DAMASCUS, SYRIA – It was the eleventh day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah or the first day of Tasyrik. In Indonesia, Eid-ul-Adha falls on June 29, 2023, while in Syria it falls on June 28, 2023.
It’s been two times since we celebrated Eid-ul-Adha in the Land of Shaam, a land of knowledge other than Egypt and Yemen. Usually, we only gather and mingle with our families, but this time it was different. We were trusted by Dompet Dhuafa to slaughter five cows that will be distributed to the people of Damascus in several locations. The qurbani meat distribution by Dompet Dhuafa was done through a program called Tebar Hewan Kurban (THK).
Together with 17 PCINU Syria personnel led by Habib El-Rahman, we have been preparing since morning in Suq al-Hal wa al-Luhum to carry out the slaughtering process. No obstacles occurred in this session, but as the afternoon wore on, the butcher was not sure if he would be able to finish the slaughtering process by 5 p.m. local time.
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Armed with the confidence that this mandate from Dompet Dhuafa can be carried out smoothly, each cow can be completed in half an hour. Without waiting for everything to be finished, each cow that was slaughtered was immediately distributed to their respective places.
The first location was Jami Manjak in the Maidan area. The team distributed qurbani meat to 110 families. The second location was in the Assaker area, or more precisely in Mahad Fatah Al-Islami. There, there were around 205 families waiting for the arrival of the qurbani committee. The third location was in Jam’iyah al-Anshoriyah al-Khoiriyyah in Abdul Ghani al-Nabulsi sub-district. The team managed to provide meat to 168 families. The last location was Jam’iyah al-Ghaits al-Khoiriyyah located in al-Sholahiyah. Here, 160 families received qurbani meat.
In total, 643 bags of meat were distributed to 643 families.
The THK Dompet Dhuafa program in Damascus received a very positive response from various parties. Sheikh Umar Rajab Dieb, Advisor of Jam’iyah al-Ghaits al-Khairiyah said that his party would support all activities of this program.
“We really appreciate the Qurbani event organized by one of the Indonesian institutions in Damascus, we are ready to help all processes and cooperate for the success of the agenda,” said Sheikh Umar Rajab Dieb.
Damascus was chosen as the distribution location because there are still many refugees from the Syrian conflict from 2011-2018. These refugees are scattered in various points and affiliated with local organizations. Dompet Dhuafa through PCINU Syria certainly implements this program in collaboration with other related parties.
This THK Dompet Dhuafa program completes our Eid-ul-Adha. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text: Ahmad Beghtas
Photo: PCINU Syria
Editors: Riza Muthohar, Dhika Prabowo