Two weeks after the explosion that devastated the port of Beirut and the surrounding neighborhoods, causing over 200 deaths and 300,000 displaced people, the capital of Lebanon is still in a state of emergency.
“Normality is simply impossible – underlines the head of mission of INTERSOS Riccardo Mioli – People are still shocked. Social and political instability are deep. The economic and financial crisis, afflicting Lebanon even before the explosion, adds an additional burden to the aftermath of the blast. Due to the growing spread of Covid-19, the government has declared a new general lockdown of 15 days, starting from August, 21st.”
Curfew from 6 pm to 6 am, closure of all non-essential shops (including bars and restaurants, open only for take away). The only exception is for public offices, which will continue to operate with partial hours, and for humanitarian operations, more necessary than ever in such an emergency context.
INTERSOS’s response to the emergency is focused on the poor neighborhoods most affected by the explosion. The distribution of 3200 kits of hygienic and COVID-19 prevention material to the most vulnerable families is underway, in addition to the distribution of 920 dignity kits (with basic necessities for women and girls) and 512 shelter kits (with materials such as plastic sheets to ensure the habitability of damaged buildings) in the days immediately following the disaster.
Distributions are door to door, and each meeting with a family represents an opportunity to listen to their needs and, for our psychologists, to provide first psychological aid. Many elderly and single women with children are among the people we are assisting. “This first phase of our response will last for 3 months and will be integrated with economic support for the most vulnerable – Mioli underlines – This support is particularly relevant to allow people to purchase of medicines and access to medical care. In the second phase we will start, in collaboration with a local organization, an intervention with mobile clinics directly in the neighborhoods where we operate. And in the medium term, certainly in the next 6 months, we will start offering direct support for the renovation of damaged buildings. Our goal is to help the victims of the explosion to get back on their feet, leaving no one behind”.
“Our work has just begun – says INTERSOS Director of Programs Alda Cappelletti, who has just returned from Beirut – We move in extremely poor neighborhoods, where people urgently need material and psychosocial support to overcome this emergency. Unfortunately, what is destroyed in a moment, certainly cannot be rebuilt in one day. And it is precisely when the news seems to disappear from the media that people need our help the most ”.