Hoda Houssari, MCC staff, shares what it's like to be on the ground in Lebanon during increasing military attacks. (transcript)
As deadly violence continues to escalate in Lebanon, MCC partners on the ground are making every effort to provide emergency relief and support for people who are caught in the conflict.
MCC has three partners so far responding to the most immediate needs: The Iman Sadr Foundation (ISF), Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) and Popular Aid for Relief and Development (PARD). All three organizations have quickly mobilized emergency responses to help as many of the 1.2 million displaced Lebanese as they can.
ISF is providing ready-to-eat emergency food to approximately 6,000 displaced people who have not been able to find a shelter in the south of Lebanon. LOST is doing the same, providing emergency ready-to-eat meals for nearly 10,000 displaced Lebanese outside of shelters in central Lebanon. PARD is sheltering more than 400 people in a school in Sidon and providing hygiene items, bedding, hot meals, health services and psychosocial support for children.
Hoda Houssari is a member of MCC’s staff in Lebanon. She says the ready-to-eat food is essential for displaced families who lack access to kitchens.
“Since the needs are so high right now, we're trying to be one of the first responders,” says Houssari. “We're providing 'ready-to-eat' meals, which could be, for instance, a can of beans. You can open it whenever and eat it directly without the need to cook it. This is essential because a lot of people don't have access to utensils or cooking methods. At least for the first two, three weeks, this will be a challenge, so everything is ready to eat.”
Lebanon has been enduring an economic crisis since 2019, so many Lebanese lack the financial resources to flee to safety. If they do manage to pay for transportation to flee to safer areas, they leave with little more than the clothes on their backs. Fuel, food, medicine, hygiene items or clothes have become luxuries that many simply cannot afford.
Houssari says that the destruction in Lebanon has been so widespread, that even if the fighting stopped today, the country will still be in a state of crisis for a long time.
“If they signed the ceasefire today, where are the people who are sitting in the shelters going to go?” she says. “They have no place to go to. Some of them, they may be lucky enough to still have their houses there, but a lot of them won't. Most of the people, they rely on their land, and farmers have lost their livelihoods.”
To learn more about how you can make a difference in Lebanon through MCC and our partners, visit our website. Canadians who support MCC’s response will have their donations matched by the Government of Canada until Nov. 3, 2024. This is made possible because of MCC’s participation in the Humanitarian Coalition. In Canada, MCC participates in the Humanitarian Coalition through our membership in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
Top photo caption: Israeli military bombing in Lebanon has so far displaced more than 1.2 million people. (Lebanon Live Alerts photo)
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