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Urgent appeal from Lebanon - Nahr el-Bared camp
Nahr el-Bared Relief Campaign
26 May 2007

http://nahrelbareddonations.blogspot.com


Salamat,

So finally some news about the Naher El-Bared attacks, the situation is
extremely urgent for the people in the refugee camp and for those who are
becoming refugees once again...a long list of urgent needs was provided
by the Naher El Bared Relief Campaign and is attached to this email.
Please help raise donations or send supplies.

A quick note that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are not suffering just the
islamic militias repression and violence, but also the violence and
racism of the Lebanese society. Urgent support and help is needed.

---------

Nahr el Bared Relief Campaign
http://nahrelbaredd
http://www.nahrelba

Who are we?

The Nahr el Bared Relief Campaign was spontaneously formed following the
tragic events in Nahr el Bared Camp. We are a grouping of unaffiliated
individuals working on relief and civil action to end the violence and
offer aid to those injured and displaced due to the Nahr el Bared
conflict.

Nahr el Bared Fact Sheet
Established: 1949 by the ICRC;
Area: 20 km2
Location: 16 km north of Tripoli, Lebanon
Population: 30,439 refugees registered by UNRWA in 2005 - 6,384 families.
Education:
· 14 kindergartens
· 10 schools (Average students per classroom: 44), including 7 UNRWA schools
· 1 technical school
Health:
· 3 large dispensaries
· 10 clinics
· No hospital
· Two community run rehabilitation centers provide facilities for 64
refugees with disabilities
Economy:
· Unemployment: 50%
· Most inhabitants work in agriculture, as construction workers, or are
selfemployed
· 1,598 families of 8,627 persons are registered as special hardship cases
SOURCES: www.unrwa.org , www.fosohat. org, www.assafir. com,
www.lebanon- support.org

Background of the Conflict
In the worst internal violence since the end of Lebanon`s bloody civil war
17 years ago, fighting between the Lebanese army and the Islamist militant
group Fatah Al-Islam has claimed at least 80 lives as of 22 May 2007,
including combatants as well as civilians. On 20 May, Lebanese security
forces raided a Tripoli building to arrest bank robbery suspects, which
was followed by an attack by Fatah Al-Islam militants on Lebanese army
installations at the entrance to Nahr Al-Bared camp.
The Nahr Al-Bared refugee camp`s 30,000 residents have been under siege
and caught in the cross-fire as Lebanese forces pledged to flush out Fatah
Al-Islam. The Lebanese army shelled the camp for 4 days, and casualties
run high in the densely populated area. The exact number of civilian
deaths has not been released, but eyewitness accounts claim that the death
toll is considerable and that the army`s bombing with increasingly heavy
artillery was indiscriminate. Many are calling it a massacre.
Emergency and humanitarian workers reported difficulties in reaching
affected civilians, and have been fired upon by combatants. As a shaky
ceasefire mostly held the night of 22 May, thousands of camp residents
fled, telling of the deaths of many civilians who have not yet been
recovered.
Protests have erupted at Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon, where
400,000 Palestinian refugees make up 10 percent of the country`s
population -- over half of whom live in impoverished, overcrowded refugee
camps. This situation coupled with three car bombs in Beirut and Aley in
Mount Lebanon have created a state of panic throughout the country, and
the press has reported various violent attacks on Syrians and Palestinians
in different areas. It is of utmost importance to alleviate the situation
in the north and to keep civilians calm lest the violence spread to other
parts of the
country.
News of the conflict in the local and international media has downplayed
the severity of the situation, underreporting casualties and largely
ignoring the civilians caught in the crossfire. The situation has reached
a crisis point and threatens to spill over into other parts of the
country. Fears of another civil war have become palpable.
In the midst of all this, Lebanese civil society organizations and
businesses that responded so urgently during the July war have turned a
blind eye to the events taking place in the north. Their presence on the
ground and their aid is deplorably absent.
Sources: www.electronicleban on.com

Initial Assessment
On Thursday May 24, members of the campaign drove to the north carrying
supplies to Baddawi camp. The situation there is dire. Estimates range
from 12,000 to 18,000 internally displaced Palestinians from Nahr el Bared
relocated to Baddawi camp, resulting in a severe shortage of food and
medical supplies.
Around 25% of the displaced from Nahr el Bared are now staying in schools,
while the other 75% are cramped in people`s homes, sometimes 30 people to
one house. The overcrowding is unbearable. International NGOs working in
direct relief are distributing 80% of the supplies to the minority in the
schools, while the other 75% are only receiving 20% of the undersupplied
aid.
There are currently three different groupings working on relief in the north:
1. INGOs: Red Cross, Save the Children, Norwegian People`s Aid, UNRWA, etc.
2. Palestinian political parties
3. A grouping of 23 local civil society organizations
Coordination between the three groups is sorely lacking, and the
distribution of supplies is haphazard and beaurocratic.
The Nahr el Bared Relief campaign members formed a coordinating team with
the civil society organizations since their networks were most established
and spread on the ground, and distributed the $1,000 worth of food bought
mostly in and around the camp to stimulate local economy and $2,000 worth
of medical supplies through the Ghassan Kanafani Foundation clinic. While
the amount was meager, the demand remained very high and people are still
in need of much more aid than is currently being given out.
The campaign is still collecting donations and sending teams up to the
Baddawi camp to assist the people there in coordination with the civil
society task force set up there.
According to a report released by www.lebanon- support.org, the situation
is as follows:

1) Nahr El Bared Refugee Camp (North):
a. By 23/5/2007: 25 Palestinian civilians killed, 250 injured (80% civilians)
b. No possibility to enter the camp. Evacuation of civilians is under
process.
c. 200 houses destroyed (either partially or totally)
d. UNRWA clinics are closed
e. Around 1157 families displaced on 23/5/2007

2) Baddawi Refugee Camp (North):
a. According to AidLebanon interviews with Baddawi authorities, the number
of displaced could reach 25,000.
b. The referral of wounded civilians was initially to PRCS Safad hospital
(Baddawi camp 7 Km from Al Bared Camp), however, currently this hospital
is not receiving cases that need surgery but only initial management .They
are now functioning only as field hospital (they have deficiencies of
intravenous fluids, anesthetics medications, and other needed medical
supplies).
c. UNRWA now is trying to referral acute cases needing surgical/medical
intervention to hospitals in Tripoli (not possible because of no contract
with UNRWA), Maten, and Akar (not accessible because of security
obstacles).
d. Other hospitals started to refuse receiving the surgical cases as it is
not paid for, and it is expensive to manage if they are admitted on MOH
expenses.

3) Bourj al Barajneh Refugee Camp ( Beirut)
a. 100 displaced families
b. A number of them are still homeless, camp not equipped to handle more
people

4) Shatila Refugee Camp (Beirut)
a. 250 displaced families
b. A number of them are still homeless, camp not equipped to handle more
people

Needed Items
During the visit to Beddawi camp, a list was put together with the help of
volunteers and doctors from the camp, and we need help supplying them. The
camp and refugees are in urgent need of these items, so please consider
donating some of these items or money to buy them. Updated lists can be
found on our website:
http://nahrelbaredd
Urgent Necessities:
· Mattresses, pillows, bed covers and Hygiene supplies
· Medication
· Food and water
· Milk
· Diapers
· Sanitary napkins
· Soap, towels, garbage bags
Supplies for the Disabled:
· Water mattresses: 20
· wheel chairs: 30
· Walker: 20
· Crutches: 100

Contact Information
For tax-deductible donations to the Nahr el Bared Relief Campaign please use
the following account:
AUB Office of Development
https://rtf.
Please make sure to specify that your donation is going to the Nahr el
Bared refugees.
Aid supply drop-offs
If you have any donations you would like to drop off in person, you can do
so in Helem center, Zicco House, Spears St, Zarif (Hamra).
Contact us:
Rasha Moumneh:
r.moumneh@gmail. com
03-356644
Marcy Newman
marcynewman@ gmail.com
70-977812
Sara Abou Ghazal
dajijbeirut@ gmail.com
70-917001

mm
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