MIDDLE EAST: Salesian organizations respond to crisis in the Middle East
Mission Don Bosco in Italy launches campaign for resources
(MissionNewswire) Mission Don Bosco, the Salesian Mission office located in Turin, Italy, and Salesian organizations around the globe have been responding to the needs of families impacted by the conflict in the Middle East. Thousands of families are fleeing the bombings, leaving everything behind. Salesians living and working in these countries have once again opened their doors to those in need, while Salesian organizations from around the world are mobilizing to gather relief aid.
“Concern, suffering and disorientation are the emotions I perceived while listening to the voices of my confreres, Father Simon from Beirut, Father Emanuele from Jerusalem and Father Pier from Aleppo, who are currently in this terrible theater of war,” explained Father Luca Barone, president of Mission Don Bosco. “They are the voices of those who deeply love their people, who have become one with those lands where Salesian houses are now becoming refuges for those fleeing, shelters where people can receive food and medicine, homes where they can be welcomed, and places of prayer where they can find faith and consolation.”
In Nazareth and Bethlehem, schools have been closed and the population has been forced to seek refuge. In Damascus, Syria*, fragments of rockets falling in the area of Jaramana caused explosions, leading to the precautionary closure of the Salesian center. In Lebanon*, raids struck Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and several areas in the north and south. Tens of thousands of newly displaced persons are adding to an already precarious humanitarian situation. Don Bosco Technique and the Angels of Peace Salesian schools have been suspended.
In Lebanon, Salesians provided initial shelter in the houses that remained open, offering help to the displaced, to those who lost their homes and to those searching for a safe place. The Salesian house of El Houssoun has welcomed about 116 people, including two newborns, a mother who has just given birth and 12 elderly people. Many of these families arrived after a 16-hour journey covering 110 kilometers (about 68 miles) because of the enormous traffic congestion caused by the mass exodus of people fleeing the bombings.
There are also 45 children who fled during the night from the southern regions who are at this Salesian house. Almost all the people who are displaced have arrived without clothes or personal belongings as winter temperatures drop to near freezing.
“We must guarantee the basic conditions for all these people, including warm clothing, food and water. This is what we are focusing on,” explained Joe Attalla, director of a Don Bosco Center in Lebanon. “The families reached the Salesian center exhausted and with very few personal items, therefore the priority was to ensure dignified conditions from the very beginning.”
A Salesian coordinator in charge of the response added, “The classrooms of the center were quickly transformed into welcoming spaces with mattresses, blankets and basic humanitarian aid kits, but we need help. The displaced need food, blankets, warm clothes and essential goods, especially for children and the elderly.”
Mission Don Bosco immediately launched a campaign to gather resources in order to provide immediate assistance to those displaced, offer psychological support to the most fragile and sustain the Salesians working on the ground so that they can face this new emergency in the best possible way.
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Sources:
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Salesian Province of the Middle East
Salesian Province of the Middle East Facebook
*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.
