Aug 24, 2006

Lebanon: A month of war, a lifetime of aftermath.

Friends from a solidarity delegation visited Lebanon in early August (before the "ceasefire"). They brought back photos and videos. Proof of IDF's unfathomable civilian-targeted crimes in Lebanon. Rotting limbs of corpses protruding from the bombed remains of houses, burnt bodies waiting to be identified, the injured and amputated. Amnnesty International says more than a thousand civilians were killed in Lebanon, ONE THIRD of those were children.

Those who survived the bombings have to deal with rebuilding their country, homes, as well as their trust in humanity. They are seeking answers to their "whys", trying to keep their sanity.

From Zena's blog "Beirut Update"
The post is titled i'm alive, Aug.23, 2006.

"[...]
the aftermath.
there were mass burials held this past week. so many bodies had been left to rot because no one could access them before. now they are being buried.

families are wondering why...? why....?

many people are getting sick. there is a new virus going around. i heard it has something to do with the toxins coming out of the damaged buildings plus the dead bodies... it could be from the oil spill.. from the tanks that burned for three weeks covering Beirut in a black smog... the virus lasts for a few days... its effects are vomiting, diarrhea and very high temperature.

on the day of the ceasefire, many people began the return to their homes. they crossed the rivers by foot when needed....they were so determined to get home.. to see if they still had a home. Nasrallah announced that he was going to fix all the houses for free... and that he would provide money to pay for accommodations for people who had lost their homes, while he fixed their old homes.

there are cluster bombs everywhere. they dropped cluster bombs on us... there are so many that didn't explode... they are so so dangerous.
[...]"
.