The initiative aims to “bring together the Lebanese community in Portugal and promote Lebanese restaurants in Lisbon”, at the same time that the restaurants direct part of the profits to the Caram Portugal association, which then sends them to partner organizations on the ground.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned on Friday of the “extremely worrying” situation in Lebanon, where there is a “real risk” of a humanitarian catastrophe, with more than a million people, a fifth of the population, displaced in the country due to Israeli attacks.
“The situation is very difficult at the moment. The economy was already bad in Lebanon and now it is even worse. We have a very, very catastrophic humanitarian situation”, Antoine Kassis, president of Caram Portugal, told Lusa.
“We do not express opinions on politics or religion, what interests us is the humanitarian side. And when you see children and families sleeping in tents and not eating every day, this goes beyond any political or religious discussion, this is the priority”, said the head of the association.
Antoine Kassis highlighted the resilience of the Lebanese people.
“What saves Lebanon is that the people are very resilient, but sometimes the downside is that they can accept and go through a lot,” he said, lamenting: “Behind this resilience, we forget the trauma of children, the psychological problems of people, even adults, because people just need to survive and eat.”
Chef Cynthia Bitar, from Touta, one of the participating restaurants, described to Lusa that “it is very frustrating” to be away from family and friends.
“It’s a very difficult time to be away, but we continue to look for ways to help, as best we can,” said the chef, who reported a “very, very complicated situation” in her country.
“There are thousands of families on the streets, without homes and with very limited access to food. Therefore, we are trying to collaborate as much as possible to provide as much help as possible to our people in Lebanon,” he said.
On April 1st, the chef will prepare a menu designed especially for this event, proposing a combination of Middle Eastern flavors, such as ‘hommos’ with pine nuts and olive oil with ‘sujuk’, and Portuguese, such as squid from the Azores or Alentejo black pork.
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