| 01-10-2006 - Traces, n.9
Middle East After the cease-fire Advocating coexistence At the end of the war, at the beginning of the 1990s, we received many requests to be present in Lebanon. Now, as then, Lebanon is an example of possible coexistence between Christians, Shiites, Sunnis, and Druses, sanctioned by the constitution. Monsignor Tabet, at that time Apostolic Nuncio to the United Nations in Geneva, told us of the Holy See’s concern for the fate of the Christians in Lebanon after the bloody civil war, witnessed also by over a hundred appeals by John Paul II. In 1994, making the Holy Father’s concerns its own, AVSI (Association of Volunteers for International Service) sent its first fact-finding mission led by Ezio Castelli, Vice-President of AVSI and its representative in the United States. So it was that, in 1996, the first AVSI project in Lebanon took off: the rebuilding of the large Quarantine government hospital in Beirut and the re-equipping of five other hospitals in the north of the country, as well as a number of sessions of formation for medical and paramedical personnel of the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Litani is changing from a point of conflict between the Israeli army and Hezbollah militants to a “river of peace.” This is the soul of the AVSI project taking place from the Bekka Valley to north of Tyre, involving people of different religions. In the area of the Litani River, where clashes have destroyed the irrigation system, sorely trying the possibility of harvesting this year in the Bekka Valley, Italian and Lebanese engineers are working on an important effort to restore two of the canals that distribute water in the valley. In terms of emergency assistance, AVSI has focused its first efforts (from August to October 2006) on the 2,000 refugees in northern Lebanon (Zgharta) and the Bekaa Valley, facilitating their return to their homes, with particular attention for children and families, distributing personal hygiene kits, providing drinkable water, water tanks, food for children, installing portable showers, and also offering psycho-social support. All these projects are being carried out through the decade-long collaboration with local AVSI partners, such as Lebanese Caritas and others, through whom distance support is channelled to 1,500 children, many of whom have already been contacted and almost all of whom have returned to their villages. The war begun in Lebanon July 12th has provoked a grave humanitarian situation, with about 950,000 people having fled the worst hit areas for safer zones of Lebanon. Many people have opened their homes to host entire families in flight. As military actions intensified, the number of refugees grew by the day. Of the over 900,000 people, about 700,000 have sought refuge in Lebanon, and the rest, about 230,000, in Syria. Now, with the cease-fire, the refugees are returning to their homes. Life has to go on. Children have to resume school. Adults have to take up their work again, however slowly. The same applies to homes and infrastructures. Now, more than ever, it is necessary to stand with these people, bringing them comfort and sharing daily life. Avsi for lebanon Projects Since 1996, AVSI has been engaged in a healthcare project entrusted to it by the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry, to renovate the big government hospital of Quarantina in Beirut, and equip five other hospitals in the north of the country, with various formation sessions for medical and paramedical personnel of the Lebanese Health Ministry. Distance support Irrigation Water Management |