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The Clooney’s Donation to COVID-19 Relief Efforts

the Clooney's donationThe COVID-19 pandemic has impacted millions of lives all around the world, causing more than three million deaths globally as of April 2021. The pandemic has caused rapidly rising poverty levels due to economic shutdowns and widespread job losses. In 2020, the pandemic-induced, newly impoverished population is expected to stand between 119 and 124 million people. In 2021, this number is expected to rise to between 143 and 163 million people. Many celebrities are using their platforms to contribute to COVID-19 relief efforts, including George and Amal Clooney, who have prioritized philanthropy throughout the majority of their careers. The Clooney’s donation to COVID-19 relief efforts aims to cushion the impact of COVID-19, especially for vulnerable populations.

The Clooneys COVID-19 Relief Efforts

The Clooneys donated more than $1 million to COVID-19 relief efforts in 2020. Hollywood’s power couple has directed the donation to six different organizations, both domestic and international, aiming to relieve the strain COVID-19 has put on the world. The Clooneys graciously donated $300,000 to three particular international beneficiaries: the Lebanese Food Bank, the Lombardy region of Italy and the National Health Service COVID-19 appeal.

The Lebanese Food Bank

Like the rest of the world, the pandemic has harshly impacted Lebanon. Lebanon has reported more than 540,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 7,700 deaths as of May 30, 2021. On top of that, nearly 50% of Lebanon’s population lives below the poverty line. Lebanon was enduring an economic crisis even before the COVID-19 pandemic came about. In terms of food security, according to an ESCWA report, almost 50% of Lebanese people express concerns about their ability to obtain adequate food, with 31% reporting that they had not eaten “healthy and nutritious food” for a year.

The Lebanese Food Bank plays a vital role in ensuring impoverished people in Lebanon are able to access food. The organization accomplished this “by collecting wasted food of good quality and impartially distributing it to charities and people in need.” However, with the increasing food insecurity due to COVID-19, the Lebanese Food Bank is in need of donations to help expand its reach. The donation from the Clooneys is a personal ode from the couple as Amal Clooney is of Lebanese-British descent.

Lombardo Italy Region

The donation to the Lombardo Italy Region is also particularly significant to the Clooneys who have lived there for many years. The money will go to local hospitals in the region. Since the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected Italy. The country has recorded more than four million total cases and more than 121,000 deaths as of May 1, 2021. Lombardy has the most recorded cases in the country.

The Lombardy Italy Region was overwhelmed by the first wave of the global pandemic. Doctors were pushed to ration ventilators and hospital beds, unable to cope with the influx of patients and limited resources. About three-quarters of hospital beds in Lombardy were filled with COVID-19 patients at the peak of the pandemic, almost double the level considered dangerous by the National Health Ministry. This was mostly due to a lack of coordination between private and public healthcare systems and facilities. The Clooney’s donation will certainly ease the strain on healthcare in Lombardy during COVID-19.

National Health Service COVID-19 Appeal

The U.K. has also suffered greatly during the pandemic, with more than four million cases and 127,000 deaths recorded as of May 30, 2021. Between March and December 2020, more than 850 frontline medical workers reportedly died from COVID-19. Frontline medical workers have struggled with the mental health consequences that come with being an essential working during a pandemic. More than 21% of surveyed National Health Service (NHS) workers reported “high levels of depression compared with 5% before the pandemic.”

Considering these circumstances, the Clooney’s donation will provide vital relief to NHS frontline workers treating infected patients. The NHS has provided support services to health and care workers throughout the pandemic. In addition, the NHS also provides staff with mental health services as well as “specialist bereavement support.”

The Clooneys have chosen to use their celebrity platforms for a humanitarian cause, publicly supporting COVID-19 relief efforts, and hopefully, inspiring others to follow their lead.

– Simran Pasricha
Photo: Flickr

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Relief for Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
In an essay on humanitarian purpose, Ilana Feldman expressed a sentiment that many humanitarian workers share. She expressed hopelessness in her ability to alter the lives of suffering Palestinians. She believes that this despondency has led many humanitarian workers to promote endurance and resilience within a harsh reality. Instead of a determination to alter this reality, Palestinian refugees must endure it, including those in Lebanon. This hopelessness was not as prevalent in 1947.

The Nakba

Between 1947 and 1949, the flight of Palestinians reached staggering numbers. By 1949, approximately 750,000 Palestinians had fled Israel. According to the Palestinian narrative, these refugees underwent forcible expulsion. In fact, evidence exists to suggest this. One Israeli intelligence document estimates that 75% of Palestinians fled as a result of Zionist military action. Israelis claim otherwise.

Their flight followed the U.N. partition plan. In 1947, because of increasing feuds between the Palestinian, British and Jewish inhabitants of Palestine, the British decided to end its mandate over Palestine and transfer control to the U.N. general assembly. The U.N. chose to partition Palestine into two separate states. The Jews would receive around 56% of the land, and the Arabs would receive around 43%.

The majority of Arabs, however, experienced disillusionment with this outcome, as their population outweighed Jews by more than half a million. Thus, the ensuing war led to what Arabs term the nakba or the catastrophe and what Zionists term the Israeli War for Independence. This nomenclature highlights the contrasting narratives of the Palestinians-Israeli conflict.

After the Israeli victory in 1948, many of the 750,000 Palestinian refugees fled to neighboring countries. One of these countries was Lebanon. Today, the number of Palestinian refugees has risen to approximately 5 million. As many as 476,000 reside in Lebanon and are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

The Weight of Economic Decline on Palestinians

On August 4, 2020,  catastrophe plagued Lebanon. A port in Beirut housing ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical, exploded. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 178 people have died and 300,000 people are homeless as a result of the explosion. These conspicuous hardships accompany economic decline.

Approximately half the population lives below the poverty line, and the Lebanese currency has dropped by 80%. Before the explosion and the rise of COVID-19, the debt was nearly $80 billion, the third-highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world. Some ascribed this economic crisis to corruption. Others believed it was the vestiges of the 15-year Lebanese civil war. Today, the debt is $93.4 billion, an 8.9% increase from February 2020.

Such circumstances have disproportionately affected Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The financial crisis has fostered a decline in services provided by the UNRWA, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA). For years, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon could not obtain employment in as many as 39 different professions.

Today, the financial crisis has bred unemployment for the few Palestinians fortunate enough to receive employment in Lebanon. In conjunction with inadequate electricity and a lack of clean water, the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon have also experienced a spike in depression.

Conclusion

Despite grim circumstances, various organizations—the Lebanese Red Cross, the Lebanese Food Bank, Impact Lebanon and the Amel Association–have raised millions of dollars to assuage the economic and health-related impacts of the explosion. Additionally, the UNRWA is ameliorating the spread of COVID-19. Efforts range from regular sterilization of camps to education on the virus for Palestinian refugees. Much more can occur to acknowledge the plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and the opportunity to return to their self-proclaimed homeland is still a distant hope. But these efforts do not simply contribute to endurance for Palestinian refugees. They do not amount to a default outcome. Though they should feel unsatisfying to any ambitious humanitarian worker, they still render real-world outcomes for Palestinian refugees. Amid growing hopelessness, that is nonetheless something to praise.

– Blake Dysinger
Photo: Flickr