Sunday 6 October, the Pope’s Rosary at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome; the day after tomorrow, Monday 7th, the Day of prayer and fasting for peace in the world. “We will unite with conviction,” he says Luciano Gualzettidirector of Caritas Ambrosiana «to the moments of meditation and invocation that Francis asks the universal Church and each faithful and citizen to experience». A prayer meeting of the employees of the Diocese of Milan and Caritas Ambrosiana has been scheduled for Monday, at 1 pm, in the Archbishopric: «One year after the terrorist acts that started the new, cruel war in the Middle East» adds Gualzetti « Caritas Ambrosiana and the entire Caritas network feel the duty not only to reiterate spiritual and human closeness to all the populations who are victims of such senseless violencebut also to confirm and multiply the commitment to helping the wounded, displaced and vulnerable. And to support, with the obstinacy of faith and hope, every experience of dialogue, of coexistence, of reconciliation, even the smallest and apparently fragile, which flourishes on the rough terrain of contemporary conflicts.”
The war in the Middle East, which rekindled a year ago in Israel and Gaza, extended to the West Bank, now spread to Lebanon (with ramifications in Syria, Iran, Yemen and, it is feared, Iran), furiously mixes the rights and wrongs of leadership political and military policies of the area, and in the meantime mows down civilian populationsproducing tens of thousands of innocent deaths and humanitarian and infrastructural damage of immense proportions. On all fronts of this brutal and convulsive scenario, the international Caritas network does not give up on doing its part, supporting the operational capacity of local Caritasconsolidated over decades of recurring crises, through the financial, organizational and operational support of Caritas around the world. Considering the emergency interventions and rehabilitation projects developed in the entire area, the financial commitment of network international Caritas amounted, in one year, to approximately 61 million euros and has achieved and is achieving, with various forms of help, approximately 1.6 million people.
The contribution of Caritas Ambrosiana
Caritas Ambrosiana has so far contributed to this effort, thanks to the fundraising started a year ago, by sending 400 thousand euros to Caritas Jerusalem for interventions in Gaza (a territory in which the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict between Hamas and Israel is massive and has long been out of control) and to a lesser extent in the West Bank. Another 30 thousand euros have been disbursed to the Neve Shalom associationfor the continuation of dialogue and reconciliation projects between Israelis and Palestinians in the village of the same name.
In the Gaza Stripwhere there remains a desperate need for food, water and medicines, and where aid continues to arrive intermittently, often hindered by military operations, the aid of Caritas Italiana and Caritas Ambrosiana has been concentrated on supporting the health care interventionsconducted thanks to the courageous work of Caritas Jerusalem workers (25 in Gaza City and 50 in the south of the Strip, colleagues of the two who, in recent months, lost their lives due to Israeli bombings). The Caritas clinic in Gaza City was temporarily unusable, heavily damaged by the war, the service was reorganized around 9 units e 17 medical teams, which they offer also psychological support to many people. With the resources provided by Caritas Italiana and Ambrosiana, since the beginning of the crisis it is estimated that it has been possible to assist around 20 thousand peopleto which they must be added 4 thousand children who in recent weeks have received the anti-polio vaccination from Caritas workers.
Help for displaced Lebanese
Meanwhile, the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has also caused a serious humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. The displaced I am now a millioncoming from the South, on the border with Israel, but also from the Bekaa Valley (some even towards Syria) and from some neighborhoods of the capital Beirut. Many operators, volunteers and ordinary citizens are there made available to Caritas Lebanon to assist them: emergency teams have been activated to distribute basic necessities along the streets and in reception centers to people and families fleeing and to start entertainment activities aimed at children. Since the beginning of the crisis on September 23, they have been supported more than 50 thousand people.
Father Michel Abboudpresident of Caritas Lebanon, in January he was a guest of Caritas Ambrosiana for a conference on the fate of the country, and had warned of the risks connected to a possible worsening of the conflict: «Now the painful truth» he is forced to recognize «is that our Resources are scarce, as we have already provided what we had to those suffering from the crises that have gripped Lebanon in the recent past. We offered medicines, treatments and medical advice, as well as our presence and ongoing support. But today they need essential goods to survive. Thousands of people are waiting in shelters and we are ready to help.”
Caritas Ambrosiana, responding to theEmergency appeal by Caritas Lebanonhe poured further 50 thousand eurosand is aimed at citizens and faithful of Ambrosia, so that through their donations they will allow it to intensify, in such a dramatic phase, aid to populations whose suffering, in all theaters of war, does not seem to end in sight.
To support the Caritas Ambrosiana fundraiser
- WITH CREDIT CARD ONLINE: https://donazioni.caritasambrosiana.it/
- IN MAIL CCP no. 000013576228 registered to Caritas Ambrosiana Onlus – Via S. Bernardino 4 – 20122 Milan
- WITH BANK TRANSFER C/C at Banco BPM Milano, registered to Caritas Ambrosiana Onlus IBAN:IT82Q0503401647000000064700
Causal: Holy Land emergency / Offers are tax deductible
Info on the campaign: https://donazioni.caritasambrosiana.it/donazioni/Emergenza-Terra-Santa-837.asp and https://donazioni.caritasambrosiana.it/donazioni/Emergenza-Libano-611.asp
On the cover, the bombings in Beirut (photo Ansa)