[LCM Articles] Daily Star, Humanitarian Rush

[Philippe Charles Saad]

 uesday, July 18, 2006 Humanitarian groups rush to Lebanon's aid amid
blockade **

 By Iman Azzi
Special to The Daily Star



BEIRUT: Humanitarian organizations are fighting to save lives and reduce the
damage in Lebanon as Israel's devastating offensive continues. "People need
everything. They need food, medicine. Some need blankets. The problem is
security on the roads ... Trips that used to take half-an-hour now take four
to five hours," said Hicham Hassan, official spokesperson for the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation to Lebanon.

"The Lebanese Red Cross [LRC] is managing to move around but with
difficulty."

Since the start of the Israeli attacks on Lebanon last Wednesday, the LRC
has dispatched 2,000 Lebanese first aid volunteers concentrated in Beirut,
the Bekaa Valley and the South.

The LRC has mobilized 200 ambulances and set up three operations rooms.
Sixty-three wounded Lebanese civilians have been transported to hospitals or
clinics by the LRC.

The UN peacekeeping force in South Lebanon said on Monday it was unable to
supply food and water to its troops or deliver humanitarian aid to civilians
because Israel would not guarantee their safe passage.

The Israeli military has not responded to the force's repeated requests to
secure the safe movement of convoys carrying supplies, the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.

"After a conversation between the UN secretary general and the prime
minister of Israel ... we received assurances that UNIFIL will be allowed
freedom of movement, but this pledge has not yet been implemented on the
ground," the statement said.

Although help in the means of personnel has yet to arrive, some donations
have made are making their way to Lebanon.

The Kuwaiti Red Crescent has donated 10 tons of medical supplies to the LRC,
most of which will be arriving on Saturday.

On Monday, a statement released by the Kuwaiti Embassy said that Kuwait was
preparing to send food items to Lebanon through Syria.

Representatives for the United Arab Emirates Red Crescent have also granted
Lebanon a 1 million dirham ($300,000) aid package that included medicine and
food packets.

The LRC is one of the few organizations that have been able to access most
regions of Lebanon, but not without complications and risks. Israeli fire
hit an LRC ambulance during the first day of fighting last Wednesday,
wounding two LRC volunteers.

While LRC volunteers work in the field, other aid organizations are joining
forces to assess the needs of the country.

The Social Affairs Ministry held a meeting for humanitarian groups in
Lebanon Monday. The meeting was one of several held to discuss the various
role humanitarian groups will play in the country's recovery.

"It took everyone a few days to see the situation. Now, everyone is making
emergency units and we are trying to coordinate so not everyone does the
same thing," said Suha Boustani, communications officer for UNICEF Lebanon.

UNICEF is making clean water and sanitation facilities their priority,
especially for recently displaced Lebanese families seeking shelter in local
schools.

"We were not expecting Israel's assaults would be that dangerous," Social
Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad said Monday at a meeting attended by
humanitarian organizations in Lebanon, the Canadian Fund for Social
Development and UNICEF.

It is not only a question of donations and resources but about
transportation of these materials. "Since we are blockaded ... Arab and
foreign countries are unable to offer help as they did in 1996," Mouawad
added.

"Materials do exist. We need to bring them from outside through the roads,"
said Boustani. UNICEF dedicated $800,000 from their reserves for emergency
supplies, which were shipped from a UNICEF warehouse in Copenhagen to Amman
and Damascus and will enter Lebanon as soon as it is safe.

The UAE announced it is providing the Lebanese Health Ministry with 24
ambulances, scheduled to arrive in Damascus Monday, although it is not clear
how they will be transported safely into the country.

Although the offensive has been continuing for nearly a week, aid
mobilization has just begun. UNICEF plans to launch an appeal to
international organizations later this week and is confident the response
will be positive for Lebanon.

Until international aid appears, groups continue to address current
conditions.

"We are on permanent and regular dialogue with parties to the conflict
urging them to respect international humanitarian law in order to save human
dignity and lessen civilian casualties," said Hassan.


Contributions to the Lebanese government's aid efforts can be made in US
dollars to the Ministry of Finance, Donations and Grants Account, at the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York with the BIC Code FRNYUS33, Routing Number
021084694, specifying Favor Banque du Liban, Account number 021084694.
Contributions in euros should be made to the same account name but to the
Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt, with the BIC code DEUTDEFF, specifying Favor
Banque du Liban.

-- 
Philippe Charles Saad
473 Adams Street, Apt 1
Dorchester, MA 02122
+1 617 230 6670
psaad at alum.mit.edu
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/lebanon-articles/attachments/20060719/6a985292/attachment.htm