In Aleppo... "The Word" Works in the Cause of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

I have written before to "The Woman's Voice" a piece about the "Georges Salem" charitable foundation for vocational education. Today it pleases me to send another word, about two charitable institutions of the "Kalima" Society, also in the city of Aleppo, headed by the jurist Mr. Fathallah Sakkal, formerly Minister of Public Works and Communications, who has all but abandoned the profession of the law in order to satisfy his spiritual hunger with the food of piety and charity, and to enlist himself in the defense of the most wretched of men, those most in need of mercy and compassion — not in the halls of the courts, but in the quarters of the city. And who could be in greater need of mercy and relief than an old man whom the days have robbed of youth and strength, stripped of children, kin, and money, and given him, against his will, old age, weakness, loneliness, and poverty, to face pains and the specters of despair and humiliation, deprived even of people's sympathy?! Or than a poor sick man groaning under the nightmare of illness, sometimes gasping out his breath from pain, with no money to intercede for him with the doctors and the pharmacists?! To the service of these two unfortunates Mr. Sakkal has volunteered himself, offering his money, his learning, and his time, supported by a select company of the men of Aleppo distinguished by nobility of feeling.

The "Kalima" Society administers two charitable institutions, the first of which is the Home for the Aged. This home was founded by Father Boulos Qojaqji in 1924 in the Sissi quarter, an old quarter of Aleppo whose streets are narrow and full of turnings, its houses packed so close together that they crowd one another for light and air. Father Boulos left Aleppo after handing this small institution over to Mr. Sakkal in 1929. And if the credit belongs to Father Boulos for embodying this noble sentiment and bringing it into being in this institution, praise is owed him too, for he knew how to choose for it the man who would tend it and nourish it with his affection and his labors, so that it would grow and take firm root, and some of the distressed and the wretched would find shelter in its shade.

No sooner had Mr. Sakkal received this small, wholesome seedling than he loved it and grew devoted to it, and set his mind on bringing it out into a broad, spacious air, where the light is bright, the air pure, and the view charming — to the Sabil quarter, the quarter of palaces, where the upper class resides. And since Mr. Sakkal was sincere with a true sincerity toward this institution, he saw no course but to be the first of the donors: he gave it a plot of land, and his wife, Mrs. Kita, gave a sum from her own money; her family, the house of the late Albert Homsi, donated what their open-handedness afforded, and afterward they donated forty thousand Syrian liras to the hospital project. And no sooner did residents and emigrants sense the sincerity of the Home for the Aged project than they answered the call of humanity with generosity and willing hearts. Yet the project remained under a deficit of 10,000 Syrian liras, until God provided it with a man from abroad who came and asked to stay in the Home for the Aged for a little more than three years. This emigrant was the late Bashir Khawwam: he paid the 10,000 Syrian liras, and he inspired Mr. Sakkal with the idea of building a modern hospital to serve the poor, presenting him with 1,500 Egyptian liras and a house worth 500 gold liras. And thus

the idea of the hospital was born, and the work of charity widened. Mr. Sakkal went on exerting tremendous efforts to realize this project despite the enormity of the costs. He paid from his own pocket 500 gold liras toward the purchase price of a plot of land adjoining the "Home for the Aged," and he set about stirring the zeal of generous souls; donations poured in upon him, and in eight years of unbroken struggle the hospital rose — it had cost a million and a quarter million Syrian liras — and behold, it is the grandest palace in the quarter of palaces.

Curiosity drove me to visit this hospital, unique of its kind in our country. No sooner had I stepped into its spacious lobby than my eye fell upon a marble plaque engraved with this famous saying of Pasteur's: "Are you ill? Are you in despair? It is not for me to ask about your creed, nor about your nationality, nor about your denomination. You are suffering, and that is enough. Come, let me hold you to my breast; come, let me strive to heal you with all the knowledge and love that I have been given." Hardly had I finished reading this inscription when I felt that I was inside a building made not of stone but of human love, striving to cool the pains of the wretched and the sick without distinction between religions and races.

And as I went about among the rooms, I saw above nearly every room a marble plaque on which was written the name of the benefactor, man or woman, in acknowledgment of their kindness. And I marveled at this great number of noble, generous souls who had answered the call of mercy.

The hospital consists of five floors containing 105 rooms and 35 modern bathrooms, all warmed by central heating. In the examination rooms are the newest machines for X-rays, along with operating tables and bone-setting equipment. The hospital holds 120 beds, 40 of them first class, 40 second class, and 40 third class, which is free of charge. The means of comfort are the same in all classes, and the third class differs from its sisters only in the number of beds, which in no case exceeds 3 persons. What the first two classes pay serves to secure the expenses of the third.

And in truth it must be said that this hospital has no equal in all our Arab lands — as was attested by the French physician Pasteur Vallery-Radot, grandson of the famous physician Pasteur, when he visited the hospital and said: "I fear this hospital may rival the most modern hospitals of Paris!"

I went out into the hospital's beautiful garden, and there I saw a statue of Mr. Sakkal, erected by the members of the Kalima Society in appreciation of his great efforts and his devoted services.

Then I entered the "Home for the Aged," and behold, it is a great house surrounded by greenery and flowers. How my soul delighted when my eye fell upon a number of old women scattered along the porticoes, warming themselves in the sunlight, the signs of health plain upon their faces, cleanliness and tidiness in their clothing and in the hair of their heads, crowned with dignified white. I entered their rooms and found them clean and neat, the beds topped with quilts and blankets of gleaming white. The number of the aged, men and women together, comes to 54 persons of all religions, and they are not asked to pay a single piaster nor to perform any services. At their service are the cook, the sweeper, the ironer of clothes, and even the hairdresser.

And if the world outside was a hell to them, the Home for the Aged is their paradise in the flesh. I was told that Mrs. Kita Sakkal, Mr. Sakkal's wife, keeps watch over the comfort of these happy folk; and that she and her friends come on every occasion bringing sweets and fine foods, put on aprons, wait upon these happy folk themselves, and do everything in their power by way of amusement to bring joy and gladness to their hearts.

I came away from these two institutions all astonishment, delight, and pride at what I had seen, and I visited Mr. Sakkal at his office to seek some further information from him. He received me most graciously, and when I acquainted him with my purpose he kindly answered my questions, and in his voice was a ring of modesty, sincerity, resolve, and strength.

I said: What moved you to bear these many burdens for the sake of these two institutions?
He answered: That goes back to an inclination toward work in the social field which I inherited from my mother.

— And did you obtain your wife's consent before embarking on this work?...
— He smiled and said: Could I ever have crossed my wife? Indeed I will say that but for her encouragement and her support, in thought and in means, I could not have gone forward with my plan.

— And what were the means you used to gather funds of such a magnitude?
— We enlisted literature: we held oratorical gatherings to speak to the people about our projects. And we made use of the magazine "Al-Kalima," which had the greatest share in stirring zeal and gallantry in the breasts of our countrymen, residents and emigrants alike. It may surprise you to learn that among the foremost of the benefactors were people known for tightfistedness and penny-pinching, who presented me with "purses" of

gold liras... We also called upon the well-to-do of the city in their homes and their shops and asked their help, and not one of them was grudging, whatever his denomination. Likewise we appealed to our esteemed government, which donated 130 thousand Syrian liras toward the building of the hospital.

— No doubt you have toiled a great deal?
— Yes; but this toil vanishes when I see the first poor man walk out of the hospital cured.

— And when will you begin admitting patients?
— We began just a few days ago. The chief physician has arrived from Europe — he is one of the celebrated doctors — and we are now appointing the rest of the physicians and assistants. Only a few days more, and the work will be running its natural course.

I thanked Mr. Sakkal for his kind reception and went out full of admiration for this lofty spirit, asking God to multiply men like him and like his companions in this humane work; and to give our women wisdom, that they may support their men with courage and daring in works of charity and patriotism, and raise their children in a true, humane upbringing, so that they may be a beacon and a harbor to guide those who wander aimlessly, engulfed by the darknesses of life, the hands of misery and pain pressing upon their hearts. I went out asking God to release these powers latent in our souls in the cause of truth, goodness, and beauty.