UNHCR calls on Baltic and Nordic peoples to support Lebanon aid effort
Stockholm 5 September -With UNHCR's distribution of
emergency aid proceeding smoothly, our field teams are now looking at some
of the wider problems facing the victims of the war in Lebanon. There are
thousands of Lebanese who have not been able to return to their homes - in
areas around Beirut there are an estimated 12,000 displaced who have not
returned after the war. In Beirut itself, the charity Caritas estimates there
are 35,000. These people have lost their source of income. Elderly and disabled
have chronic medical needs.
And our partners note that the children need help to resume their education
and counseling because of their war experiences. As part of that problem,
UNHCR has helped a Lebanese NGO, the Development for People and Nature Association,
to set up a summer camp they're running for children in the town of Jezzine
. The 104 children, aged from nine to 14, come from various villages in the
area and have activities that include peace education, plays and handicrafts.
UNHCR has donated tents, mattresses, blankets and kitchen sets for the camp.
Other similar requests for tents have now been received.
In the area of Lebanon closer to the Israeli border, the emphasis remains
on getting basic emergency aid -- tents, blankets, mattresses, plastic sheeting
- into the heavily damaged villages. This week in the most southerly areas
of Lebanon we are targeting assistance at villages that suffered damage to
up to 70 percent of buildings. That follows the previous distribution of
aid to villages with even higher levels of destruction. We continue to bring
in fresh supplies by air, sea and road.
UNHCR is not advising further returns to this most southerly area of Lebanon
because of the destruction of the basic infrastructure such as water and
electricity and the danger posed by unexploded ordnance littering the landscape.
Many of those who have returned to the worst-hit villages are likely to spend
the approaching winter in other villages and take up residence again only
after their houses are rebuilt. A substantial number of the Lebanese who
rushed home immediately after the ceasefire found they could not use their
houses and remain displaced - but nearby with friends or relatives rather
than in the places where they sheltered during the fighting. As with those
displaced in or near Beirut , they and their hosts require continuing assistance
to cope with the effects of the war.
"UNHCR needs a helping hand from the people in the Baltic and Nordic countries - who traditionally have been strong supporters of the UN and the refugee cause - to join us in our relief efforts for the displaced in Lebanon and the surrounding countries," Aarsaether said.
Private individuals, organizations and companies in the
Baltic and Nordic countries wanting to support UNHCR's work in Lebanon and the
surrounding countries, can do so by donating money to the following accounts.
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Donations should be marked:
"UNHCR Lebanon Crisis".
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Denmark: 2040-0001 443 194 |
| Finland: 800013-223667 |
| Norway: 6005.07.33125 |
| Sweden: 452-1431 |
| One
can also donate online on: |
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