Normally the day after tomorrow would be a party at tapas restaurant Prestige in Meppel. Then the case is five years old. Owner Wisam Machool’s big smile shows that he is proud of it. But it’s not a party. “Given the situation in Syria, that is not appropriate,” he says.
Together with his daughter Nathali, he has started a fundraising campaign for the victims of the earthquakes in Syria on behalf of Prestige – Tapas & Lounge. “The situation is very bad,” says Nathali. “There is great poverty, families have been torn apart, everything has become more expensive and people have no shelter,” she says.
Wisam and his family came to the Netherlands from Syria in 2000 for medical reasons. Nathali was born in 2002 in an asylum seekers’ center near Amsterdam. When he came to the Netherlands, there was no war in his country yet. His roots are in Kfar Ram, a small village near Homs. There was heavy fighting there during the war. And the earthquake has also wreaked havoc.
They still have family living in Syria. They all live on the edge of the earthquake zone. For example, his parents still live in Kfar Ram. They are all unharmed. “They did notice. They all have minor damage.” Yet the two know enough personal suffering. Wisam: “A friend with whom I work a lot has lost his entire family. Three entire families in his family have died. He has lost 22 relatives. I find that very sad. That you are the only one left of the family.” He remains silent for a moment.
Immediately after the earthquake on February 6 in Turkey, they started thinking about what they could do for the victims in Syria. They really focus on the Syrians. After years of war in the country, this was yet another major blow. “Buildings were already weak with bullet holes in the wall. Then a small tremor is enough to make it collapse,” says his daughter.
Due to the sanctions that countries imposed against the Syrian regime, aid was difficult to get started. “Humanitarian aid was allowed to enter the country. Blankets were allowed, but an excavator was not allowed to enter the country,” says Nathali. “Yes, then it doesn’t make much sense.”
The aid workers, like the United Nations, are concerned about a possible spike in the number of cholera infections. There was already a shortage of clean water in many places in the country, but the water and sewage infrastructure have been severely damaged by the earthquakes.
With their crowdfunding campaign, they are aiming for 5000 euros. The counter is now at just over 1600 euros. “Actually, 5,000 euros is nothing compared to what is needed,” says Wisam. “If you see what is needed. Medicines, groceries and literally houses. People now have to survive in a tent. That is terrible.” His daughter adds that life has become ten times more expensive in the meantime. “You can hardly get anything.” In addition to the crowdfunding, part of the restaurant’s turnover also goes to charity.
That is not Giro555 or the Red Cross. Nathali says they contacted the church her father used to attend in Syria. That church is affiliated with AMU, a global organization that has been working for some time to help people in need. They have daily contact with people from this organization. This way they know that all the money is well spent.
“What you notice is that there is a lot of money left behind somewhere,” she says. “It has to go along all kinds of roads. At every intermediate point something is left behind.” Her father sees that much of the aid does not reach the people of Syria in the end. In this organization, the AMU, they are confident that that will not happen. “We can put the organization in touch with locations where help is needed. It’s very direct,” says Wisam.
A smile appears on his face again. There is no longer any talk about the situation in his homeland. It is about the frog legs of his tapas restaurant with Arabic and Spanish cuisine. “That’s a specialty. Yes, they are tasty!”
Prestige’s social media refer to the crowdfunding campaign.