Back to most
recent news releases • Browse archive: 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • Email this
story
Afraid for the Children of Lebanon
Wahibeh and Chaabi fear for their grandson Ibrahim's future.
Photo: Hege Opseth, ACT-NCA
|
By Hege Opseth, ACT International
Beirut, Lebanon--People waving white flags continue to drive towards Beirut, fleeing the southern part of their country. They are leaving behind not only their homes, but also lives that in many respects were characterised by the rebuilding of their country since the last war. Today, their reality is very different. In the words of a 73-year old woman: "We are afraid of what lies ahead over the next few days. We are afraid for the children of Lebanon."
Planning an emergency operation in today's Lebanon is not an easy task. Nobody here knows where the next bombs will fall, or how deep the Israeli offensive will manage to strike. There are far more questions than answers at this stage of the conflict.
"ACT International is trying to meet some of the immediate needs of the internally displaced," reports Tor Valla, of ACT member Norwegian Church Aid. NCA and Church World Service local partner, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), are working to address humanitarian needs on the ground.
"At the same time we are making plans as to how we can effectively meet the crisis that will be there once a ceasefire is in place.
"Most of the people we have spoken to are clear that they want to go home--if they can," Valla says.
In the meantime, Church World Service and the ACT International coalition, along with other humanitarian agencies continue to bring what relief they can, by distributing emergency parcels containing food, and by setting up water and sanitation systems such as showers, to meet the immediate needs of people seeking shelter in the centers for internally displaced persons (IDPs) that have sprung up over the weeks since the bombing started.
An elderly woman sits huddled on the floor in the National Evangelical School of Saida in southern Lebanon. She is upset. She talks of a life characterized by many dramatic events, saying that this is hard for her--to again live through another war at her age.
Other people we talk to agree: Memories of the last war still pose a heavy burden for this nation, one that had just started blossoming again.
"Look at me, I have problems with my blood pressure, diabetes, my hip was broken. I cannot move without my stick," 73-year old Wahibe says quietly. She is sitting on some blankets on the hard concrete floor of the IDP center. She lost most of her belongings when she fled her home with her family.
The IDP center is sheltering some 1,000 people--offering a refuge that people believe to be as safe as it gets in the south today, but still a far cry from the lives they lived and loved.
The streets are filled with the sounds of ambulance sirens.
And still, people are fleeing the south of their country. Yesterday's news that this nightmare may not be over soon adds to peoples' fears. People have no knowledge of what will face them if and when they are able to go home. Many people are finding it difficult to believe the brutality of what is happening.
On the 20th day of the conflict, the Lebanese wait. For what is to come. For any news. But most of all, for news of a ceasefire. Only a few dare to hope that this nightmare will end soon.
Church World Service is a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.
Contributions to support humanitarian work in Lebanon may be made to Church World Service by credit card online or by calling (800) 297-1516, ext. 222; or by check to:
Church World Service
Lebanon Crisis
Account #6820
P.O. Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515
Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;
Back to most
recent news releases • Browse archive: 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • Email this
story