LEBANON: Lebanese Christians under Hezbollah rule and in the war
Article originally published by L’Oeuvre d’Orient under the title “Lebanon emergency”
L’Oeuvre d’Orient (08.10.2024) – Since Wednesday 18 September, the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has become particularly acute. The general security and humanitarian situation in Lebanon have become catastrophic: more than 1,000 deaths in a fortnight, 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), i.e. 20% of the Lebanese population, in a country that was already hosting 2 million Syrian refugees.
The bombardments in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut are currently directly threatening the civilian population, who are being forced to flee towards Beirut city centre, leaving everything behind.
Some Christian villages on the border with southern Lebanon are now completely empty, such as the villages of Alma El Chaeb and Debel, which were hit by air strikes that killed 3 people and caused all the inhabitants to flee.
Not far away, a large part of the population is blocked. In the Christian village of Rmeich, which has a population of 6,000, people can no longer leave because they could be targeted by the air strikes and fighting raging in the south. Displaced persons from neighbouring villages, such as Ain Ebel, which had been ordered to evacuate, are also trapped in Rmeich. The headmistress of the Saints Cœurs school in Ain Ebel, one of the 180 displaced people from her village, told us that the whole population is in a state of terror, cut off from the world. The school of the Sisters of the Saints Cœurs has also been hit by a strike in recent days.
The Lebanese hospital sector is already almost saturated to receive those injured by the strikes, and resources are limited. Geitaoui Hospital in Beirut is the only hospital in Lebanon with a burn’s unit. With a capacity of 9 beds and already 25 patients, human dilemmas are already arising where the choice of treatment between two new patients will depend on their chance of survival. This hospital receives no aid from international public donors. (1)
The situation is very different from that in 2006 and 2020 after the explosion of the Beirut Port. Lebanese society is fragmented, the network of associations is fragile, and international donors are less mobilised. In addition, with the presence of Hezbollah in the camps and centres for displaced persons, a number of local and international associations and NGOs fear that international organisations will lose their commitment. We are facing family tragedies that are also linked to the accumulation of serious crises that Lebanon is going through.
This war is taking place against a catastrophic backdrop for the country, which has been without a president for two years now and has been going through an unprecedented economic crisis for at least four years.
Concerns
We are particularly concerned about :
- The presence of Shiite militias in Christian and public schools in the center of Beirut, who are threatening displaced persons and the staff and communities running these schools
- The abandonment of foreign domestic workers who are also fleeing the bombardments and who are being refused entry to centers for displaced persons.
- Schools broken into and occupied by Shiite militiamen
In recent days, several Christian and public schools in Beirut city centre (west Beirut) have been broken into by armed men and militiamen from the Shiite movements Amal and Hezbollah.
L’Oeuvre d’Orient went to the scene to understand the situation and help these schools as best it could.
Men, organised as a militia, arrived day and night in the above-mentioned schools. They broke the locks, gates and doors to let in large numbers of displaced persons fleeing the bombardments in southern Lebanon and southern Beirut.
These violent intrusions into schools led to panic among school staff and religious communities, who were prepared to welcome these displaced families, but in decent and organised conditions and not in a violent manner.
One of the guards at one of these schools was even threatened with abduction and death by these armed men if he did not open the school gate.
Today, these armed militiamen are stationed at the entrances to these schools and check the identities of all those who enter. They prevent people from entering the premises and prevent journalists from taking photographs or visiting the premises.
The sisters and staff who run these schools are no longer free to move around, are not allowed to circulate in their own school and sometimes even in their convent (one of the sisters no longer has access to her room, which is occupied by force) they cannot decide where and under what conditions the displaced persons will be received.
These forced occupations are endangering the displaced persons, the school staff and the host communities:
- The presence of militiamen in these schools represents a threat. The displaced persons and residents of the sites, as well as the surrounding inhabitants, become a target for potential new Israeli bombardments.
- The reception of displaced persons is carried out in a completely disorganised manner, without any safety or hygiene measures. Food and hygiene conditions are deteriorating, giving rise to fears of disease. (one of the occupied schools has only 3 toilets for 900 displaced persons)
- The close proximity of displaced families is exacerbating tensions within the schools and among local residents.
- Abandonment of foreign women domestic workers
Fleeing the bombings, Lebanese families abandon the foreign domestic workers who work for them. These women are left behind or on the side of the road, without money, passports or shelter.
These women cannot take refuge in the displaced persons centres because most of them do not accept domestic workers and are reserved “in priority for Lebanese citizens”. These women have nowhere to go and are living on the streets. These conditions expose them to serious risks of human trafficking.
This week, L’Œuvre d’Orient visited a reception center for displaced domestic workers in Kalaa, above Beirut. The premises belong to the Sisters of Charity and are run by the Incarnate Word community. There are already 70 refugees there – women, children and a few men – mainly from Ethiopia and Sri Lanka. The center is expecting more people to arrive in the next few days.
Calls and Recommendations
L’Œuvre d’Orient:
- Calls for help for the people trapped in the villages in the south who are at the mercy of the bombardments. – Demands the immediate evacuation of the militiamen and respect for the decisions and status of the schools hosting the displaced persons.
- Calls for a meeting of the Lebanese Parliament to appoint a President of the Republic as soon as possible to lead Lebanon towards the neutrality it needs and to which it is entitled.
- Calls for the formation of a new government to coordinate international aid.
- Calls on the Lebanese authorities to make it easier for foreign domestic workers wishing to leave Lebanon to obtain papers, and to open reception centers for all displaced persons without distinction as to ethnic or religious origin.
- Calls on international donors to respond to this unprecedented humanitarian crisis and not to focus aid solely on international organisations.
- Calls on international donors to respond to this unprecedented humanitarian crisis and:
- Not to focus aid solely on international organisations. DG ECHO launched a €10 million HIP on 30 September for the following organisations only: WHO, IOM, UNHCR, ICRC;
- Respect the EU’s humanitarian principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, in particular the principle of humanity, which means that a solution must be found to human suffering wherever it occurs, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable populations;
- International donors must therefore adapt to the local Lebanese context, where there are many players on the ground welcoming and helping displaced people: associations, public (municipalities), religious (schools, hospitals, centres…), not to mention families;
- Thus integrate local players into coordination mechanisms to avoid discrimination and oversights;
- Release funds more quickly and simplify traditional aid mechanisms with a constantly changing situation.
These recommendations are in line with those made in a study “carried out by L’Oeuvre d’Orient with a consortium of associations following the explosion in the Port of Beirut in 2020: “Urgence Beyrouth” collective study.
(1) Dans l’unité des grands brûlés de l’hôpital Geitaoui de Beyrouth : « La guerre va être longue, on ne sera pas capables de continuer sans aide » : https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2024/10/05/dans-l-unite-des-grands-brules-de-l-hopital-geitaoui-de-beyrouth-la-guerre-va-etre-longue-on-ne-sera-pas-capables-de-continuer-sans-aide_6344365_3210.html
(2) Etude réalisée par L’Oeuvre d’Orient suite à l’explosion du Port de Beyrouth en 2020 : https://www.urd.org/fr/projet/etude-collective-urgence-beyrouth/
Photo: LCI