« Terre des Hommes expresses concern for the civilian population caught up in the Middle Eastern conflict »

Press Release
Geneva, 18 July 2006

Terre des Hommes expresses concern for the civilian population caught up in the Middle Eastern conflict

The International Federation Terre des Hommes expresses its deep concern about the opening of the second front of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Lebanon.

“Those attacks are doing nothing more than speed the very grave spiral of violence that is extending in the Middle East and they represent grave violations of human rights”, stated Raffaele Salinari, President of the International Federation Terre des Hommes. “As usual, those who pay the highest price are civilians, as shown by the current humanitarian emergency in Palestine, where a number of the victims are children. We fear that the spread of the conflict to Lebanon may lead to a worsening of conditions in the refugee camps in the South of the country, such as Ein El Helweh in Saïda, where Terre des Hommes Italy operates”.

Members of the International Federation Terre des Hommes are involved in programmes for children of the region :

• Terre des Hommes Italy supports the activity of the local organisation Naba’a, which is engaged in promoting basic schooling for refugee children and trying to contain school drop-out levels. Some 450 children aged between 5 and 11 are direct beneficiaries of this project and have access to educational, leisure and school support activities, as well as to psychosocial and health assistance. Part of the project involves training teachers who can benefit from attending professional seminars aiming at updating educational and cultural skills. Parents also have access to psychosocial assistance and workshops aiming at raising awareness about the rights of the child.

• The Terre des Hommes Foundation based in Lausanne, Switzerland is working with close partners in Saïda (Ardtfola et Lana al Mostakbal ) and Bednayel (Alinsan Wal Mostakbal) to cover the first needs of the displaced families. « It is not about the analysis of who is right or wrong, it is about the unacceptable situation of children » stated a Terre des Hommes representative, leading the support to displaced families in Saïda.

For more information please contact Raffaele Salinari : mobile phone +39 3 29 22 53 773

or the International Federation Terre des Hommes headquarters : +41 22 736 33 72