BEIRUT - AUG 2024
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Amid fears of conflict spreading further across the country, Beirut embassies are calling for foreigners to leave Lebanon and the UK government has put more than 1,000 military personnel on standby in case British nationals need to be evacuated.
Anna Chilvers, a UK citizen and Medair’s Country Director for Lebanon, shares a first-hand perspective of the unfolding situation at a time of escalating humanitarian need.
“I have led Medair’s team in Lebanon for almost five years and in that time, we have been responding to the Syrian refugee crisis, the economic collapse, COVID-19, the Beirut explosion, the cholera outbreak and now this escalating conflict arising from the situation in Gaza. It has been a challenging period for the country, but it’s clear that the risk level now is higher than it has been at any point during my time here.
“Day-to-day life feels a bit strange currently, like we are living in two parallel realities. In one, we are working on response plans to a range of scenarios and readying ourselves for what might happen. In the second, life continues as normal. Right now, I’m watching some children playing outside my window and enjoying the beautiful view of the mountains across Bekaa Valley. Part of emergency preparedness is reconciling these two and recognising the need and reality of both.
“Importantly, we are not going anywhere. When needs increase, so does the need for our presence. But with that comes risk. One of my ongoing concerns is finding the balance between providing assistance and ensuring the safety of my team. Recently, two of my colleagues were just 250m away from an airstrike in the Bekaa Valley.
“It is a privilege to be leading such an amazing, big-hearted team, determined to help others, at a time when many of them and their families have also been directly impacted.”
Responding to the needs of Internally Displaced People
The increasing tension is being felt most acutely in the country’s border areas, where there have been over 6,000 cross-border attacks (mostly airstrikes) since last October. Families continue to flee to other parts of the country they feel are safer and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimates that nearly 100,000 people from the southern border areas have been forced to flee their homes in that time.
“Every person we meet has a story to tell. People have lost their homes and livelihoods. So many are scared about the current situation and what the future holds,” says Anna.
Medair in Beirut - Cash for Shelter initiative
In the southern suburbs of Beirut, Medair has introduced a Cash for Shelter initiative for people who have fled their homes in the border region in search of safety. Launched in May 2024, the programme has so far seen us assessing and providing cash assistance to 570 households.
Anna continues: “It is hard not to be moved by the stories of families who have taken the tough decision to flee their communities, many of which have been destroyed. Relocating and adapting presents all sorts of challenges. People are leaving behind their access to healthcare, medication and doctors who know their medical history, while arriving in a place where the cost of rent, food, power and water are much higher.”
Zeina’s story
One of the c.100,000 people who have fled their home in search of safety is Zeina (28), pictured here with her two boys in a shelter where Medair conducted repairs.
She told us: “It was past midnight. My family and I were asleep. It felt like it all had happened in the blink of an eye. The ground beneath our home trembled at the sound of a powerful blast. Acting instinctively, I recall leaping out of bed and rushing toward my little ones, overcome with screams and tears. The outside echoes of explosions persisted, synchronized with flashes that illuminated the entire area. Reliving it now, it just makes me want to cry.
“After the trauma and uncertainty of fleeing our home, we have relocated to another part of the country. Eight other families from our southern area who fled their homes have temporarily resettled here with the hope of returning one day. We collectively pool our money to purchase essential groceries, which sustain us with two meals a day. Each day, I turn to prayer. May God help us.”
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MEDIA ENQUIRIES
If you would like to know more about Medair and how our in-country spokespeople can add unique insights and colour to a forthcoming story or report, we would love to hear from you.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us:
Jean-Bernard Palthey, Engagement Director. jean-bernard.palthey@medair.org (English and French)
Claudia Scharton, Executive Communication Specialist, claudia.scharton@medair.org (German)
Abdul Dennaoui, Communications, Medair Lebanon. Abdul.Dennaoui@medair.org
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Medair – a decade of providing life-saving support in Lebanon
Medair is supporting displaced families and is making emergency preparations – along with the wider humanitarian community – to meet the anticipated needs arising from future displacement.
Medair manages and operates a warehouse in the Bekaa Valley, which has pre-positioned supplies, including shelter items (e.g. tents, tarpaulins); core relief items (e.g. mattresses and blankets) and medication.
Medair is conducting a cash programme in Beirut, which includes identifying eligible newly displaced people and providing these families with financial support. We are currently providing support to 570 households. Medair’s team also distributes in-kind items to displaced families. A kit contains blankets, mattresses, sleeping mats, jerry cans, and a kitchen set.
Medair is providing supportive communications and Psychological First Aid (PFA) training for frontline workers. We continue to provide peer support groups for both adults and adolescents to address increasing mental health needs.
Medair actively supports two health centres in underserved areas, enabling displaced families to access primary healthcare. We have been pre-stocking medicines and working in co-ordination with the Ministry of Health in Lebanon.
Medair has renovated shelters in Baalbek, to accommodate families from the south who have been displaced.
Current crisis – update
There have been regular and increasing hostilities at the southern border of Lebanon since 7th October 2023.
The country finds itself ill-equipped to accommodate the growing number of displaced people as it grapples with the ongoing socio-economic crisis. Lebanon already hosts 1.5 million Syrian and 457,000 Palestinian refugees.
Thirteen years after the onset of the war in Syria, Lebanon is still the country with the highest proportion of refugees in the world (UNHCR 2024).
According to the World Food Programme, the number of food-insecure people is expected to increase from 19% of the population in March 2024, to 23% by September 2024 – equivalent to 1.26 million people (WFP 2024).
An estimated 80% of Lebanese people live in poverty, with 36% below the extreme poverty line.
90% of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are unable to cover their basic needs.
About Medair
We are a humanitarian aid charity who since 1989 has been responding to urgent health crises around the world, saving lives and relieving human suffering in some of the world’s most remote and devastated places.
Today we have over 1,500 employees worldwide, who are all humanitarian experts. Since our creation, we have helped more than 50 million people in 40 countries.
How can we help you?
Where we are
We have experts in-country today who can bring eye-witness accounts and first-person perspectives to your story in: Afghanistan, Chad, DR Congo, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Türkiye, Ukraine and Yemen.
What we can speak about
We have spokespeople who can speak about a range of issues rooted in our unique frontline experiences, including (but not limited to) poverty, relief, disaster response, climate change, humanitarian innovation.
Unique photography
We have photographers covering all the locations where Medair is present. We are confident of being able to provide you with strong sets of photos to help tell each story.
Six things you should know about Medair
- We were the first international NGO to be registered in Kyiv to provide humanitarian assistance following the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine on 24th February 2022.
- We are in 7 of the top 10 countries in the EU’s INFORM Risk Index of countries with the greatest humanitarian need.
- We responded to the 6th February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria within 24 hours.
- We have a long history in Afghanistan and have been providing humanitarian aid since 1996. We are one of a handful of NGOs who have experience of – and are able to continue – working with the de facto authorities to deliver relief.
- We have remained present in Sudan since the outbreak of war on 15th April 2023, not dropping a day of life-saving humanitarian assistance and increased our reach into new regions.
- Another NGO said of us: “When the road ends, Medair keeps going.” This speaks of our commitment to helping people who could be forgotten or neglected because they are hard to reach – due to terrain, security conditions or lack of roads.