Hand in Hand for Syria
Hand in Hand for Syria is a UK registered charity incorporated on 13 February 2012[1] and its web site was set up on 1 March 2012. Channel 4 reports that it was "formed from within the Syrian diaspora [in 2012] in response to a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the region"[2]. The organisation came to prominence through "Dr Rola", who was apparently working as a volunteer during an alleged Napalm attack on a school in the village of Orum Alkubra in Aleppo on 26 August 2013.[3] As of 31 August 2013 the charity had failed to file any accounting information.
Relationship With the Syrian Opposition
According to the UK charity commission, "an organisation cannot be a charity if it has a 'political purpose'."[4] As a UK charity, Hand in Hand for Syria is therefore explicitly prohibited from "furthering the interests of a particular political party" or from "securing or opposing any change in the law, whether in the UK or overseas".[4]
Logo
As in the case of World for Libya, it is clear from a comparison of the charity logo and the flag of the Syrian National Opposition (right) that the charity aligns itself with the aims of the rebellion in the Syrian civil war.
Staff
Staff of Hand in Hand for Syria include Dr Rola and Dr Saleyha Ahsan.
Name
In its 29 July 2011 founding statement, Free Syrian Army leader Colonel Riad al-Asaad said:
... We announce the formation of the free Syrian army to work hand in hand with the people to achieve freedom and dignity to bring this regime down, protect the revolution and the country’s resources, and stand in the face of the irresponsible military machine that protects the regime.”[5]
Is this congruence of name and FSA objectives just coincidence? Is the name's similarity with World for Libya, also worked just another coincidence?
Relationship to World For Libya
- Full article: World for Libya
- Full article: World for Libya
Hand in Hand for Syria has no known acknowledged connection to World For Libya, a UK charity registered 8 months earlier. However, the parallels are striking:- both sport a logo indicative of a political affiliation to a rebel group. Moreover, both have been assisted by film maker and medic Dr Saleyha Ahsan.
References
- ↑ Charity Commission - Statutory information on 'Hand-in-Hand-for-Syria' at 31 August 2013
- ↑ Syria - where medicine is a weapon of war, Channel 4 report of Jan 23, 2013
- ↑ Hand in Hand for Syria - Home page
- ↑ a b UK Charity Commission, What Makes a Charity? Annex B - Political Purposes
- ↑ FSA Founding Statement - Asharq al-Awsat web site, accessed 1 October 2013
