Assalaamu Alaiykum;
May Allah bless all those who have given selflessly to the people of Dominica, with health, wealth and success. May Allah keep all those kind and generous souls in his protection forever. May Allah bless all of you and your family on the day of judgment! May Allah Make This World a Better Place to live for us and our children. May He keep us on the straight path. May He give us the opportunity to die as Muslims and give us the best in this world and here after. Aameen.
Alhamdulillah, Dominica is on its way to recovery and may Allah make their journey an easy one; Aameen, but what about the other cries that is being heard from next door. Is it that we have forgotten them? Yes, indeed we have forgotten them. Those people of Haiti, how difficult it must be for them? The population is largely constituted of descendants of African Slaves who gained independence from France in 1804; in what became known as the mother of all revolutions; for which we owe a wealth of gratitude. However, civil unrest, poverty and natural disasters have left the country crippled. In fact, it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. In addition, the country is still recovering from massive disasters that span from 1564 to present.
In more recent times there was the great flood of 1989 where 4,945 families were affected, 1,527 houses destroyed with another, 1,640 damaged. Hurricane Gordon in 1994 killed 2,000 people. In 1998 Hurricane George took the lives of 147 persons with an additional 40 unaccounted for, seriously injuring 34 and displacing 167,000. Another flood in the year 2002 claimed 31 lives with 14 more being unaccounted for and 700 displaced. Again in 2004 torrential rains caused the deaths of 1,232 persons and 1,443 disappearances with 130 being displaced. In that same year Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne struck taking with them the lives of 4,870, injuring 2,620 with a significant 846 unaccounted for and displacing 300,000. In 2005 hurricane Dennis left more than 500 homeless. October of that same year Hurricane Wilma and Tropical Storm Alpha struck causing much destruction. November of 2006 heavy rain caused flooding damaging roadways and the collapse of a bridge. Heavy floods in 2007 caused considerable damage to several regions including a bridge which links Haiti to the Dominican Republic. The effects of Hurricane Hanna in 2008 and Tropical storm Fay caused widespread damage but it was nothing compared to Hurricane Gustav of the same year which caused the deaths of 77 persons, 8 persons disappearing, 15,000 families were affected after the storm destroyed 3,000 houses and damaged 11,458. They were speared later of the same year when Hurricane Ike a category 4 merely touched the west coast. Heavy rains again in 2009 caused wide spread flooding in the southern part of the country. In 2010 there was another kind of disaster of epic proportions. Two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 and 6.1 respectively accompanied by many aftershocks measuring 5 to 5.9. This horrific event killed an estimated 316,000 people and widespread destruction of property. Later that same year a cholera epidemic gripped the areas surrounding Port-au-Prince killing at least 3,597 and sickening over 340,000. One month after; another nightmare, this time Hurricane Thomas hits mainland and killed 10 Haitians causing damages and worsening the cholera epidemic. another attempt by nature causing catastrophic flooding was Hurricane Matthew in 2016, killing 580 persons leaving 35,000 homeless. And now Presently in 2017, Hurricane Irma which brought strong winds lots of heavy rain and flooding.
After highlighting those disasters that were within recent years not to mention the 30 other catastrophes in previous years. There is no surprise that Haiti is the most impoverished country in the western hemisphere. Question is how is Haiti compared to Dominica and would they ever recover?
Our Haitian brothers and sisters reached out to us over the past two weeks and has asked for our help in whichever way we can. They have suffered lots of losses and damages to property and injury and death to animals and humans. They have a registered organization Ordeprogresia (Organization for development and the Islamic progress in Haiti) and is urgently requiring from your collaboration and financial support during this difficult period to relief the Muslim brothers and sisters and other persons who are taking shelter in their Masjid in Gonaïves City, Jeremie, Nan Sud Area, Marchand Dessaline, Port de Paix and Bochamp. (See images attached).
Your financial support will be very useful and would go a long way in rebuilding confidence and hope in the Haitian people: They need foods, clothes, hygienic articles, water, etc. For further information please contact brother Sajeed Ul Rehman via phone or WhatsApp @ +50934330583.
May Allah protect all of you and your families and give all of you many blessings of abundance, good health and success in this life and success in the hereafter. Aameen.
Umar Abdullah
Head of Waajihatul Islaamiyyah (The Islamic Front)
Tel: +18687870765 or +18683656253
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