Australian Community Raises Dh40,000 for Bushfire Victims.Summary: ABU DHABI Abu Dhabi (ä`b  thä`bē, zä–, dä–), Arab. Abu Zabi, sheikhdom (1995 pop. 928,360), c. - Over 300 Australians, who gathered here for a
candlelight vigil A candelight vigil is an outdoor assembly of people carrying candles, held after sunset. Such events are typically held either to protest at the suffering of some marginalized group of people, or in memory of lives lost to some disease, disaster, massacre or other tragedy. on Saturday evening in memory of the 181 people who
died in bushfires in the state of Victoria recently, raised Dh40,000 by
auctioning different items including a jumper signed by Australian
football Australian football: see under football. team 'Socceroos'.
It was the first of such events organised by the community of around 7,000 people to remember those who lost their lives and properties to the bushfires. Australian Ambassador to the UAE (Uninterruptible Application Error) The name given to a crash in Windows 3.0. In subsequent versions of Windows, a crash was called a "General Protection Fault," "Application Error" or "Illegal Operation." See crash in Windows and abend. Jeremy Bruer hoped more such events could be organised. He said none of the Australians living in the UAE has reported loss of any relative in the fires back home. The vigil was organised by Aussies Abroad, an Abu Dhabi-based social group. Its president, Mohannad Hourani, said the organisation has received a tremendous response from the 
Australian diaspora The Australian diaspora refers to the approximately 750,000 Australian citizens who today live outside Australia. The term includes several hundred thousand who spend some time in the United Kingdom and Europe but return to Australia. . Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE M. Wahid Supriyadi also took part in the vigil as a mark of solidarity with the Australians. Jeremy Bruer led the prayers in memory of the dead, while The Boolas band, which was specially flown in from Australia , played the national anthem and read the poem, "My Country". The participants also observed one 
minute's silence. A jumper signed by Socceroos, the Aussie football team, was auctioned for Dh5,000, while two Etihad Airways Etihad Airways (Arabic: الإتحاد, ʼal-ʻitiħād) is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates. Etihad is based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. return ticket to Melbourne fetched Dh12,500. Hourani said the amount would be forwarded to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009, the officially recognised charity organisation for the collection of 
support money. Hourani said: "We are overwhelmed o·ver·whelm tr.v. o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms 1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline. 2. a. by the number that attended, given the very short notice we gave. People rallied together quickly to show their support." "The need to help is immediate, and the Abu Dhabi community, Australians and friends from many other lands came to the fore. "It was a truly proud moment for us to see so many people come together in the true Aussie spirit and lend a helping hand to our fellow mates in need,"
he said. Australians in Abu Dhabi who wish to donate to the appeal can do so directly to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009 link: www.redcross.org.au/vic or contact Aussies Abroad for
more information. haseebhaider@khaleejtimes.com Copyright [c] 2009 Khaleej Times The Khaleej Times is a daily English language newspaper published in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is published by Galadari Printing and Publishing L.L.C. with the Gulf News being its main competitor. . All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion