BK Reader.com | Where to Get a Free Iftar Meal in Brooklyn
Called “Iftar On The Go”, the newly-announced event will distribute numerous zero-cost halal meals at Brooklyn’s Muslim American Society Youth Center over the course of four evenings in March and April.
“ Nonprofits Islamic Relief USA and Muslim American Society New York are partnering with the Office of NYC Comptroller to hand out free iftar meals to Brooklyn residents in need.
Called “Iftar On The Go”, the newly-announced event will distribute numerous zero-cost halal meals at Brooklyn’s Muslim American Society Youth Center over the course of four evenings in March and April, served on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Iftar is the Arabic name of the meal that breaks the daily Ramadan fast.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Islamic Relief USA CEO Sharif Aly both say that the purpose of the “Iftar On The Go” event is to help aid Muslim New Yorkers during Ramadan by providing access to suitable meals amidst a time when food insecurity is a prevalent issue in NYC.
“Communities in need should not have to worry where their next meal is coming from. Ensuring Muslim New Yorkers have access to culturally appropriate food this Ramadan is crucial for addressing food insecurity …” said Comptroller Brad Lander.
“Ramadan is an opportunity for Muslims around the world to strengthen their connection to their Creator and their empathy toward others. Islamic Relief USA is honored to join the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s Office again this year to help meet the growing needs of the community during a time of significant economic hardship,” said Aly.
“As we witness inflation continue to rise, reduction in SNAP benefits, and a failure to increase the federal minimum wage in over 10 years, it is imperative that we take bold steps to ensure our neighbors are able to maintain a dignified quality of life,”
The fast-breaking meal distribution event is set to take place at 1933 Bath Ave. on March 26, April 2, April 9, and April 16, beginning at 6:00pm each day. ”
“A humanitarian aid worker participating in rescue efforts in Turkey described the first 72 hours after the area was hit by a devastating earthquake as “unprecedented.”
Salah Aboulgasem, 36, told BuzzFeed News via a late-night WhatsApp call that the level of destruction is even worse than it seems.
“I’m sure that the images that are being shown all around the world are very difficult,” he said. “But seeing it here, meeting people, looking into the eyes and seeing the suffering that people are facing is something [at a] completely different level.”
Aboulgasem, who has 16 years’ experience in humanitarian aid, is a worker with Islamic Relief, a nonprofit organization that has been assisting search and rescue teams by providing shelter, medical aid, and food in Turkey and Syria in response to the deadly earthquakes. He arrived in Gaziantep, a province in southern Turkey, on Monday to aid in the emergency response efforts after the region experienced a catastrophic 7.8-magnitude earthquake. At least 20,000 people were killed in the disaster.
According to a statement released on Monday, Islamic Relief has launched a $24 million global appeal to provide urgent aid to Turkey and Syria.
Aboulgasem told BuzzFeed News of the painful moments he witnessed working on the ground.
“Every so often you hear screams, and the screams you’re hearing [are] people discovering their family members [have] been taken out of the rubble, dead. It’s really hard,” Aboulgasem said.
Aboulgasem told BuzzFeed News that the area is still experiencing tremors from the original earthquake. Around 70% of the buildings in Nurdaği, a town in the province of Gaziantep, had completely collapsed, he said.
The buildings that remain up are unsafe. Many residents are sleeping in their cars or tents and gathering around fires to keep themselves warm, according to Aboulgasem.
Aboulgasem said he found a man crying in despair hearing his grandchildren under the rubble, more than two days after the earthquake.
“He said, ‘I could hear in the rubble my grandchildren calling out to me, asking me to save them. They’re 2 meters away from me. I can hear them but I can’t get to them,’” Aboulgasem told BuzzFeed News. “There’s nothing more painful I’ve ever sort of felt, in listening to a grandfather talk about the despair of hearing loved ones calling out to them and not being able to do anything to help them.”
Even when a rescue is successful, happiness can be short-lived. Aboulgasem’s team recovered a 20-year-old man from the rubble who was unable to celebrate his own rescue after finding out his father was still trapped.
“So, the rejoic[ing] and happiness of surviving is then taken away very, very quickly by the fact that other family members are still in rubble,” Aboulgasem said.
After three days in Gaziantep, Aboulgasem said rescuers have yet to scratch the surface on this disaster, adding that he thinks at least 10,000 more people are still buried beneath the rubble.
“It’s going to be like this for a while. And therefore, in a week, two weeks, three weeks, we want people to keep thinking of the people of Turkey and the people of Syria,” Aboulgasem said. “
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