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Annahar
3 days ago
- General
- Annahar
The Stories of She
I still recall the face of this middle-aged man. It was the morning after the first attack on the southern suburb of Beirut in September 2024. I was walking towards the entrance of the building where my office is. There was a group of men delivering drinking water to the different companies in that same building. When I arrived, they were already leaving. One of them approached me and told me in Arabic 'Sabah el Kheir, Hamdella al Saleme' (Good morning, Thank God you are safe).I greeted him back and said, 'Good morning, thank you and same to you'. At first, I thought we know each other but then realized that I have never seen this man before. Suddenly he handed me a thread and told me: 'I was at Lady of Bechouat yesterday and I got these holy threads; this one is for you. Wear it all the time and it will keep you and your family safe' and he moved on. I did not have time to thank him. I freezed looking at the thread and wondering what has just happened. I even did not turn back to see where he went, I don't know why. Our Lady of Bechouat is a highly revered Marian shrine located in the village of Bechouat in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, famous for attributed miracles and as a significant pilgrimage site for both Christians and day went by, as well as the months. Four months of daily airstrikes, and drones flying above our head day and night. It was not the first war that I live and survive, but this one was different. A war that separated my country into safe and unsafe zones, breaking with it social structures, acceptance and tolerance. A war in which your religious confession and geographic location defines if you are safe and if you will survive or not. A war that made you as a Lebanese trust your enemy and attacker, simply by following their official social media channel on which they posted exactly where they will drop their missiles, and you trust them for the info they give you. But some strikes did come unannounced when it was targeting a specific a few weeks, I left Beirut and stayed with my mother in the village. My husband moved to Amman to continue his work, and my son was in South America. As for me, I used to wake up every day, shower, put on my clothes, carry my laptop and drive to the office. Even though our company offered us full flexibility to work from home, I found the strength to keep my daily routine during these four horrible back, I now wonder where I got this strength from. I was never brave during all the previous wars. I was the first one to run and hide in the shelter, and the last one to leave the shelter next day. I cannot deny that I was scared, especially when I heard the missiles flying before hitting their target, a target announced in advance. Our offices were near Beirut, so we heard and saw all the attacks. This war was different. The sounds, the damages, and the destruction was nothing I have seen before. Hundreds of buildings collapsing to the ground in seconds, and people warned in advance and granted some time to leave their life behind them, their memories, their clothes, their belongings. They had enough time to take a few items, leave the building and stand 500 meters away and watch a missile bringing the building to the ground and taking with it everything they I woke up every day, showered, put my clothes on, carried my laptop and drove to the office. On the way to Beirut, I used to see the smoke from the previous night attacks. My hand on the steering wheel and my eyes on Beirut and on the thread around my I wonder who defines justice. Humans? I do not think so, because we proved since we existed as a specie that we are not good at defines humanity? Humans? I think we proved to be the least humane species on then I look around me and I realize that we still have a lot of good people around us. I see people around the world protesting against wars. I hear more and more voices rising loud against how this world is being run and ruled. Voices of good men and women who are fighting for justice and humanity in any way they can. I see people I know and others I do not know, carrying the flag of my country, and going to the streets in their city thousands of miles away, to protest against war and there is also this middle-aged man, who handed me a holy thread one morning. A man I have never seen before. A man whose name I do not know. A stranger who offered me a gift one morning; a gift that would keep me and my family safe. I regret not turning back and asking for his name. Maybe he was an angel. Maybe it was a simple coincidence, but for sure, it made me believe again in humanity.
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Govt launches UMEED portal, Rijiju says it'll add new chapter in history of Waqf property management
The government has launched the UMEED portal, a digital platform for managing Waqf properties, aimed at improving transparency and efficiency. Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju hailed it as a historic step for the benefit of poor Muslims. The portal will create a geo-tagged digital inventory and offer online grievance redressal. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The government on Friday launched the UMEED portal that would create a digital inventory after geo-tagging of all Waqf properties with Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju calling it a historic step that would ensure that community-owned Waqf assets are utilised effectively and fairly for poor UMEED central portal, short for Unified Waqf Management , Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995 will serve as a centralised digital platform for real-time uploading, verification, and monitoring of Waqf properties."The UMEED portal will add a new chapter in the history of Waqf property management and administration in India. It will not only bring transparency but will also help the common Muslims, particularly women and children," Rijiju said after launching the UMEED central portal, developed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, was officially inaugurated in the presence of Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs George it a historic step, Rijiju emphasised that the UMEED central portal is more than just a technological upgrade."It is a symbol of the government's firm commitment to safeguarding the rights of minority communities and ensuring that community-owned Waqf assets are utilised effectively and fairly, for the poor Muslims, for whom, it was originally meant," he in a post on X, he said, "A momentous occasion to launch the 'UMEED' Central Portal (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency & Development Act, 1995) in New Delhi today. MoS @GeorgekurianBjp, officials of @MOMAIndia, States, UTs & Waqf Boards attended online. It's a big step towards better administration & management of Waqf properties across India."The portal aims to improve greater transparency, accountability, and public participation. The key features of the portal include the creation of a digital inventory with geo-tagging of all Waqf also includes an online grievance redressal system for better responsiveness and transparent leasing and usage portal also involves integration with GIS mapping and other e-governance tools and public access to verified records and the gathering, Kurian said the portal is a long-awaited reform that will curb misuse and bring the Waqf administration closer to the people."The system ensures that every property is accounted for and used in accordance with the purpose it was endowed for," he of Minority Affairs Secretary Chandra Shekhar Kumar said he expected the UMEED portal to become the backbone of digital Waqf governance, thereby ensuring that the Waqf assets contribute meaningfully to education, healthcare, livelihood generation and social welfare, especially for underprivileged sections within the Muslim this week, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board had opposed the launch of the portal in view of the petitions against the Waqf (Amendment) Act being pending before the Supreme of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said the new Waqf law introduced by the government is currently under consideration in the Supreme Court and added that all Muslim organisations have rejected it."Opposition parties, human rights organisations, as well as Sikh, Christian, and other minority communities have also declared it unacceptable. However, it is unfortunate that despite this, the government is launching the "Waqf Umeed portal" from June 6 and is making the registration of waqf properties mandatory through it. This action is entirely illegal and clearly constitutes contempt of court," the AIMPLB had said in its statement.
