Brian Fagan urges Westmeath people to make donations

“Help is desperately needed in Gaza,” according to one of Westmeath’s leading volunteers and champions of charitable causes. Brian Fagan, founder of Brian’s Treasure Chest in Mullingar, said there is “unimaginable suffering” in the war-torn region, home to more than two million people.

An estimated 20,000-plus people have been killed in Gaza since October 7 and aid is now desperately needed.

Mr Fagan said even the most basic living requirements are rapidly running out.

“People are starving, pretty much all of the hospitals have been destroyed and there is very little food getting in,” he said.

“There is a massive amount of food, medicines, and basic living requirements needed in Gaza. Most of what’s needed has been wiped out.

“The world needs to wake up and get in there and start saving lives. Women and children are dying in huge numbers, it’s appalling.”

The charity shop founder added that “we are only a short step away from mass starvation”.

Mr Fagan is familiar the region. “I was in Israel many years ago and have worked and travelled in the region quite extensively,” he said.

“I worked in Afghanistan; I was there up until 911, when I had to hike out across the desert to get out of the country after the bombing in New York.

“I’ve been in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan – all of that area; Pakistan and India too. I have travelled in Israel, Egypt, the UAE, and Syria too, years ago, so would know the region.

“I’ve met a lot of very good and decent people on both sides of the conflict but the problem there is the people in control are not reasonable at the moment.”

Mr Fagan has also volunteered in providing disaster relief on the ground in Haiti, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, among other disaster zones over the decades through the Irish charity GOAL.

He said these situations are much worse on the ground than what is shown on television screens.

“It’s cold in Gaza now but when summer comes, there will be widespread disease,” said Mr Fagan.

“It’s a dangerous enough place when it’s cold, but once the heat comes, it’s a different story.

“How many bodies are trapped under rubble? All of the bodies of people who have been killed will start to decompose and you can’t imagine what it smells like, and that’s where we’re heading.”

Mr Fagan is advocating for peace in Gaza. “This killing needs to stop and it needs to stop immediately as nothing can justify what is happening now,” he said.

“Even the bombing of a single hospital is a monstrous thing to do. If people want to help, what’s needed most is funding.

“The agencies that can do the work are already out there and need all the support they can get to continue saving lives.”

Mr Fagan has appealed to the public to try to help in any way they can. “We need funding, I have been talking to GOAL and they are getting a big campaign organised to raise funds for Gaza,” he said.

“If anyone wants to make a donation, go on to the GOAL website or come into Brian’s Treasure Chest, where we are doing a collection to help.

“Help is desperately needed, so whatever we can raise, we need to send on. Money is the best way to help because there are people on the ground there already.”

He also suggested Doctors Without Borders [Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF] as another good charity to consider making a donation to. “They provide medical care, doctors and set up clinics; it’s an unimaginably tough job considering the lack of resources and the suffering they must deal with,” said Mr Fagan.

“Basic healthcare is no longer available because the hospitals have been destroyed. Quite often, what you’ll see with these types of things is you can’t make it better, but you can stop it from being worse.”