Life getting harder by the day in south Lebanon, centre warns

The humanitarian Khiam Centre warned on Saturday that a real famine was looming in the country’s southern areas, with many towns and villages there lacking food and water. Disease was also on the rise due to the lack of water to wash up, according to the examinations of Dr Hussein Safa and Dr Ziad Bchara from the Centre. "Many of the displaced children, or those stuck in their villages are facing lice, typhoid, acute diarrhoea, scabies and bronchitis. The women are facing infants deaths (still born), troubles in the urinal ducts … old people are suffering ulcer, blood pressures and have difficulty in urinating," said Safa. On the psychological level, "many are facing trembling, hysteria, lack of concentration, fast urination with some children, and all of that is due to the bombings by the Israelis." The Centre was established in the town of Khiam, some 70km south of Beirut in 2000 by former Lebanese detainees in Israeli prisons. Following the Israeli withdrawal from that area in 2000, the detainees with the help of the Lebanese government set up the centre which assists former detainees who allege to have been tortured by the Israelis to adjust to normal life. During the current Israeli offensive on Lebanon, which was triggered by the capture of two Israeli soldiers on 12 July, the centre has helped many displaced families. Until 29 July, it organised plays and other performances for the children of the displaced. Issam Assaf, a mini-bus driver from the Bekaa, says their situation has deteriorated ever since. "We are living a catastrophe. The Israelis are attacking civilians, residential buildings, cars and everything,” said Assaf. Farah Qassem, 24, who is now staying at a relative’s house after fleeing the southern town of Sidon, said: "We will go back to our land and rebuild what the Israelis have destroyed. We, the Lebanese, are well known for that." Meanwhile, many southern border towns including Rmeich, Dibl, Ain Ibl, and Qozah are facing a severe shortage of drinking and washing water – so severe that the people are drinking from animal water ponds, which are contaminated with bacteria. According to residents, Rmeich, which used to have 5,000 residents and now is holding 25,000 people who have fled from nearby southern towns, is on the verge of catastrophe. "Due to the lack of washing water, the epidemic of scabies is spreading like fire in dry hay," Issam el-Hajj, one of the people living in Rmeich and who managed to escape to Beirut few days ago, told IRIN. He added that the town is not equipped to handle this large number of displaced people and that each house accommodates more than 50 people. The residents have also run out of diesel to run the generator to draw water from the well just outside the village, but about 10 days ago they managed to extract some fuel from their heating systems and cars to run it, el-Hajj said. “Since then, however, the Israelis have been targeting any moving thing on the road towards the generator.... so from then to now we do not have washing water and drinking water and there are many children who are suffering from dehydration. We are drinking from a contaminated pond which they use to water their crops and animals. Many are now suffering diarrhoea..." LH/AR/LS