World Vision Responds to Fierce Battles in Lebanon

World Vision continues to respond to thousands of displaced Palestinian refugee families this week as fierce battles between Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese Army continue relentlessly.

Now in its third week, the fighting at the Naher el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli in north Lebanon has claimed more than 100 civilian, soldier and militant lives and displaced more than 30,000 people.

Nearly two-thirds of those have gone to the nearby Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp, where they have crammed into tiny apartments with friends or family or found shelter in overcrowded school classrooms and hallways, leading to fears of the spread of disease and infection, including lice and scabies.

"As you walk through the camp, you can actually feel the pain," said Tony Matar, relief manager for the response.

This week, World Vision distributed 2,500 kits to replenish supplies used since the last distribution and to add additional items, such as baby bottles. Distributions have expanded to include Bourj el-Barajneh and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps, where smaller numbers of displaced families have fled.

"We are talking about an overcrowded, impoverished settlement where more than one-third of the refugees are children," said Ruba Khoury, World Vision's programme coordinator for Lebanon. "If everyday life was a challenge for these families before this fighting, it has to be a nightmare now."

Several incidents over the past two days have raised fears that the fighting may spread to other Palestinian refugee camps. The Jund al-Sham group have attacked Lebanese Army positions near the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon.

"Even on its best days, Nahr el-Bared camp looks like another country from the rest of Lebanon. You can smell sewage and see dangerous wires protruding onto the narrow streets where barefoot, unsupervised children are playing," describes Khoury. "Without meaningful job prospects, these children don't have a very promising future to look forward to. World Vision is trying to change that with innovative programmes and training - but right now we can't even get inside to make sure our children are safe."

World Vision calls for all parties to distinguish between combatants, civilian and military targets; for the protection of children; neutral and impartial access to aid distribution; humanitarian access to civilian populations in the camp and surrounding areas; and for civilian populations to be able to leave the camp.