[LCM Articles] [Lebanon] Nahr el Bared: Call for Solidarity & Urgent Financial Aid

[Stefan Christoff]

From: "Tadamon! Montreal" <tadamon at resist.ca>

Appeal: Nahr el Bared Refugee Camp, Lebanon
Call for Solidarity & Urgent Financial Aid for Displaced Palestinian Refugees

Since 20 May, Nahr al Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon 
with an estimated 40,000 inhabitants, has been under bombardment by Lebanese 
military forces. The military assault on the densely populated refugee camp 
takes place after a clash between Lebanese security forces and an armed 
salifist group called Fatah al Islam, which infiltrated the civilian refugee 
camp.

The bombardment of the refugee camp takes place during the 40th anniversary of 
the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. This year 
also marks the 59th anniversary of the creation of the apartheid state of 
Israel, which led to the displacement of some 750,000 Palestinians from their 
homeland. Some of these refugees, their children, and their grandchildren are 
now living in Nahr al Bared, as the world remains largely silent in the face of 
Israel's refusal to recognize their right of return.

According to the United Nations Refugee and Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), over 
20,000 people have been displaced since 20 May. Lebanese national and religious 
institutions have, in general, remained closed to the displaced refugees. The 
large majority of those displaced have instead taken refuge in greatly 
over-burdened and under-resourced homes in other Palestinian refugee camps, 
such as Shatila, Bourj al Barajneh and Baddawi. International NGOs are 
directing relief towards the small minority who are sheltering in UNRWA 
schools.

As fighting between the army and Fatah al Islam enters its fourth week, 
thousands of civilians remain trapped within the camp. Military clashes are 
spreading to other refugee camps in the country, notably Ein el Hilweh, a camp 
near Sidon, in the southern part of the country.

Circumstances surrounding the conflict are unclear; the origin, nature and 
objectives of Fatah al Islam - an armed extremist organization with few 
historic or current ties to Palestinians in Lebanon - raise many questions.

In this context, Tadamon! Montreal regards the following as points of departure 
to respond to the crisis:

* Nahr al Bared and the other Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon exist as a 
result of the creation of the state of Israel and the continued refusal of the 
apartheid state to accept the Palestinians' right of return, as called for by 
U.N. Resolution 194. The refusal by Lebanese authorities to grant full civil 
and economic rights to the Palestinians until their eventual return to their 
homeland has resulted in sub-standard conditions in the camps.

* Palestinians who have no relation whatsoever with Fatah al Islam - that is, 
the vast majority of people residing in Nahr al Bared - have been displaced or 
killed, their homes and lives shattered by the shelling of the camp.

* The conflict is being instrumentalized by various parties in Lebanon to 
heighten prejudice against Palestinian refugees, who should be considered 
allies in the struggle against Israeli colonialism. It is being used to 
exacerbate sectarian division, destabilize the country and to undermine the 
fight against Israeli apartheid and resistance to North American domination of 
the region.

>From this perspective, Tadamon! calls on all who are concerned with justice and 
human life to refuse to be silently complicit in the oppression of people who 
have already suffered displacement for 59 years. Tadamon! calls on everyone to 
reject the Bush-like logic, all too often implicit in media coverage of the 
crisis, which justifies "collateral damage" as necessary to "national security" 
in the context of the "war against terrorism".

----> Tadamon! appeals to all who have the capacity, to DONATE, even a symbolic 
amount, to one of the following grassroots relief initiaties, organized in a 
spirit of solidarity by friends and allies of Tadamon! in Lebanon:

* Nahr el Bared Relief Campaign: The Nahr el Bared Relief Campaign was 
spontaneously formed following the tragic events in Nahr el Bared Camp and o 
rganizes on behalf of those not getting NGO aid. We are made up of a grouping 
of unaffiliated individuals, including students, professors, and activists 
working on relief and civil action to end the violence and offer aid to those 
injured and displaced due to the Nahr el Bared conflict. Contact: Nahr al-Bared 
Relief Campaign: www.nahrelbaredcampaign.org


* Women's Humanitarian Organziation, Burj al-Barajneh: The Women's Humanitarian 
Organization (WHO) was founded in 1993 to serve women and children living in 
Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Currently the Women 's Humanitarian 
Organization is working to help provide basic needs to the internally displaced 
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, including clothes, medicines, food supplies, 
and hygienic necessities. Contact: Olfat Mahmoud, Director, Women's 
Humanitarian Organization: palwho[at]gmail.com.

NOTE: To reduce bank transfer costs, you can send your donation via Tadamon! 
Montreal. Cash donations can be arranged by calling us at 514 664 1036 or 
emailing us at tadamon at resist.ca. Checks should be made out to "Tadamon! 
Montreal", specifying "Nahr al Bared" in the subject line, and sent to: 
Tadamon! Montreal, 3647 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B3.

----> For Updated News, Analysis and Context, visit:

- Nahr al Bared information (English and Arabic): www.nahrelbared.info
- Electronic Lebanon (English): www.electronicintifada.net/lebanon
- Al-Akhbar Newspaper (Arabic): www.al-akhbar.com
- Aljazeera (English): http://english.aljazeera.net/English
- Aljazeera (Arabic): www.aljazeera.net
- The Daily Star (English): www.dailystar.com.lb


---------------------------
Tadamon! Montreal
+1 514 664 1036
tadamon[at]resist.ca
http://tadamon.resist.ca

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