, the campaigns of the Emirates Red Crescent, which were distinguished by leadership and innovation, were diverse and were a model to be emulated in humanitarian work in terms of empowerment projects, endowment, housing insurance, and labor support programs. During crises such as the Corona pandemic, and much of what the UAE community provided through its generous donations to the Authority, and the role, which succeeded in gaining the trust of partner institutions and individuals.

The Emirates Red Crescent would not have existed without that good spirit that was instilled in us by the founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him, who was a leader of humanitarian work, and established this approach among the people of the Emirates, and every Emirati citizen was influenced by him in his view of... The peoples of the world, and to its humanitarian role, in accordance with our social nature, while the leadership of the state, may God protect it, reinforces this good approach that indicates the nobility of the people of the Emirates, and their inclination to help the peoples of the world, until the UAE Red Crescent’s aid reached the countries and peoples of the world, from Philippines to Somalia, Sudan to Malaysia, Bosnia to Pakistan, Mauritania, Comoros, Indonesia, India, Syria, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, China, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Iraq, Jordan, Chad, Senegal, Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Ethiopia, South Africa, Niger. Without distinction between one people and another, on the basis of nationality, race, religion, or origin.

Wherever there was a need, the people of the Emirates and the Emirates Red Crescent teams were present in the field. We realize the meaning of chivalry and its meaning in charitable work... to plunder crisis sites, nor the dangers to carry out our mission.

The UAE Red Crescent model is a pioneering model in terms of its ability to professionally plan campaigns, and its ability to implement and reach all dangerous sites, due to the state’s well-established position and acceptance among the countries of the world. This role enhances the state’s soft power, which is a force that only aims to achieve peace, security and well-being. Preserving human life first, and this is the real soft power of states these days, that is, the state being a humanitarian model that enhances life.

The exceptional circumstances that the Palestinian brothers are going through have been painful for all of us, and I do not forget that when I received the wounded and sick people of the Gaza Strip who arrived via Emirates planes through coordination with sister Egypt, I told them that we are suffering for them, and we do not sleep at night in the face of their suffering, and we pray for them, and we were Here we express our heartbeat toward our brothers in Palestine, especially since the UAE’s support for Palestine is not new, and we have stations that extend historically and across decades, in the Gaza Strip, before the current war, in the West Bank and its camps, and in the city of Jerusalem. These are renewed bonds that move all emotions within us. And motivations to help our brothers there.

We believe in the importance of mobilizing the power of humanity to support the oppressed, and the efforts of the Emirates Red Crescent are part of the efforts of the institutions of the Emirates. We integrate and partner with us, because the name of the Emirates here has become synonymous with humanity, and its translation on the ground, and it is natural, then, that the effort of the Emirates Red Crescent Towards ancient and extended Palestine, as the Authority had previously succeeded in reconstructing the Jenin camp in Palestine, built the Sheikh Zayed suburb in Jerusalem, established the Emirati neighborhood in Rafah, and built 100 housing units in the West Bank, in addition to contributing to Al-Aqsa University’s infrastructure and renovating homes. Beit Hanoun in Gaza, and the same applies to the efforts these days when we proudly help the brothers of Arabism and blood in the Gaza Strip.

All these efforts also succeeded thanks to the will of the people of the Emirates, and the effective partnership with Arab and foreign countries, such as Jordan and Egypt, leading to cooperation with international institutions, because the goal is to provide relief to the people of the Gaza Strip.

Just as a reminder, rather than counting deaf numbers in the face of a devastating humanitarian crisis, we point to the efforts of the UAE state, which resulted in more than 33,000 tons of urgent supplies transported via 1,243 trucks and 320 flights. We also point to the UAE aid ships that docked at Al-Arish Airport. Al-Masry transported more than 13,190 tons of relief supplies, and what the UAE and the World Central Kitchen Foundation did when they successfully completed, and in a historical precedent, the delivery of 1,352 tons of food aid to the Gaza Strip by sea and delivered it to the north of the Strip.

With all this, the establishment of the Emirati field hospital in the Gaza Strip, the Emirati floating hospital in the Gaza Strip, and the Emirates Humanitarian City receiving the wounded and sick from the Gaza Strip, and transferring them to hospitals via a continuous air bridge, after the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, President of the State, may God protect him. “By treating 1,000 wounded Palestinian children and 1,000 people suffering from cancer from the Gaza Strip in state hospitals, where more than 698 sick or wounded Gazans, in addition to 764 of their companions, have actually arrived in the state, via 17 flights, confirms that the state is harnessing all capabilities to support our brothers.” Palestinians.

These blessed efforts, including the airdrops carried out by crews belonging to the UAE Air Force directly or in cooperation with Egypt and Jordan, within the “Birds of Good” operation, come on the basis of professional planning for humanitarian campaigns. I refer here to the achievements achieved by the “The Gallant Knight 3” campaign. And to what the people of the Emirates and residents of the country have provided through the “Tarahum” campaign and the diversity that the Emirati efforts represent, which did not exclude anything, from water desalination plants, through bakeries, all the way to holiday clothing, and cash donations to international institutions.

These exceptional circumstances in the Gaza Strip enter their ninth month today, and as we face this difficult and painful scene, we realize that we have a lot to offer the Gazans, and we only want to alleviate their suffering, amidst this ordeal, and if the Emirates Red Crescent was one of the first Arab and international institutions to enter the Strip at the beginning of the war, This confirms the sincerity of our feelings towards the families in the sector, just as we always realize that our role is continuing, especially since the coming period may be the most difficult in terms of the sector’s needs, and we in the Emirates Red Crescent are part of an Emirati system that focuses on humanitarian work, and we integrate together in achieving the goals of The message of the Emirates, its leadership, government and people, in accordance with the spirit of goodness instilled in the conscience of every Emirati, this inherited and authentic spirit, generation after generation, a spirit that is recognized by everyone who knows the Emirates closely, or lived in it, or visited it.

We will remain alongside the brothers in Gaza, and the Emirates Red Crescent and all the institutions of the UAE with which we partner will remain on the same path, supporting the brothers, and standing alongside the peoples of the world, without favoring anyone.

*Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Red Crescent Authority