DEARBORN – “My people and your people, my Syrian Brothers, are dead.  What can be done for those who are dying?  Our lamentations will not satisfy their hunger, and our tears will not quench their thirst. What can we do to save them between the iron paws of hunger?” Kahlil Gibran wrote these words to urge Levantine expatriates’ to aid their suffering country men during World War I.

Almost a century later, Arab Americans are facing similar questions today. What can be done to help Syrians, who are freezing to death in tents, away from their war-torn cities, across the Middle East?

Many people in the community are coming together to find an answer.

Pharmacist Nadia Hider (c) surrounded by her daughters in front of the container of donations after it was filled, on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013. PHOTOS: Ali Harb/TAAN

Nadia’s Pharmacy of Dearborn has sent a container filled with blankets and winter clothes donated by the community to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and Containers for Hope, a humanitarian organization founded by local Syrian Americans, is sending a similar container to Syria by the end of the month.

A vicious storm dubbed “Alexa” hit the Middle East last week, endangering the lives of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, whose only shelter from the storm and the harsh weather is a tent.

Pharmacist Nadia Hider said her four daughters came up with the idea. She and fellow pharmacist Sawsan Berry paid for the costs of sending the container to Lebanon.

“It was the idea of my daughters–Maisa, Alyce, Sareen and Nadeen,” said Hider. 

The Hiders started spreading the word on social media and asking for donations on the evening of Thursday Dec. 12. By Tuesday, Dec. 17, the 40-ft. container was completely filled.

“The response was unbelievable,” said Hider. “We had people dropping off boots, gloves, sweaters, socks and boxes of brand new blankets.”

Hider said her daughters, along with community volunteers, went through the donations to sort out the appropriate items that could be sent to Lebanon.

“We went through every single item and boxed everything,” said Hider. “And we donated the stuff that was not fit to send to the refugees to Zaman International.”

She added that the relief effort was independent and not associated with any organization or governmental agency. When the container arrives in Lebanon, the donations will be distributed to refugees by “trusted individuals.”

“I don’t have one percent doubt that the donations will get to the refugees,” Hider explained. “Individual volunteers will receive the container and disperse the aid through the different refugee camps.” 

The pharmacist stressed the non-political nature of the effort. “It’s strictly humanitarian,” she said.

Maisa, who helped spread the call for donations on social media, said she felt she was compelled to act after hearing a news report of a Syrian child who froze to death.

“These children are not dying of war or chemical warfare. It’s the cold that’s killing them, and it’s preventable,” she said.

Donations for Syrian refugees dropped in front of Nadia’s Pharmacy in Dearborn

Maisa said the community’s response was overwhelmingly positive, adding that the donations came from people of different national and ethnic backgrounds across Metro Detroit.

“Some donations came from people we know are poor,” she said. “The heart is there, but the will to do good needs to be amplified. Everybody wishes to do something about this injustice, but we need more people to take initiative.”

Maisa said she is not overly concerned about the breadth of the impact the donations will make.

“If they save one life, then that would be the point of this whole mission,” she said.

Maisa added that the quick response to fill the container could serve as a example to what the community can achieve while united.

“From this small project, people can take a lesson on unity. People came from Rochester, Toledo and Windsor. We had people calling from Toronto. They were Iraqis, Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians and non-Arabs. It was amazing,” she explained. “I wish we could take this united effort on a bigger level.”

The container, which was shipped on Wednesday morning, will make it to Lebanon in 27 days. Nadia’s Pharmacy is looking into sending another container of aid in partnership with other pharmacies after the first load of donations arrives. The next shipment will include medical supplies, shampoo, toothpaste and other pharmaceutical products.

Meanwhile, Containers for Hope and Women for Humanity are still seeking donations of blankets and coats for a shipment that will be sent to Syria by the end of December.

Containers for Hope, which was formed in June in coordination with the Syrian American Medical Society, has already sent seven aid containers to Syrians inside and outside of Syria. Previous containers have included medical supplies, home goods, medicine and beds. 

“We are working together to collect blankets and coats to refugees inside Syria,” said Containers for Hope organizer Raya Rass. “It is an ongoing project and a collective effort. More humanitarian organizations are joining. Women for Humanity and Sawasia are helping collect donations.”

Rass added that the current container will be sent to Turkey, where a Turkish humanitarian organization will help distribute the donations across the border in Syria.

She said the organization, which is based in Michigan, has garnered support from all over the country and is looking into setting up donation dropoff locations in New Jersey.