Mohamed Sabbah (video) and Karim Badra (concept) have teamed up with actress Nour Tayeh to produce the short film ‘The story of Souad, in Honor of Ali’ (حكاية سعاد… من أجل علي عبدالله)
Souad is a homeless person who was left on the streets. She stays there waiting, waiting for her loved ones to come back. But they don’t.
Souad’s story may be fictional but anyone living in Lebanon would know that it is far from being unique.
This short film was produced in honor of the late Ali Abdallah, a man ignored in life, turned into a symbol in death. I was among the dozens of Lebanese bloggers who urged action so that his fate wouldn’t be repeated but it took the dedication of men like Sabbah and Badra and women like Tayeh to make an actual difference.
The story of Souad is the story of many. It was the story of Ali Abdallah, and is the story of many who remain invisible and unseen. Find Ali is created in the hope that every man, woman, and child in need are seen and helped.
قصة سعاد هي قصة الكثيرين، فهي حكاية كل محتاج غير مرئي في لبنان. “فايند علي” هي مبادرة أنشئت أملا أن يصبح كل رجل، إمرأة، وطفل محتاج في لبنان مرئي
This is how their project ‘Finding Ali, Invisible No More’ works:
1- Go to the project’s website
2- Click on ‘Submit a report’
3- You’ll be redirected to a page that has many boxes.
- Report Title (e.g.: homeless man found on bliss street),
- Description (e.g.: include all available info),
- You can modify the date and time (it starts automatically at your current time)
- Choose appropriate Category: Medicine, Blankets & Clothes, Education, Food, Shelter, Unknown, Urgent, Trusted Reports
- What does He/She looks like?
- Location Name. Here you can also use the map to pinpoint the exact location
- News Source Link: Was he/she reported in the news?
- External Video Link: Was he/she recorded on video?
- Upload Photos: Do you have his/her photo?
- Submit
You can get e-mail alerts (enter your e-mail here and confirm the link they’ll send you) of homeless people as soon as they are spotted and you can choose how you wish to help (medicine, shelter, food etc.)
The project also has its own Facebook page and allows iPhone and Android users to install the Ushahidi application.
You can also check out these links: