January 30, 2014 Syria

Czechs help Syrian refugees in the district of Marjeyoun in South Lebanon

The people of Czech Republic (namely members of the Regional Catholic Charity Veselí upon Moravia and employees of Partners Financial Services from Moravia) have begun a humanitarian aid campaign. In collaboration with the Association of Lebanese AGHSAN Deirmimas and under the auspices of the Czech Embassy in Beirut, they hope to distribute funds to Syrian refugee women in southern Lebanon.

The initiative to provide humanitarian assistance came from the fact that Dr. Kamel Morkos (Chairman of the Association AGHSAN) is a Czech citizen, and that Svatopluk Čumba (the current Czech Ambassador of Lebanon) is a native of Veselí. The distributed assistance is in the form of humanitarian packages containing basic food and sanitary supplies that have been locally purchased. Association AGHSAN Deirmimas prepared a totally of 150 packages for refugee women and their families. They were distributed in six villages of the Marjeyoun district: Deirmimas, Kolayaa, Buri El Mluk, Marjeyoun, Debbine and Blat. Crisis in the region has shifted the world’s perception of war and tragedy, demonstrating the need not only for a social conscience but also a concrete action. Thanks to the media, nowadays one cannot ignore the humanitarian and political disaster in Syria, which seems to have reached proportions not seen since the end of the Second World War. The refugees must urgently be ensured effective emergency assistance.

Lebanon (with 4.5 million inhabitants) could not have be prepared for the massive influx of 900,000 refugees, mostly women and children, which represent 25% of the Lebanese population. The World Bank estimates the costs related to the effects of the Syrian crisis to burden Lebanon’s economy by 7.5 billion USD.

Refugees from Syria are suffering and urgently need help and support. The humanitarian situation is becoming unsustainable and these people need assistance. At the same time, long-term solutions must be implemented. Reality of conflict shows that many refugees will not be able to return to Syria soon. We must continue to support organisations that promote a global citizen-like nature. Syrian women who are now receiving humanitarian aid from Moravia announced: “Moravians, thank you.”