Devastated by the fires, the Hawaiian archipelago is trying to count its dead and rebuild itself. To help his people, former President Barack Obama called for donations in a Twitter video.
99 dead and more than 1,300 missing: chilling figures that remain a provisional toll of the fires that ravaged Hawaii in early August. These fires, the deadliest in more than a century in the United States, caused certain American personalities to react, affected by the situation. From presenter Oprah Winfrey to model Bella Hadid and former US President Barack Obama, himself born in Hawaii, to Honolulu in 1961.
“I’m someone who grew up in Hawaii […]. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the devastating images coming out of Mauiu and Lāhainā,” he said in a video posted on his X account, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
Call for donations
“We mourn the lives lost and send our thoughts and prayers to the families who have lost so much,” continued the Democrat, while emphasizing that “thoughts and prayers were not enough at a time like this”.
Facing the camera, he calls on his listeners to “act”, “to help these families” and to help the archipelago to rebuild itself, by making a donation to the Red Cross mobilized on the ground to help people in need.
“I am absolutely convinced that Mauiu and Lāhainā and these families will manage to rebuild themselves, but we must participate in it. So please give generous support to the Red Cross” adds the one who was at the head of the American power from 2008 to 2016.
“Mahalo nui loa”, he concludes, or “thank you very much” in Hawaiian.
Source: BFM TV
