For more than four years, a civil war has been raging in Yemen which has since become the greatest humanitarian catastrophe in the world. 24 million people, or 80 percent of the population, are dependent on humanitarian aid or protection, including 14.3 million children. “Millions of Yemenite children are innocent victims of this war, dying when their schools or hospitals are bombed, suffering a lack of nutrition and the breakdown of the entire healthcare system. The suffering of these children is immense, and the world has idly been standing by for far too long,” says Anne-Sophie Mutter. “More than 85,000 children have starved to death in Yemen since the war began. This means that more girls and boys have died due to undernourishment than because of bombs and bullets. This is all the more devastating since these deaths would have been entirely preventable. This is more than enough reason for me to take action, and to ask others to help these children immediately. Doing everything for the protection of children, to help them grow up in safety, is a matter dear to my heart – and Save the Children has been trying to make a difference for 100 years,” Anne-Sophie Mutter emphasizes.
The first of the two concerts takes place on May 11, 2019 as part of the Hamburg International Music Festival at the Elbphilharmonie, at the same time as the anniversary celebrations of the Hamburg Harbour, and thus it forms a resounding launch of this drive for donations. The classical programme featuring works by Mozart will be broadcast live onto the Platz der Deutschen Einheit in front of the Elbphilharmonie at 8 pm. The public will be informed about Save the Children and its work in Yemen via the broadcasting screens before the broadcast begins, including information on how to donate. On May 18, Anne-Sophie Mutter will also speak about the situation in Yemen during the concert and ask for donations. In addition, the presenter of the concert, Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette, will donate 20,000 Euros from the proceeds of the concerts on May 11 and 18. “Of course we support this drive for donations by Save the Children and Anne-Sophie Mutter, and we hope that the two concerts will also inspire many people to support children in Yemen with their donation,” Burkhard Glashoff, the Managing Director of Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette and presenter of the traditional ProArte concert series in Hamburg, declares.
Save the Children will use the donations to provide children in Yemen with special nourishment and vitamin preparations against undernourishment, clean drinking water and hygiene sets. “The healthcare system in Yemen has broken down entirely, and every day we are fighting against malnutrition and diseases such as cholera and diphtheria. The donations will help us to rebuild healthcare institutions and establish mobile health teams. Since the conflict escalated in March 2015, our emergency aid has reached more than three million people in Yemen – more than two million of them children,” Susanna Krüger, the Managing Director of Save the Children Germany, reports. “We are very grateful for the help from our long-standing supporter Anne-Sophie Mutter and her partners, for the lives of millions of children are at stake.”