BROOK PARK, Ohio — Even from thousands of miles away, Northeast Ohioans are finding ways to help connect Brook Park to the Middle East through compassion and community.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted to hold peace talks between Israel and Lebanon. But as Israel continues its strikes—aimed at disarming Hezbollah—civilians on the ground are paying the price.
We spoke with people here in Northeast Ohio who are personally impacted by the bombardment—and how they’re working to help those in need.
“I understand that it's a war, but what I really feel most for are the innocent civilians,” said Ramez Islambouli, the President of MACE Islamic Center.
Islambouli is from Lebanon but now lives in Cleveland, where he worries every day about his family still there.
“I talked to my sister, and she said the sound of the drone whizzing and hovering around the buildings—the fear is which apartment is it going to hit,” Islambouli said.
While some relatives are okay, others have already lost everything.
“They said that, yes, buildings have been destroyed, but also, water lines have been destroyed. Electric wires have been stored. No shops, nothing,” said Islambouli.
He says it’s hard to watch devastation with no way to help.
“It's a feeling of helplessness. It’s like you see a lot of killing, a lot of destruction, and you tell yourself, what can I do?” Islambouli said.
That same feeling is shared by the owner of Express Deli in Brook Park, Micho Aboukhaled, who is also Lebanese.
“We can sit back and watch, which feels horrible and helpless,” Aboukhaled said.
So, he decided to take action by raising money for the Lebanese Red Cross.
“We just wanted to do something to help push the needle forward in helping the humanitarian efforts,” Aboukhaled said.
On the menu is a Beirut chicken wrap, and for every wrap sold from Friday, April 10, through Friday, April 17, the deli is donating the proceeds to the Lebanese Red Cross.
“All the sales will get tallied at the end of the week, and we're going to donate the entire portion. We're not going to take out anything for our costs, nothing,” Aboukhaled said.
While we were there, we watched customer after customer order the wrap. It didn’t surprise Islambouli when he learned what Express Deli was doing.
“This is typical of Lebanese. We are very connected to our country. We are very proud of our country. We are very proud of being Lebanese, and it brings us together,” Islambouli said.
Though one wrap can’t stop the strikes, it can strengthen a community coming together to help.
“All we want is to see the Lebanese people and the people of the region, not just the Lebanese people, thrive and prosper and not have to just survive through war,” Aboukhaled said.
“I hope that we have wise leadership that can truly promote peace in the area and stability and a true ceasefire,” Islambouli said.
Express Deli is located at 5185 Smith Road, Brook Park. CLICK HERE for more information.
Nadeen Abusada is a Cuyahoga County and immigration reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Instagram NadeenAbusada or email her at Nadeen.Abusada@wews.com.
