Mennonite
Central
Committee

MCC workers in Lebanon prepare for evacuation

Gladys Terichow
July 17, 2006

A couple from the U.S. working for MCC in Lebanon will join the evacuation of U.S. citizens expected to take place within the next few days.

The anticipated evacuation makes it possible for Ken and Kathryn Seitz to fulfill commitments in Canada and the United States that had been made prior to the closure of the airport and damage to roads and bridges in Lebanon. The couple was scheduled to take a home leave later this summer.

MCC will continue to have a presence in the country through Bassam Chamoun, a local staff member who has been with MCC in Lebanon since 1985. The decision to evacuate the Seitz' was made in close consultation with Chamoun and local Lebanese partners, said Rick Janzen, a director of MCC's Middle East programs.

Chamoun and his family currently live in a village in southern Lebanon, a region where many of the Israeli air strikes are taking place. They are planning to relocate to living quarters adjoining the MCC office in West Beirut, said Janzen in a telephone interview Monday.

Janzen, who was returning to Winnipeg from meetings in the Middle East, said MCC is working in partnership with local organizations in Lebanon to provide emergency aid for people displaced by the Israeli strikes. MCC is also working in partnership with organizations in Gaza to provide assistance there.

"The needs in both places are horrendous and getting worse," said Janzen. In Lebanon, MCC is working with local organizations to provide emergency funds to meet basic needs, such as food, water, medical and emergency accommodation. In Gaza, MCC is providing funds for an electrical generator, fuel for the generator and workshops for trauma.

MCC has three workers in Lebanon but does not have workers in Gaza. MCC does not have any Canadian citizens working in Lebanon.

"Our hearts are here and we plan on returning," said Ken Seitz in an email message sent this morning. "Our hearts go out to these good people." He expects their evacuation will take them to the neighbouring Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

MCC has workers in Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Egypt and supports programs in Iraq and Iran. The impact of the escalating conflict in these countries is closely monitored, said Janzen.