[WATCH] Lebanese chef Hany Harb leads chefs to Beirut to assist victims of explosion

Ali Baba chef-patron Hany Harb and his friends raise €41,000 for NGOs assisting displaced victims of Beirut explosion and will assist in feeding effort

Hany Harb, alongside other volunteers at Malta International Airport
Hany Harb, alongside other volunteers at Malta International Airport
Lebanese chef Hany Harb leads chefs to Beirut to assist victims of explosion

Chef-patron Hany Harb, owner of Lebanese restaurant Ali Baba, today Monday set out along with a group of volunteers from his establishment to travel to Beirut where they will help people in the Lebanese capital whose homes are devastated by the explosion of a chemicals stash in the port.

Harb set out together with chefs Jean Galea Souchet, Robert Bonello, Rafel Sammut of ‘Briju’ Restaurant, Zack Demarco, Marko Pavlovic as well as help from his wife Claudienne, having raised €41,000 in support of their effort.

“We are still receiving donations and when we get back we will thank each and every one personally. In the meantime, the amazing and unbelievable sum of €41,000 has been collected to benefit the ones that have lost their livelihoods after the explosion. Lebanon thanks you all and we have all this energy because of such incredible support,” Harb, who is of Lebanese parentage, said.

His father Abdul Rahman founded the popular Gzira restaurant when he settled in Malta.

Hany Harb (left)
Hany Harb (left)

Hany Harb said that after the explosion it took hours to get into contact with his family and know they were safe. “That minute was life-changing,” he said. Harb said from that moment he had the urge to go to Beruit to help, and he was not alone in lending his services to the people of Beirut.

The money donated will go to various reputable NGOs to help the people of Beruit.

On 4 August at around 6pm local time a large explosion rocked the Lebanese capital, causing widespread damage, killing at least 200 people and injuring 4,000 others. The roof of a port warehouse caught alight and there was a large initial explosion, followed by a series of smaller blasts that some witnesses said sounded like fireworks going off. About 30 seconds after, there was a colossal explosion that sent a mushroom cloud into the air and a supersonic blast-wave radiating through the city.

President Michel Aoun said the cause was 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate which had been stored unsafely in a warehouse for six years.

Previously the Maltese government donated €50,000 from the development assistance for Beruit on the grounds of humanitarian efforts after the explosion.

You can follow Harb’s journey while in Beruit by visiting Ali Baba’s Facebook page.