A Palestinian activist and his companions appeared on social media from a room they claimed was in Gaza. They vowed not to leave the room until they collected $10 million in donations to build a children’s hospital in Gaza. They stated that the campaign had the approval of the Kuwaiti government, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and Hamas, and that a Kuwaiti charity association would be in charge of collecting the donations. The image looked convincing, and donations poured in quickly within hours. None of the donors questioned the truth behind this campaign or its hidden goals.
Everyone believed they would receive a reward from God, as He would punish anyone behind the campaign if they were dishonest. The House of straw quickly began to collapse when the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced its lack of knowledge about the project. The second blow came when the position of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the campaign was revealed, expressing its displeasure with the Palestinian side.
Professor Mohammad Al-Wahib, credited with exposing this scandal, had previously addressed the “reasons for unease” in an article published a few days ago. He highlighted the Palestinian activist’s prior involvement in a campaign to raise $700,000 for an unknown organization in Sweden, as well as his exploitation of another campaign to raise $300,000 for renovating his own home in Gaza.
The Palestinian activist had documented all of this in YouTube videos! People’s money is sacred, and it is the government’s responsibility to protect citizens and residents from any fraudulent attempts. This Kuwaiti charity association had successfully raised more than $12 million, but, likely, the association has often pondered the following logical questions. Perhaps it chose to ignore these questions, regardless of their number, due to its large share of donations.
1. Who will be responsible for constructing the hospital? And when will it be built?
2. Is there a functioning government in Gaza, a Ministry of Public Works, a Ministry of Health, or an institution qualified to prepare plans and issue permits?
3. Is there a bank where the donations can be safely stored? The entire Gaza Strip is devoid of oversight. There is no authority, no police, no municipality, no permits, and no supervision. The plight and suffering of the people of Gaza are unprecedented. They are in dire need of safety, food, and water, and not the construction of a multi-million dollar hospital, the completion date of which remains unknown.
4. To claim that Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for overseeing Kuwaiti humanitarian work abroad is closer to a sick joke than reality. For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out this task, it would require an army of engineers, accountants, supervisors, and other professionals, in addition to a massive budget to cover their travel and transportation throughout various countries hosting charity activities, whether in Europe, Africa, the Arab world, or Islamic nations. This would certainly be even more challenging in a region like Gaza.
5. The Palestinian activist’s announcement of the launch of his campaign, particularly restricting it to a specific association in Kuwait, raises huge suspicion. Why wasn’t the field opened to other countries and associations? The answer is well known.
6. Why was the collection of donations limited to a specific collection company, in exchange for a high commission, while other companies, including the free K-Net, were ignored? As mentioned in our colleague Al- Wahib’s article, it is reported that the Palestinian Authority is about to file a complaint regarding the use and exploitation of its name in the fundraising campaign. What is the association’s position in this matter?
The above questions pertain to this campaign, as well as the rest of the Kuwaiti association’s campaigns, and others that cover “war zones” without specifying the details. These questions also extend to dozens of campaigns in Yemen, Rohingya camps, Bangladesh, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, and Jerusalem, all of which require the presence of thousands of government employees to oversee them.
We urge the Minister of Social Affairs to immediately begin revoking all fundraising campaign licenses for all associations, especially those operating outside Kuwait. No one can confirm the validity of these associations’ objectives. The funds collected should be redirected to the “Gharmeen” project, which is facing a significant deficit.
By Ahmad alsarraf
email: [email protected]
