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Mattresses, supplied in part by MCC, are off-loaded at a centre for displaced people in Beirut. In the midst of chaos, MCC begins Lebanese response efforts
Gladys Terichow Thousands of Lebanese are fleeing Southern Beirut and Southern Lebanon to find safety in other parts of the city and country, says Rick Janzen, director of MCC’s Middle East programs. MCC is responding as it can by providing funds for food, water, medical supplies and emergency shelter for some of these displaced people. MCC is working in partnership with three local Lebanese organizations to provide this assistance. Lebanese civilians are bearing the brunt of the brutal conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, said Janzen, who returned to Winnipeg on July 18 from a visit to the Middle East. A city park situated close to the MCC office in West Beirut has become a makeshift refugee camp. “I’ve been told it’s full of people—it looks like a campground,” he said. Damage to roads and bridges, along with ongoing safety and security concerns, creates enormous logistical challenges for local groups providing emergency aid, said Janzen. Bassam Chamoun, a Lebanese citizen who has worked in the MCC office since 1985, is coordinating MCC’s relief efforts. Chamoun, along with his wife Zeinab and three children, Hamoudi, Zeina and Zelpha, have moved to Beirut from their village in southern Lebanon, a region where many of the Israeli air strikes are taking place. The family is now living in the living quarters adjoining the MCC office in West Beirut. MCC continues to monitor the situation in Lebanon and is planning a more comprehensive emergency response for when the conflict dies down, said Janzen.
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