2023-06-30 11:00:57
It is true that the financial crisis that Lebanon is going through imposed a difficult reality on the hospital and pharmaceutical sector in Lebanon, but the initiatives that come from expatriates abroad warm hearts and confirm that the difficulties will be broken and the country will remain steadfast, no matter how severe the challenges.
From Canada to Beirut, a very important step is being implemented by Lebanese expatriates in terms of the health and drug situation in their home country.. Indeed, what is happening is not normal at all and deserves to be highlighted strongly, and the reason is that this initiative that is being implemented saves hundreds of lives in Lebanon amid medical suffering And here is the most important and prominent point.. What do the expatriates do? What is their remarkable step and initiative towards Lebanon?
During the past years, a number of expatriates in Canada established the so-called “Cedar Union”, which is a gathering concerned with meeting the Lebanese in emigration first and with the help of the countrymen in Lebanon. After the Beirut port explosion in 2020, the aforementioned union sought to work to provide medicines to the Lebanese for free, by shipping them to Beirut.
More precisely, the “Cedar Union” is primarily concerned with providing some health authorities in Lebanon with “free” cancer medicines, a step that constituted a positive turning point in the lives of many, especially children.
In the context, Albert Suleiman, a Lebanese expatriate in Canada and one of the founders of the “Cedar Union” told Lebanon 24, “Communication with the various health authorities in Lebanon is ongoing and ongoing, specifically with those concerned with cancer treatment, for example, St. Jude Hospital.” He cares regarding children afflicted with malignant disease.” He added, “Our goal is always to help our country. It is true that we left Lebanon and moved to another country, but our country did not leave us, and it remains in our hearts, and we always seek to help it from our sites and from abroad.”
In his speech, Suleiman explains the mechanism of helping Lebanon with cancer medicines, and lists the following steps:
1- At first, we contacted our people in Lebanon to find out the drug needs, and following exploring the situation, it became clear that the demand for cancer drugs is very high.
2- Of course, in Canada we need a legal context through which we can guarantee the transportation of medicines to Lebanon. For this purpose, we contracted with the Canadian company “HPIC”. In short, this aforementioned company receives free drug offerings from various companies involved in the drug industry, and through it, drugs can be shipped to any country in the world.
3- During the recent period, the name “Cedar Union” has become included in the list of “HPIC” company, and since our request is focused on cancer drugs, the company informs us immediately regarding any drug assistance it receives within the framework of the mentioned drugs. Here, we give the company notice that we need that help, and all that happens is that we pay them for shipping the medicines via containers or by air.
4- In practice, we do not pay the price of medicines, not even the aforementioned company. All that matters is that the cost that we incur is related only to shipping. Here, Lebanese expatriates enter the line, and sums of money are collected to secure the freight cost set by HPIC. After that, we send the shipment to Lebanon, and it is delivered to the parties with whom we have previously communicated, and the main condition is that the beneficiaries receive these medicines for free and without any cost.
According to Suleiman, these medicines enter Lebanon legally, and a new shipment is expected to arrive in Beirut very soon, and he adds: “In order to finance the costs of shipping the medicine, the union establishes various activities, the proceeds of which go back to the aforementioned matter. Here cooperation is possible and what we see is that The Lebanese never skimp on his country, and the most important thing is that we help our children and our families in Lebanon and provide them with medicine within the available means.
In sum, it can be said that what the “Cedar Union” is doing in Canada is not only ideal, but it is a patriotic act par excellence and simulates the humanity that is still rooted in the hearts of the Lebanese wherever they are. They will always be…
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