JEDDAH — Indian Consul General Mohammed Mohammed Shahid Alam released "The Distance" magazine brought out by India Fraternity Forum at a ceremony held here recently. The souvenir epitomizes memories and experiences of health warriors, volunteers and members of the Indian community in their relentless and tireless fight along with members of the Saudi society and other expatriate communities to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and ease its impact. Alam launched the magazine by presenting a copy to Dr. Ghadeer Talal Melibari, assistant professor of English at Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah. Speaking on the occasion, Alam lauded the active involvement of the Forum in community welfare activities, especially in the pandemic fight, commending 'The Distance' as a worthy intellectual gift to the community in this regard. Dr. Zubair, member of the academic faculty at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, introduced the souvenir to the guests. The souvenir, compiled in five languages — English, Urdu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil, is enriched with scholarly articles by prominent writers of the Indian community in the Kingdom. It delves deep into various aspects of the pandemic and its massive impact on humanity, and coming out with measures and remedies to get over the pandemic situation. Those who delivered felicitation speeches included Hassan Cheruppa of Saudi Gazette, Azizurrab, president of North Indian Fraternity Forum (NIFF), Mir Ferozuddin, president of India Forum, Zakariya Biladi, Ali Mohammed Ali, vice chairman of Jeddah National Hospital, and Ashraf Morayur, president of Indian Social Forum. Faizuddin, regional president of India Fraternity Forum, presided over the function. Mohammed Iqbal Chemban, regional secretary of India Fraternity Forum, proposed the vote of thanks in the function in which Asim Zeeshan was the master of ceremony.
