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Alain BOINET just spent a week in Lebanon with our team in the field, 35 years after his first mission in Afghanistan. He shares his logbook with us.
Monday
In Beirut, I meet with Cyril, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s Head of Mission in Lebanon. We have a mission in the north of the country, in Tripoli, with 8 expats and 130 Lebanese staff. The war in Syria has already killed 200,000 people. Among the 22 million inhabitants of the country, half are in need of humanitarian assistance. In 2015, the number of Syrian refugees reached 4 million people versus “only” 200,000 in 2011. Of these, 1.2 million have found refuge in Lebanon, which represents 25% of the total population in a country that has 4.4 million Lebanese people.
Tuesday
We leave for Syr village with Leland, Pauline, Maan and Hilal. We meet there with Hamdo, who is from Homs in Syria. He lost everything there and tells us without complaining: “I came here to settle with my wife Siba and our 4 children aged from 1 to 9. My mother and sister also came with us. Today we are at the end of our financial resources. Humanitarian aid enables my family to get by but we don’t have enough funds to go back to Syria.” On a lost hill in Daraya, we are welcomed by a cordial “marhaba” or “hello” by the “shawish” who represents the refugees. There are 59 families living here. In total, 250 people are crowded in a 41 bedroom house with a small kitchen and toilets. Everything is impeccably clean. These families come from Homs, Idlib, Hama in Syria. Here, at 1,600 meters above sea level, the next winter will be harsh and there will be heavy snow.
Wednesday
Today we head to Mqaiteaan where 173 refugees are living in 37 shelters. A typical shelter in Mqaiteaan is made of a big rectangular wooden frame, placed on a cement slab and covered with waterproof plastic sheeting. There are 12 latrines here with sinks supplied with water.
An old lady full of enthusiasm greets us with Rayanne, our translator, by putting her hand on her head: “Ala rassi” she says. She has 4 kids: 3 daughters and a son who died at war. We stop further at Dar el Amar, where families live in garages. Here, I meet with a couple of elderlies. He’s 96 and she’s 83 years old. They ended up here, far from home and they live in exile. “We ran from Homs and we live here with our daughter and her family. Here is our grandson. He’s 8 years old. His older brother died.”
Thursday
Intervening with refugees is a logistic challenge. We have 40 vehicles to provide daily aid within the 700 sites in this area. We bring drinking water, toilets, hygiene kits as well as shelter material. We also support the refugee committee who ensure the maintenance of facilities. Finally, we support a monthly emergency fund of 175 dollars during 12 months for the poorest.
Friday
These Syrian refugees are welcome in Lebanon, a country at peace, thanks to the help of the international community and the humanitarian organisations. Nevertheless, the Syrian conflict has repercussions on Lebanon and may destabilise the country. Before I leave, we take a picture with SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s team. Caroline, our mission administrator, tells me that “this visit is a strong symbol of the relations with our organisation in Clichy (headquarters) and with our donors, but also recognition of our humanitarian action”.
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Lebanon
Context and action- 5.6 million inhabitants
- 112th out of 191 countries on the Human Development Index
- 122.148 people helped