Lebanon Messages

I can hear the airborne bombs fall on southern Beirut as I write these few lines. Five of our Centres lie in the midst of the area targeted by the Israelis though on the outskirts of the buffer zone summoned for evacuation. One of the bombs fell 500 meters away from the "Village" and "Lily Shwayri" Centres yesterday and caused severe damage to the neighbouring buildings. The Centres have so far been spared.

On the other hand, we are now extending emergency relief at the Ain-Saadeh Dormitories to a number of families that have lost their homes. We have so far 44 people there, of which at least 20 are children under 15.

The situation is very bad. We are enduring a military siege and constant bombing with disciplined and ferocious accuracy. Evidently, the operation seems perfectly well prepared, and makes believe that the Hezbollah abduction of the two soldiers was the occasional spark. But above all, we are currently enduring an economic blockade which will undoubtedly bleed the civilian population as the stocks of food and medicine come to terms in the coming days.

A time for mourning the 40 casualties of today, totalling 160 since the beginning of the offensive. And a time for praying, that the madness stops and for Men to regain their senses.

Raif

Update 20 July 2006:

We had one more family of 14 tonight from 'Nabatiyeh', southern Lebanon; the youngest child is two and a half years in age. This brings our total refugee community to 84 at the Ain-Saadeh Compound.

Since last Wednesday and to this moment: 320 dead; 1 200 injured; 700 000 displaced.

It is nearly 6 am here in Beirut. The air raids and bombings have intensified on Beirut.

Raif

My wife and I together with seven students of the Evening Bible School were in Pergamon/Turkey, when we heard about the events in Lebanon. This was on a fellowship with Turkish Christians tour to Antalya, and in the meantime a study tour on the footprints of the apostles Paul and John. We visited all the churches that are mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3. We also visited Antioch, Iconium/Konya, and Tarsus.

Inside Anjar and Mejdelanjar it is calm. The way between Chtaura and Barr Elias (on the way to Anjar) is cut, but there are still two ways how to reach Zahle and from there to Chtaura. The bank in Chtaura (a "glass house") lost around 15 windows last night during an attack to a Shiite center. This is the bank to which BibleLands sends the checks.

Last night there were around 20 rockets that fell into the middle Bekaa area. Soon they will start again, usually after 10 p.m.- But for Anjar and Mejdelanjar you shouldn't worry. I regard them as safe. Another problem will be the supplies of food and fuel, if the whole war will go on. Already the fuel stations are closed.

Once more I want to thank you for your Christian thoughts and prayers. May God be with you, as well, in all your plans.

In Christ, Gottfried

Messages from UAECNE (Armenian Evangelical Schools) in Beirut:

24 July 2006 - Paul Haidostian writes

During the current situation, many parties are trying to help out. The Red Cross does its part and local groups have been bringing food (there is still food in Beirut and the surrounding areas). The UAECNE has been able to provide some necessities: cushions; new fans for each room; water supplies, etc. So, we are doing some, but much is being done by the co-operation of all parties.

As well as the situation regarding displaced people, I know that the usual problems for our schools are exaggerated now. Not much money comes in during the Summer anyway, but with these problems developing in July, those who had failed to pay tuition in the Spring, will not pay even in the Summer. Thus a couple of the Armenian Evangelical Schools are unable to pay their teachers, who are already in bad shape, July’s salary.

The long-term problems will be many for everyone in Lebanon. Our societies are not usually aware of psychological care. But I know that the children of a generation that has seen a previous war are hit psychologically in a strong way. We need to find out what we can do there. Also, the economic conditions of our usual families who send their kids to our schools will be miserable. A vast majority of our people in churches and parents of school-children do not have much in terms of savings, so now they are using the little they have saved. This is a huge problem that will hit us strongly in the Fall.

May we all work, pray, act, write, and hope for a ceasefire before everything else. May we remember, though, that our hope is not in the ceasefire itself, but what a ceasefire will allow us to do once it is realised.

I look forward to a week of hopeful activity even in these difficult times in Beirut. Our communities are not only hopeful this too shall pass, but many groups have been conducting organised activities to reach out to the needy and the helpless. The majority of the people in the country have not been working for several days now. They have been watching the news, waiting for an end. Yet, there are new and meaningful challenges for serving each other in our societies. Even in these disastrous days, much good can be done.

I thank you for your letters of support. Keep upholding our community, Lebanon, and the whole world in your prayers. Thanks be to God in every situation!

27 July 2006 - Sebouh Terzian writes

The UAECNE is caring for an estimated 300 refugees, including 100 people at the Armenian Evangelical College (one of BibleLands’ Project Partners), and 150 people at a nearby government school, whom staff of the Armenian Evangelical Central High School (another of BibleLands’ Project Partners) are helping to care for. It is expected that this number will increase.

BibleLands gave an emergency grant of £5,000 to the UAECNE, to help relieve the financial burden of caring for these 300 displaced people. We received the following list of immediate needs and prayer requests (which the money will be put towards):

Food and infant formula are the most urgent needs.
There are 5 pregnant women amongst the 300 displaced people, who will need special medical care.
There is a high risk of contagious diseases, as the people are living in such close quarters. So far there is no sickness among these groups, but several have chronic conditions (e.g. diabetes, hypertension), for which medicine is hard to find.
There is a lack bathing facilities, and there are only a small number of toilets for these 300 people to use. In addition, the water supply is dependent on the electricity supply, and rationing of electricity has already begun.
The refugees are without bedding, as they are inhabiting school classrooms. In many cases they are sleeping on the concrete or stone floors. There is a shortage of foam mattresses across the country. Since most of these refugees have left their homes with only the clothes they were wearing, they are also in dire need of clothing.
A group of youth from the Armenian Evangelical churches (around 25 volunteers) are helping out in more personal ways. They visit these centres and do activities, especially for the benefit of the children and adolescents. UAECNE will be purchasing toys and other craft items for these programs. The enthusiasm and dedication of this group of young people is very heartening to us all.

Pastor Sebouh Terzian, the UAECNE Office Director, wrote: We are grateful to God for your willingness to be partners with us in helping those whose lives have been so suddenly uprooted by the strife here in Lebanon. We thank you for the £5,000 and we want you to know that we will be using the fund to provide for the items mentioned in the report (above).

Thank you for your solidarity and please continue praying, so that we have the strength to continue this ministry of hope in the Lord Jesus’ Name.

20 July 2006 - Sebouh Terzian writes

Dear friends,

Another day comes to its end (19 July) and the casualty for today is 58 dead according to the local authorities.

The death toll rises to approximately 320 since it all began.

Words are not enough to describe the situation....Even we (who still are not under direct attacks) cannot explain what the Lebanese are facing in those areas which are constantly bombarded and are waiting the air strikes to bury them under their house roofs. (Imagine yourself sitting with your family and neighbours in a crowded room; hearing all the time the F16 fighter jets diving in the air towards you and hitting.....striking what??? Imagine yourself as the father or the mother of that family....constantly under the threat and fear that the next strike would be on your house and on your children....

You want to escape to a safer zone...but how to escape if all roads and bridges are destroyed....or what about the vans and buses and the cars that were targeted during their escape (by fighter jets and battle ships).

Of course, human loss is on both sides…..But it is INCOMPARABLE!

We have opened up one of our schools (the Armenian Evangelical College...near the Haigazian University) for refugees. We may also open up the doors of one of our other schools (the Gertmenian) if the influx of refugees keeps pouring from the South.

The past two days, things are relatively calm in the city and the air strikes are concentrating on the Bekaa Valley as well as the South…WHY? …Because many of the foreign Embassies are evacuating their Citizens through the Port of Beirut to Cyprus, with Helicopters from the court of their Embassies to Cyprus, convoy of Buses through the Lebanese-Syrian border of the North to Damascus airport.

Many are criticizing these countries for putting so much effort in the evacuation process and appealing to the Israelites to relatively remain calm during this process….instead of putting similar effort to have a cease fire…..

Many are again accusing the UN for being powerless when matters are concerned with Israel.

We are thankful for all of you who wrote or called asking about us. We are thankful for you who prayed and are praying along with us for a quick and a peaceful solution to this crisis.

WE ASK YOU TO KEEP ON PRAYING FOR THE POLITICAL LEADERS OF THE WORLD TO FEAR GOD and ACT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TOWARDS A PEACEFUL SOLUTION.

Beirut, 19 July 2006 - Paul Haidostian writes

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Thankfulness is a good starting point whether in Christian worship or in human relationships. Indeed, as I write these lines, I cannot but thank those who, during these past days of turmoil, have exhibited a sense of solidarity with the people of Lebanon, prayed for peace, made concrete suggestions, or silently felt with us.

What is going on? How are you doing? What are you doing? What is going to happen? These have been the questions of those inside and outside Lebanon.

The country is in a state of shock.

Eight days ago, all we were discussing at Haigazian University was the student enrollment and financial aid needs for Fall 2006-2007, now, with a suspended Summer session and uncertain days ahead, we are simply hoping that by the end of September there will be a start of the Fall semester, the ruined bridges will be rebuilt, the internal displacement problems will be solved, and we will see and end to the hostilities before the Summer ends.

Three weeks ago, my wife and I were touring some beautiful parts of Lebanon, the Bekaa valley, the valuable ruins of Baalbeck and Anjar with our commencement speaker, president emeritus of Boston University, Dr. Aram Chobanian and his wife. Now, there are unattractive ruins all over the country; they have no touristic value, and we cannot even get to the closest ruins to us.

A week ago, the supermarkets, petrol stations, and bakeries of Lebanon were begging customers to choose their branch or brand, now, in most parts of the country, shelves are being emptied, petrol is being saved, and US dollars are unavailable in the banks. Note that I am not even referring to certain villages in the South, where the ill have no access to medical care, and the hungry have no access to food stores. These types of villages are increasing by number every day.

Until last week, the Haigazian neighborhood and downtown Beirut were busy with tourists, students, and businessmen. Now, the whole area has turned into a relatively safe haven for displaced people from Southern Beirut and South Lebanon. 500,000 people have been internally displaced. Up to 100,000 have gone into Syria. On our street alone, two floors of the Armenian Evangelical College next-door are housing close to 75 people, including many children; the former School of Law on our other side is packed with hundreds of families, and the Sanaayeh Garden near our place is a roofless shelter for many more hundreds. These people are nervous and devastated. I hear them quarreling with each other about who should sleep in which corner. Every time they get bad news from their town or about their relatives, loud cries erupt from the School of Law 100 meters away. Contrary to my memory of former times of similar experiences, this time, many of the displaced families around us are middle income people and somewhat educated. Some 300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Lebanon so far and 1000 injured.

Central Beirut is certainly safer than many other parts of the country. The quiet is interrupted regularly by the sounds of explosions. Here's how it has been so far: If loud explosions are heard early in the morning, then people do not go to work. If they are heard during the day, the streets are vacated immediately. One or the other, has been happening every day. Some of the least expected areas have been targeted outside the southern suburbs of Beirut, a bomb here and a bomb there, in the port of Beirut, the Manara, Ashrafieh, Jounieh, Hadath, etc. And these are what I call the safe areas of this war. We are much safer, so far, than many others in the country. Some freedom to move around, buy things, communicate are good gifts in these difficult days.

In a day or two, most foreign countries will have evacuated those citizens who have wished to leave the country. It is said that this is the largest wartime evacuation effort of its kind since WW2. Many of the evacuees feel unhappy they are leaving their friends in unsafe situations. Most Lebanese feel that once the westerners are out, attacks will intensify against Lebanon. But I remind myself and others, we have seen this before and survived. We will survive again, by faith. Even in these days, there are blessings and reasons for thankfulness.

Here are some conclusions I need to share:

The current crisis will certainly lead the young people of this country, especially the Christians to fall into hopelessness, thus to intensified attempts to emigrate. Therefore, churches, NGOs and others will need to be very creative and dedicated in their ministry. We will need more people who can speak the truth not simply with love, but mainly with hope.

As soon as the crisis is over, the Lebanese will want to rebuild. International help will be desperately needed. The economy has been hit strongly. Therefore, the already existing financial crisis of the people will get much much worse. Schools that have welcomed displaced people will need to be renovated as soon as possible. As far as Haigazian University is concerned, more financial aid will be requested by the students.

The Lebanese did not enter this crisis in a unified stance, and this is taken advantage of. It is expected that the strikes against Lebanon will create more tension among the Lebanese. I hope not. Who is to blame, they ask? We have learnt in politics that blaming is part of a strategic game. Who started this? Who reacted and how? These questions seem so insignificant if compared to questions of justice and peace and love. I would rather ask: Who is being just to whom? What is hurting in each society? What truths is the media hiding? What misleading interpretations are being spread? Again, I have been disappointed (but not surprised) by the poor quality of the international coverage with some exceptions. Airtime does not mean quality news. Giving one piece of news from Lebanon and a parallel from Israel is not necessarily good journalism. Media is also politics. Finding the truth about matters such as wars is a very complex endeavor. Getting to the roots of problems has never been the virtue of politicians and powerful leaders. No easy conclusions can be satisfactory.

No matter how hard the situation, I should also mention that many people are also working hard in Lebanon and elsewhere to ease the pain of others. Many volunteers, including Armenian ones, are helping their compatriots. Also, even as we prepare for worse days ahead, it is amazing that some people on the Haigazian University staff are working six hours a day painting classrooms, moving furniture from one office to the other, preparing for the Fall Semester!

I hope to keep in touch, hopefully with shorter messages. Keep praying for us all, for all people inside and beyond all borders.

In conclusion and while US dollars are unavailable in the banks and with money-changers of Lebanon, I feel we can truly realize and believe that "in God we trust".

Faithfully,

Rev. Paul Haidostian, Ph.D.
President
Haigazian University, Beirut

Message from Ali Houghton, UK-based administrator of Highway Projects.

BibleLands and Highway Projects work together, sending teams of young volunteers to the Holy Land to work on children's and maintenance projects. There were 44 volunteers in Jerusalem, 17 of whom were linked to BibleLands. They all returned home safely on Saturday 22 July as planned.

20 July 2006

Dear Friends

Just a quick note to thank you for all your thoughts, prayers and messages of support in recent days.

All of our teams are well and continuing their great work.

Unfortunately due to the situation in Northern Israel, we had to move the two teams based in the Nazareth region (St Margaret's team & Raineh team) out of the area for safety's sake. They are now in Jerusalem, although based at different accommodation than the other Jerusalem teams.

After spending most of yesterday talking to some of our project partners and other contacts in Jerusalem, Ian White has amazingly managed to secure some short-term project work for the teams from Nazareth for the last three days of their time in the area. They have split into three groups to do some children's work, some practical painting and repair work, and to help with a peace project. We must thank God for providing these opportunities for our teams.

Last night, all of the teams met for their evening meeting which was a very moving time of praise, thankfulness and prayer. It was a chance to thank God for looking after all those involved with Highway Projects, for keeping everybody safe and calm, and for the opportunities of other project work. Also a time to pray for all those affected by the situation in the Middle East at the present time.

Many of the people, with whom our teams are working, have family in Northern Israel, in Lebanon and in Gaza. Please join us in praying for a swift, peaceful and just end to this terrible situation. It totally defies belief.

All we can do is pray.

With many thanks for your support

Ali Houghton (Highway Projects Administrator) and all at Highway Projects