1. Home
  2. Middle East and North Africa
  3. Lebanon

Shelters at maximum capacity in Sidon, charity says

Mohammed Rmeite and his family are determined to stay, whatever the war brings to Sidon, Lebanon, 7 August 2006. His family held out at their home in Mjadel for 10 days. However, when their water ran out, the situation became too much to bear. They then m Hugh Macleod/IRIN
Relief workers are struggling to cater to the needs of increasing numbers of displaced people arriving in Sidon, a port city 40km south of Beirut. “People arrive here with only the clothes on their backs,” said Sheikh Khalil al-Solh, a member of local charity group The Islamic Gathering. “They have no money, no jobs and when they arrive they do not even have mats to sleep on. We’ve been able to absorb the displaced since the beginning of the calamity, but the moment Sidon is hit, there will be a catastrophe.” According to the Lebanese Higher Relief Council, a government body set up specifically to manage relief efforts during this conflict, some 50,000 displaced people have fled to Sidon. The current conflict started after the armed wing of Lebanese political party Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on 12 July. In response, Israel launched a military offensive that has focused largely on the south of Lebanon, from where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel. The Islamic Gathering is providing food and shelter to 750 people who have taken refuge in a local university, which opened as a centre for displaced persons on 15 July. Through funds provided by the Qatar Red Crescent, displaced families are being provided with three meals a day and shelter. According to al-Solh, the university is now running at maximum capacity. When questioned by journalists, some of the displaced families living in the university express frustration and scorn. “We spoke out to the media earlier, but it has changed nothing,” said the father of one family. “Now I don't think it will make any difference.” Mohammed Rmeite, a labourer from the village of Mjadel, 25km south-east of Sidon, recalled how he and his family finally decided to flee the bombarded south. “We stuck it out for 10 days, only venturing outside when Israeli warplanes weren’t flying around,” he said. “But we quickly ran out of water, and the situation became too much to bear.” As Rmeite recounted the 16 days he and his family have spent sleeping in one of the university’s classroom, an Israeli bomb exploded nearby. “Does she have tanks? Does she have bombs?” asked one elderly man, shaking with rage, holding up a wide-eyed baby girl wrapped in a white sheet. “She was only one day old when the fighting began.” HM/AM/ED

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Get the day’s top headlines in your inbox every morning

Starting at just $5 a month, you can become a member of The New Humanitarian and receive our premium newsletter, DAWNS Digest.

DAWNS Digest has been the trusted essential morning read for global aid and foreign policy professionals for more than 10 years.

Government, media, global governance organisations, NGOs, academics, and more subscribe to DAWNS to receive the day’s top global headlines of news and analysis in their inboxes every weekday morning.

It’s the perfect way to start your day.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian today and you’ll automatically be subscribed to DAWNS Digest – free of charge.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join