[Bloquez l'empire!] Nahr el Bared: CALL FOR SOLIDARITY and URGENT FINANCIAL AID

[Mary Foster]

From: "Tadamon! Montreal" <tadamon at resist.ca>

Appeal: Nahr el Bared Refugee Camp, Lebanon
CALL FOR SOLIDARITY AND URGENT FINANCIAL AID FOR DISPLACED PALESTINIAN
REFUGEES

Since 20 May, Nahr al Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon
with an estimated 40,000 inhabitants, has been under bombardment by Lebanese
military forces. The military assault on the densely populated refugee camp
takes place after a clash between Lebanese security forces and an armed
salifist group called Fatah al Islam, which infiltrated the civilian refugee
camp.

The bombardment of the refugee camp takes place during the 40th anniversary
of the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. This
year also marks the 59th anniversary of the creation of the apartheid state
of Israel, which led to the displacement of some 750,000 Palestinians from
their homeland. Some of these refugees, their children, and their
grandchildren are now living in Nahr al Bared, as the world remains largely
silent in the face of Israel's refusal to recognize their right of return.

According to the United Nations Refugee and Relief Works Agency (UNRWA),
over 20,000 people have been displaced since 20 May. Lebanese national and
religious institutions have, in general, remained closed to the displaced
refugees. The large majority of those displaced have instead taken refuge in
greatly over-burdened and under-resourced homes in other Palestinian refugee
camps, such as Shatila, Bourj al Barajneh and Baddawi. International NGOs
are directing relief towards the small minority who are sheltering in UNRWA
schools.

As fighting between the army and Fatah al Islam enters its fourth week,
thousands of civilians remain trapped within the camp. Military clashes are
spreading to other refugee camps in the country, notably Ein el Hilweh, a
camp near Sidon, in the southern part of the country.

Circumstances surrounding the conflict are unclear; the origin, nature and
objectives of Fatah al Islam - an armed extremist organization with few
historic or current ties to Palestinians in Lebanon - raise many questions.

In this context, Tadamon! Montreal regards the following as points of
departure to respond to the crisis:

*  Nahr al Bared and the other Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon exist as
a result of the creation of the state of Israel and the continued refusal of
the apartheid state to accept the Palestinians' right of return, as called
for by U.N. Resolution 194. The refusal by Lebanese authorities to grant
full civil and economic rights to the Palestinians until their eventual
return to their homeland has resulted in sub-standard conditions in the
camps.

* Palestinians who have no relation whatsoever with Fatah al Islam - that
is, the vast majority of people residing in Nahr al Bared - have been
displaced or killed, their homes and lives shattered by the shelling of the
camp.

* The conflict is being instrumentalized by various parties in Lebanon to
heighten prejudice against Palestinian refugees, who should be considered
allies in the struggle against Israeli colonialism. It is being used to
exacerbate sectarian division, destabilize the country and to undermine the
fight against Israeli apartheid and resistance to North American domination
of the region.

>From this perspective, Tadamon! calls on all who are concerned with justice
and human life to refuse to be silently complicit in the oppression of
people who have already suffered displacement for 59 years. Tadamon! calls
on everyone to reject the Bush-like logic, all too often implicit in media
coverage of the crisis, which justifies "collateral damage" as necessary to
"national security" in the context of the "war against terrorism".

==> TADAMON! APPEALS to all who have the capacity, to DONATE, even a
symbolic amount, to one of the following grassroots relief initiaties,
organized in a spirit of solidarity by friends and allies of Tadamon! in
Lebanon:

* NAHR EL BARED RELIEF CAMPAIGN. The Nahr el Bared Relief Campaign was
spontaneously formed following the tragic events in Nahr el Bared Camp and o
rganizes on behalf of those not getting NGO aid. We are made up of a
grouping of unaffiliated individuals, including students, professors, and
activists working on relief and civil action to end the violence and offer
aid to those injured and displaced due to the Nahr el Bared conflict.
Contact: Nahr al-Bared Relief Campaign: www.nahrelbaredcampaign.org

* WOMEN'S HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATION, BURJ AL-BARAJNEH. The Women's
Humanitarian Organization (WHO) was founded in 1993 to serve women and
children living in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Currently the Women
's Humanitarian Organization is working to help provide basic needs to the
internally displaced Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, including clothes,
medicines, food supplies, and hygienic necessities. Contact: Olfat Mahmoud,
Director, Women's Humanitarian Organization: palwho[at]gmail.com.

NOTE: To reduce bank transfer costs, you can send your donation via Tadamon!
Montreal.  Cash donations can be arranged by calling us at 514 664 1036 or
emailing us at tadamon at resist.ca. Checks should be made out to "Tadamon!
Montreal", specifying "Nahr al Bared" in the subject line, and sent to:
Tadamon! Montreal, 3647 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B3.

==> For UPDATED NEWS, ANALYSIS and CONTEXT, visit:

- Nahr al Bared information (English and Arabic): www.nahrelbared.info
- Electronic Lebanon (English): www.electronicintifada.net/lebanon
- Al-Akhbar Newspaper (Arabic): www.al-akhbar.com
- Aljazeera (English): http://english.aljazeera.net/English
- Aljazeera (Arabic): www.aljazeera.net
- The Daily Star (English): www.dailystar.com.lb


---------------------------
Tadamon! Montreal
+1 514 664 1036
tadamon[at]resist.ca
http://tadamon.resist.ca

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