Sam GreenwoodThree weeks ago Dublin club night and party series Strawberries, hosted a four hour takeover on HÖR BERLIN, to help raise funds for the Queer Relief Fund Beirut, who have been working on the ground in Beirut to help LGBTQ+ communities following the port blast in August.
The explosion left nearly 200 dead, 10,000+ injured & 300,000+ homeless and is considered to be the 3rd largest explosion in history. It came during the Coronavirus pandemic and the worst economical crisis in the history of the country. The Lebanese government has consistently failed at aiding the Lebanese people, who are left to fend for themselves.
Among those affected are individuals from the queer community, which is already marginalised, and even more so now. Due to unclear laws, lack of rights, and social restrictions, the queer community finds it hard to seek help from non-queer initiatives for safety reasons, whether it’s due to family conditions or professional reasons.
The absence of a competent government (before and even more so now) led the Lebanese people to fend for themselves and come up with community-based initiatives in order to help each other. Since the queer community was never a priority for the government, and is definitely not one now, ‘Queer Relief Fund’ have decided to support the community themselves to help it get back on its feet fast.
As an event series, Strawberries kicked off their excellent party relatively recently, starting in 2019. Their events combine electronic music and art to enhance the experience for attendees, hosting 3 sold out parties with some of Ireland’s best music selectors and designers.
In solidarity with LGBTQ+ people affected by the Beirut blast, Strawberries took over the HÖR Radio Berlin on October 10th to raise much needed funds for the Queer Relief Fund, who have been re-housing and providing financial aid to those in need.
The live streams are now available to watch again, which you can do below. You can also still donate to the teams GoFundMe page here.