Earlier this month my Spotify music account was hacked. The offending asshole* changed the primary email and password of my account, locking me out of it (how rude!). The team at Spotify were awesome and managed to give me back control of my music but the bastard had deleted all my playlists. Now, it’s one thing to steal someone’s music. But to delete my playlists was just a dirty thing to do and I was furious. Especially because one of those playlists included more than seven hours of music for a very special party we’re having in Melbourne when we visit in September. Shit just got personal. And I was all set to write an entire ejo devoted to cussing this guy out, and giving him what for.
So, what happened? Well, perspective, I guess. As you know, it’s that Ramadan time of year. A time when Muslims around the world show their devotion to god by fasting – refraining from eating food and drinking water during daylight hours. Doing this must be difficult at the best of times – but when you add abject poverty, housing that is unfit to live in, zero social standing and a lack of even the most basic of human rights to the mix, it becomes downright intolerable.
So, I had the choice of fretting over some random dick depriving me of my music for 24 hours, or I could get off my ass and organise an Iftar handout for a few men. I chose the latter. For the uninitiated, Iftar is the meal that breaks the daily Ramadan fast when the sun goes down. It’s a big deal in Dubai, with every restaurant in the city offering huge buffet feasts for the privileged amongst us. A recent article in a local newspaper highlighted the incalculable waste produced by these buffets. The amount of food that gets thrown away is simply mindboggling. Especially when you think about the masses of less fortunate, unseen people, hidden away in the industrial desert areas of the city. The men who work exhausting hours, struggling to scrape together the equivalent of AUD290 a month (working six days a week, fourteen hours a day), most of which they send back home to their families.
I posted my intentions on Facebook and within a couple of days we had raised enough money to feed 470 men. Four hundred and seventy men!!!!!! I want to thank each and every person who donated money for this worthy cause. Unfortunately, none of you could join us for the fun part of actually giving out the meals, so I thought that on this occasion I would put a face to your donations in the hope that it personalises your contribution. Check out the photos below to find out who you bought a meal for.
The guys at Two Seasons Restaurant who prepared the 470 meals with love and care – and even helped us load the boxes into the cars.
Michelle H., your empathy directly impacted on this guy.
Nicole C., thanks to your generosity, this guy had a nice Iftar meal to break his fast. He was just one of many that you helped.
Mari S., this guy ate a delicious dinner because of your thoughtful donation.
Simon K., this man was so grateful for the meal he received from you.
Beth, Tim, Charley and Xavier – this is one of the guys you made very happy on Tuesday.
Craig A., this dude said a heartfelt thank you to David – but it was meant for you.
Pieta S., this man’s smile and gratitude are thanks to you.
Adrian R., this man got to eat well on Tuesday because of your contribution.
Sam A., your compassion meant that this man had a tasty hot meal for Iftar.
Melinda N., this guy was very shy when taking his meal, but also so very grateful – to you.
Zimmy K., this man’s smile is one of so many – thanks to your incredibly generous donation.
Guy S., you totally made this guy’s day!
Matthew T., this man doesn’t know you but he directly experienced your kindness.
Nancy L., this young man was surprised at the offer of free food, and so thankful for the meal you bought for him.
Cindy C., your substantial donation made this man (and many others) very happy.
Nic M., your deep generosity meant that this man didn’t have to worry about where his dinner was coming from on Tuesday.
Svet M., we moved some money around and made sure that your donation was given to this man – and several others during the handout.
Vicki D., the look on this man’s face is so heartwarming. He is smiling because of you.
Sam H., your substantial contribution gave joy to many men. This is one of them.
Karien M., you are the reason this man is smiling.
Yani, for me this guy says it all. He just couldn’t stop smiling while waiting in line for his meal – and then his smile got even bigger when David handed it to him. Your helping hand is the reason for his happiness.
For those of you who would like to contribute to our next handout, I’ve got a rippa idea! I’m super keen to organise an ice-cream truck handout. Yes, of course it’s wonderful (truly wonderful) to do a food handout but how amazing would it be to gift ice-creams!!! Think back to when you were a kid and you heard the ice-cream truck melody floating down the street on a hot summer evening, announcing the imminent arrival of THE ICE-CREAM MAN!!!! Don’t we all share the unadulterated joy associated with that? Wouldn’t that be an incredible thing to give these men, whose lives are so bereft of the simple pleasures we take for granted. So, I’m planning on doing this in a couple of months – around October. I won’t announce it anywhere else except Facebook so if you are interested and aren’t my Facebook friend (boohoo for you) shoot me an email/message through the comments section of this post.
Seriously, I love this guy!!!!
* OK, I can’t help myself. The email address of the pond-scum who hacked my Spotify account is joesalisbury_13@outlook.com. Feel free to bombard this mofo with spam, random subscriptions and stern emails about respecting other people’s privacy.
Chryss In Dubai 