Friday 26 / April / 2024
Muscat: This Ramadan, while most of us will be breaking our fast with our families and friends, one kind-hearted Omani will be departing on a mission to provide aid in some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones.
Nasr Al Jadhamy will be transporting more than 100 tonnes of relief supplies, by road, to those who have been most affected by the conflict in Yemen. While travelling to Oman’s southern neighbour during what has been termed as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises is extremely dangerous by itself, Nasr’s Ramadan trip will, incredibly, be his fifth trip to the war-torn nation since 2017.
Nasr is also going to the Palestinian Territories and Somalia to see how he can help those who have been affected in the two regions.
“We have collected more than 100 tonnes of flour, rice, wheat, oil, milk and other food supplies to send to the people in Yemen,” said Nasr, speaking exclusively to the Times of Oman. “We will also bring clothes and blankets to help the people. I will be leaving for Yemen any day now, and will be gone for most of Ramadan, as well as Eid.”
“The last time we went to Yemen, we took with us hospital beds, medicines, oxygen cylinders and wheelchairs for the people in the hospitals,” he recalled. “We decided to do this, because on my third trip, I went to Aden and saw the condition of the children in hospitals. They didn’t have any tubes for the oxygen cylinders so they were using rubber hoses to help the children breathe. I asked them why they were doing this and the hospital said they had no other alternative. I promised myself that I would not let the children suffer.”
“This time, there are people here who want to provide enough things to stock a new hospital, so we are also going to give them syringes and medicines,” added Nasr. “I also met the Prime Minister of Yemen and apologised to him, because I had come to his country without his permission. He said that if my coming to his country was a mistake, then more such mistakes needed to be made.”
Ramadan aid missions are not new to Nasr. He’s been going to Tanzania and other parts of Africa to help those who most needed it over the past 10 years, thanks to the goodwill and willingness of Omanis and expats alike to selflessly collect and donate goods for those whose need is greater. Last year, he helped dig more than 16 wells to provide clean drinking water to locals in Somalia, a journey that ended with him meeting the presidents of both Tanzania and Somalia.
“When I was in Tanzania, one of the people I was working with was the son of the current president, John Magufuli,” recalled Nasr. “He said that among all the people who come here, there is only one Omani we have heard of and that was me. Similarly, when I was in Nairobi, I was put in touch with the fisheries minister of Somalia, and he organised a special flight for me.”
“When I landed in Somalia, I was given a military escort and taken straight to a special hotel, after which I met the president who said that whatever help I needed on the ground would be provided to me.”
While foreign dignitaries are happy to welcome him, his own family is understandably worried about his safety. “My wife, in the beginning, would ask me why I am going to such dangerous places. I would tell her that I am just doing the duty that God has asked me to do, because all of us have a duty to help those who don’t have as much as we do,” said Nasr. “That is also why I am going to make my first trip to Palestine, to see how I can help the people there.”
“We all have a duty to help other people, and I am glad I am able to do so,” he added. “Everywhere I have gone, I have been told by others that Oman is a country that always helps other people, so I am just following the work that other people have done before me.”
