Saleh Fareed Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Saudis from all walks of life and of all age groups have been making a beeline for King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh since Sunday to visit a patient. No, he is not a celebrity. He is a Saudi youth named Ibrahim, who is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a car accident. Ever since the tragic accident, he has been lying in a hospital bed. His family members and friends seem to have abandoned him. On Saturday, a forlorn Ibrahim tweeted from his account: “My name is Ibrahim, and I am hospitalized at King Khalid Hospital. I had a car accident which left me paralyzed and I have no one to visit me. My father and my brothers have ignored me all this time. I also have another wish. I wish someone could help me get treated for a bone marrow transplant in Germany.” The moment his tweet went online, the hashtag – #visitibrahim – went viral. Ibrahim found himself in the spotlight on Sunday morning as nearly 1,000 first responders from across the city of Riyadh gathered in the hospital. His Twitter hashtag and his story found their way onto the front pages of social media websites. Aside from the visit, many young Saudis launched on Sunday a fundraising campaign on Twitter to collect money to send Ibrahim to Germany for treatment. The first donor was Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, who donated half a million riyals. Later many Saudi businessmen donated as well. Mohammed Al-Amri, a well-known writer on Twitter wrote: “This huge response in just one day shows the solidarity that Saudis have with each other. This is how Islam instructs us to help each other in good and righteous deeds.”
