On August 4, tragedy struck Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. An immense stockpile of ammonium nitrate exploded at the port, levelling everything near the port and damaging buildings and infrastructure within a radius of several kilometres.
The devastating explosions caused over 220 deaths and more than 6,000 injuries. And within seconds, around 300,000 people were made homeless and now desperately need emergency aid.
The port has been razed and the surrounding city has been devastated—windows and walls destroyed, cars swept away… It’s as though, in the space of just a few seconds, Beirut had been thrown back to the dramas of the civil war that engulfed the city in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Lebanon was already suffering the effects of an economic crisis—this catastrophe is too much for this country to bear. As if that were not already enough, hospitals are already under immense pressure because of the coronavirus crisis, at a time when public finances are drying up.
Thanks to your donation, our partner relief organizations can provide urgent emergency aid. They work together with their local partner organizations to ensure that the aid gets to where it is needed! Thank you very much for your support!
The needs are immense and urgent.
It is not just about finding survivors in the rubble and providing the wounded with medical care, an area where the Lebanese Red Cross, supported by the Swiss Red Cross, and its volunteers play a key role.
It is also about the 300,000 people whose homes were destroyed in the explosion. While some are staying with family members, many others are taking refuge in public buildings—schools, churches, mosques—which now need to be adapted for this purpose. These people urgently need water, food and necessities such as blankets, hygiene products and cooking utensils.
Thanks to your donations, our partner relief organizations can become active and contribute to global aid for the Lebanese population. This country with a breathtaking nature, formerly known as "Switzerland of the Middle East" has suffered too much to recover from such a catastrophe. Only international solidarity can give hope to the Lebanese people.Tasha Rumley, Verantwortliche Humanitäre Programme
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Swiss Solidarity, 1211 Geneva 8
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