Gup Shup

UN Emergency relief chief Jan Egeland has estimated that over $100M dollars are needed to help the now over 600,000 displaced Lebanese. The WHO reports that its most urgent needs are the prevention of a supply shortage, and the ability to transport medicines and other health related supplies for the populations in need. As mentioned in a previous post, many of the displaced are being sheltered in public and private schools throughout the country. Currently, 110,000 of the displaced are in such schools, and the number of schools functioning as shelters is now up to 114, according to the WHO.

In addition to the internally displaced, the CBC reports that over 200,000 Lebanese refugees are in Syria. According to the UNICEF representative in Syria, Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, approximately 50% of the Lebanese refugees in Syria are children. The Red Crescent aid agency in Syria reports that aid has reached only 10% of the refugees there.

There is not much we can do about the difficulties in transporting the aid to areas where it is needed, but we can help ensure that the aid agencies at work in Lebanon are equipped with adequate supplies. I have listed in a previous post some methods for assisting with this task.

The plight of the Lebanese people is worsening by the hour. With all the abstractions in the public disourse, I think it would be instructive to talk about the situation of a particular group, a specific village that has been accommodating refugees since the beginning of the conflict. The discussion that follows is based on firsthand information I’ve received from someone who’s been displaced there.

The number of people occupying the village is now multiple times its normal size. Many of the refugees are being housed in a local school. There are about nine classrooms in the school, and there are around thirty people to each room. Earlier today, local officials had to turn away newly arriving refugees, as there was simply no room to accommodate more people. The decision no doubt must have been a difficult one, as the rejected cried they had nowhere else to go. I do not know what became of those whose pleas for help were left unmet.

The village has been unable to maintain adequate supplies to meet the demands of the residents and the newly arrived refugees. Attempts to purchase bread, lentils, undergarments, soap, diapers, feminine napkins, etc for the refugees have sometimes been refused, as there is just not enough supply. It is uncertain when the necessary supplies will arrive. Even when foreign shipments do (eventually) make their way to the ports of Lebanon, there are many non-trivial hurdles that will need to be overcome to get the necessary supplies into the heart of the country, into villages such as this one. It could take days, it could take weeks. We don’t know at this point, and, more importantly, the people of this village don’t know.

Illness is rampant, the populace is traumatized, and hygiene is obviously suffering. Residents are opening their homes and baths to others, but it is not enough. Medical supplies are short. Communication is nearly cut off (not fully, but it’s been getting more and more difficult to connect with people there), people don’t have access to their own money (they must subsist on whatever they happened to have brought with them), access to news services has been severed. They don’t know what’s become of their friends and family in other parts of the country, whether the homes they’ve left behind are still standing, what happened on the NY Stock Exchange today, and what, if anything, became of Zizou’s infamous headbutt. All of it is off limits. The village is virtually isolated from the rest of the world. 

But though isolated from the world, there is no isolation from each other. Indeed, there’s no getting away. There is no privacy, not a moment of silence, not a moment of quiet, not a moment of peace. Aside from dealing with the mass of humanity, the sounds of the planes and the bombs results in sleepless nights for all, in babies crying at all hours, in hopes that the sun will rise in the morning. The people are malnourished, they’re restless, they don’t know when they’ll get a decent meal again, nor for how much longer the meals they are getting will last. They are packed together like pigs on animal farms, sleeping over each other, over dirty, filthy floors, in unwashed clothing. 

There is total loss of normalcy. The freedom to privacy, the freedom to know what’s happening in their country, the freedom to buy and sell on the market, the freedom to look good, the freedom to sleep in peace, in their own room, in their own bed, the freedom to live in dignity, with dignity.  All of it has been snatched away. They now lie awake at night, quivering as the planes go by, muscles tightening with the sound of each bomb dropping in the not too far distance. Come morning, they find themselves courageously and selflessly helping each other, running errands for each other, purchasing food stuffs/clothing etc for each other (when available), watching over each other’s children, caring for each other’s parents, helping heal the sick, the elderly, the really really young. 

They now find themselves in the tragic position of having to wait for a fate over which they have absolutely no control. It is up to the world to determine what becomes of them.

Two important phrases made their way into the major media today: “war crimes” and “humanitarian crisis.” The use of “war crimes” was in the context of a report on comments made by Louise Arbour, the UN’s top human rights official and former justice of Canada’s Supreme Court. She suggested that the actions of the Israeli military and of Hezbollah may qualify as war crimes. The repercussions, of course, go all the way up: “The scale of killings in the region, and their predictability, could engage the personal criminal responsibility of those involved, particularly those in a position of command and control.”

It is on the other term, ”humanitarian crisis,” that I would like to focus on here.

The current conflict is being painted by the Israeli government and the major media as Israel “defending itself” by attacking its enemies. But who are these enemies? Lebanon’s buildings? Highways? Homes, hospitals? Its civilians? Indeed, it is not the vicious guerilla group Hezbollah, but rather mostly civilians and civilian objects, who have suffered at the hands of the great force of the Israeli military.

The WHO reports that over 280 civilians are dead, over 680 are wounded, over 400 000 are internally displaced, with another 130 000 refugees having crossed into Syria. Approximately 45 000 are in immediate need of humanitarian assistance.  They report the existence of poor sanitary conditions, unsafe drinking water, crowding in schools and other public structures acting as shelter to the growing number of refugees, shortage of food supplies, power, and other basic needs. The UN’s top humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, reports to the BBC that “it’s already very bad, and it is deteriorating by the hour.”

What is adding to the difficulty is the inability to transport persons and crucial relief supplies due to the destruction of roads, bridges, and the IDF’s attacks both on convoys carrying civilians and relief agencies carrying essential supplies. According to the New York Times, the Israeli army has warned that any moving trucks may be considered to be targets. This, of course, is illegal: “Israel is legally obliged to permit free passage of materials essential for civilians and to protect humanitarian personnel delivering those supplies. If attacks are hitting relief and medical convoys, the implications for civilian protection are serious. Such attacks would indicate that Israel is failing to take appropriate precautions to avoid targeting civilian objects.” I am quoting Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and North African division of Human Rights Watch. 

If the main target of Israel’s offensive is not Hezbollah, but rather civilians, civilian infrastructure, and relief workers and supplies, then what justification can there be for the continuiing assault? In fact, children seem to be the main victims of Israel’s vengeance. According to UNICEF Director of the Office of Emergency Programmes Dan Toole, “children are again bearing the brunt of hostilities.” This sentiment is reiterated by UNICEF Deputy Director of Emergency Programmes Afshan Khan: “the crisis definitely has the face of a child.” A joint statement by UNICEF and the WHO reports that dozens of children have been killed, many more injured, with many children experiencing ”serious” psychological impact.

In the face of such facts, there must be an immediate ceasefire. John R. Bolton, American ambassador to the UN, rejects calls for a cease-fire as “simplistic.” He is worried about “how you get a cease-fire with a terrorist organization.” The problem is a real one, though understated. The problem is, how do you get a cease-fire with (at least) two terrorist organizations, Hezbollah and the Israeli government?

The international community must press for an end to the violence. An end to the violence would not absolve the international community from its obligation to work with Israel and Lebanon toward a sustainable peace. In particular, there would need to be continuing political pressure to strengthen the Lebanese government, and to ensure the safety of the Israeli population from future attacks. This will require much painstaking work and diplomatic muscle, but the existence of the difficulty cannot and must not be used to justify terror against an entire nation.

In a future post, I will try to address issues of how to achieve the sustainable peace that all civilians want and deserve. Anyone with positive ideas on the matter should feel free to join the discussion. In the meantime, there must be an end to the ongoing barbarity.

Please donate to the International Committee of the Red Cross Lebanon Relief Fund. You can find information and instructions at http://www.relieflebanon.org.

All funds will be collected by the ICRC.

This is a poem written by Zeina Saab, an incoming Master’s student
to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. She has been witnessing the attack on Lebanon from Beirut.

Life has crumbled in my beloved country
As she becomes hostage to an unwanted war.
The bombs are falling mercilessly
Yet no signs of relent seem to be in store.

I taste the bloodshed, I see the destruction
I feel the anguish, I can smell the ashes.
I hear the screams and the aggression
For how much longer until this passes?

The weight of war and the pain of injustice
Must they befall her one more time?
Must she endure the dirt of politics
And be forced to face these heinous crimes?

WE ARE CALLING FOR HELP! CAN YOU NOT HEAR?
OR IS THE SOUND OF THE WAR PLANES DROWNING OUR CRIES?
CHILDREN ARE DYING! IS IT NOT CLEAR?
OR ARE YOUR OWN SELFISH INTERESTS BLINDING YOUR SIGHT?

Oh, where is the courage and dignity of man?
Is Lebanese life so worthless?
Who will rise up and take a stand,
To protect humanity and fight injustice?

My country is being ripped to shreds
Raped and robbed of her rights.
How many more must be dead
Before you listen to our plight?

May this reality not persist much longer
May Lebanon rise once again
May we emerge victorious and stronger
More unified and stable than we’ve ever been.

With bridges, roads, and ports rebuilt
We will begin anew…
Let the world live with the burden of guilt
While we raise our heads high, with resilience so true.

Lebanon, my faith in you is ever so deep.
From you, I cannot bear to part.
You stand for resistance and dignity…
Forever, the jewel of my life and the pride of my heart.

Love and Peace,
Zeina

Here is a letter that was circulated from Hiba Bou Akar. She completed her Masters in City Planning from M.I.T. in 2005, and will begin a program of PhD studies at UC Berkeley in September 2006. She wrote this trapped under the bombardment somewhere in Lebanon, after having been displaced twice in two days.  
 

Dear all,

Many thanks to all of you who asked about me and showed their support. I really appreciate it and need it to cope with all the destruction and death surrounding me. I need your support to stop the mass massacre that my people are facing as a result of the Israeli attacks on my country that have been non-stop for 4 days.

My country is under attack with a level of aggression that I have not seen in my entire life. Barbaric acts against civilians, with no attention paid to the difference between children, women, elderly, and the handicapped on one hand, and fighters on the other. Everybody is a target for the bombs that are falling on us like black rain, like fire balls, from military planes that have not left our air since Wednesday July 12th, 2006. Their horrific noises have deafened our ears. Children’s cries of horror are tearing our hearts. We asked for the international community’s help to broker a cease fire. They did not care. All they care about are their regional interests. Israelis did not stop the bombs! Did not stop deaths! Continued their mass destruction! We are under attack without hope for an end.

The aggression is not only against people, but against infrastructure. All the bridges, tunnels, roads, electricity plants, fuel tanks, IT networks, water dams, and every other aspect of infrastructure has been or is being destroyed. Thousands of people have been displaced. We are currently helping people to settle in schools and other public facilities, and trying to supply them with minimum survival amenities. The entire relief effort is through personal initiatives since there is not yet an aid organization helping with the crisis.

It all started 4 days ago, when Hezbollah took two Israeli soldiers as hostages. We as Lebanese citizens condemned this act. We were surprised by this military operation. We did not want war, but they did not ask us. We Lebanese people are tired of war, we want peace. Too many loved ones have died over 20 years of wars. I was born in war, grew up in war, lived through wars, through Israeli occupation, through assassinations, through horror, through displacements, and I had enough, we had enough, Lebanese people had enough, Lebanon had enough! Enough Destruction..enough!

Unfortunately, two Israeli hostages were taken and three were killed, an operation which I am deeply sorry that we could not stop. But does this justify a barbaric attack that has up until now killed at least 160 people, injured hundreds, displaced thousands, and ruined an entire country? Israel bombed today a bus with 21 women and children fleeing from their village. Innocent people, running for their lives, not terrorists, not military people but women and children were burnt. Today Israel bombed three such buses! The international community remains silent.

This summer was our summer. We were happy to show our beautiful small country to the entire world after we have been rebuilding it for 15 years. We invited friends, family, business people and promised them a lovely time. We were so proud of what we accomplished. In four days Israel shattered our dreams in an unbalanced, crazy, sad, barbaric act of aggression; high-tech military planes high in the air bombing unarmed and defenseless people on the ground. In 4 days, Israel destroyed our country, killed our people. Blind Unjustified Aggression!

We are under siege! We are under attack from the air, from the water, and from land. We are cut off from the entire world, without any form of aid or support. Medical and food supplies are limited.  Hunger is already creeping into those villages that have been isolated from the rest of the country. Injured people are stuck under ruins. Lebanon is officially facing a humanitarian crisis. Please help us in spreading the word. I and all Lebanese people need your support.

Thank you very much for your help!

Best Regards,

Hiba