02 August
2006 - International — We have offered Medecins
Sans Frontieres (MSF) the use of the Rainbow Warrior
for transporting much-needed supplies to Lebanon.
The vessel was already in the Mediterranean and
has now docked in Larnaca, Cyprus for loading
medical supplies.
“We understood that there were
major difficulties for humanitarian organisations
such as MSF in getting bulk supplies quickly from
Cyprus to Beirut,” says Bruno Rebelle, programme
director of Greenpeace International. “We are
very happy that we can contribute to a temporary
solution to these problems as we are, like everyone
else, deeply concerned about the consequences
of the fighting in the Middle-East for the civilian
population.”
MSF currently has almost 100
tonnes of medical materials and other relief supplies
waiting for transport in a warehouse in Larnaca,
with another 80 tonnes scheduled to arrive there
soon. Though some of the supplies get through
to Beirut, the bulk of them are stuck in the absence
of sufficient transport capacity. Very few boats
are available for sailing to Lebanon as there
is little guarantee for safe passage.
“We have two major transportation
problems,” says Jerome Oberreit, operational director
for MSF in Brussels. “To date it has been very
difficult to move large volumes of relief goods
from Beirut to southern Lebanon by road. We rely
on cars which we stack with boxes to drive along
the severely damaged and insecure road to Tyre;
trucks have been hit by missiles so truck drivers
are reluctant to move into the southern region.
On top of that, we have major problems in getting
our materials to Beirut quickly enough. In the
short term, the offer from Greenpeace means a
partial solution of one of our two problems.”
The Rainbow Warrior has capacity
for transporting 40 tonnes, equivalent to 105
pallets. It is not clear yet how many rotations
the vessel will make for MSF.
Medecins Sans Frontieres has
around 30 international staff working in areas
in Lebanon that are severely affected by the conflict.
The emphasis in MSF’s activities is on supporting
Lebanese health workers, setting up additional
health posts and mobile clinics where necessary,
and distributing basic materials (shelter, hygiene
kits, cooking utensils, baby powder milk) to displaced
families.
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