Every night during the month of Ramadan, members of a motorbike club take to the streets of Damascus, Syria to deliver food to those in need during the Muslim holy month. Apart from the fast breaking menu, they also distribute food for sahur.
“We are targeting the most disadvantaged areas,” said Tarek Obaid, head of Hope Bikers, which together with 50 volunteers makes and distributes food for various charities in the Syrian capital.
These motorcyclists (some of whom have beards or wear large silver rings on their fingers), go out before sunset until before Suhoor to deliver food so that their Muslim recipients can fast the next day.
These volunteers wore their club’s signature blue vests, the front and back embroidered with their respective club symbols and the Syrian flag.
“They help for humanitarian or moral reasons,” Obaid said. This charity activity at least also reduces the negative stigma of motorbikes who are considered wild. “Before, people avoided motorbike clubs, but now they like to see our blue (vests) or hear the sound of our motorbikes,” Obaid told AFP.
The group says it has no political affiliation and has members across religious lines. “People already know us, they smile at us, they love us,” Obaid said.
Also read: Indonesia condemns Israel for attacking the Iranian Embassy in Damascus
Syria has been ravaged by 13 years of war that has killed more than half a million people and battered the country’s economy and infrastructure. According to the UN, around 90% of the country’s population is in poverty.
This motorbike club started its volunteer work during the Covid-19 pandemic by transporting oxygen cylinders to those in need. When the pandemic subsided, the motorcyclists turned their attention to other things, including helping the victims of the earthquake in February last year that hit parts of Syria, killing around 6,000 people there.
They are also part of organizing, together with non-governmental organizations, and helping with recreational activities for orphaned children.
Also read: Iran vows to respond to Israel’s attack on Damascus
During Ramadan, these volunteers gather in a charity kitchen in Damascus to prepare vegetables, meat and rice, then package the food to be distributed.
They wore silver, black or bright yellow helmets, ready to ride off into the sunset, this time to a retirement home on the outskirts of Damascus.
These motorbike riders move swiftly through busy areas, avoiding heavy traffic to deliver food for breaking the fast and sahur to the poor.
They dig into their own pockets, including for petrol. “The problem is that sometimes we have difficulty getting fuel”= because of its scarcity and high price, said George Hafteh, 37, a photographer and member of a motorbike club.
Fellow club member Amer Totanji, 31, who works for a private company, said he was happy with what he could do with his motorbike club. “This motorbike is more than just a mode of transportation and has become a means of helping people in need,” he stressed. (AFP/M-3)
#Sahur #Road #Ala #Biker #Damascus