August 3, 2006 | Read Time: 8 minutes
Amid growing fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East, aid organizations, religious groups, and other charities are raising money to help victims of the fighting in Lebanon, Israel, and Gaza.
While some nonprofit organizations have received strong financial support from Jewish donors and other people with personal ties to the region, many aid groups say they have yet to see much of a response, in part because the political dimensions of the crisis have overshadowed the humanitarian needs.
Mercy Corps, for example, has raised just $70,000 for its work to provide food, blankets, and other supplies to the approximately 800,000 people in Lebanon who have fled their homes because of bombings and other violence; the organization is also providing aid in the Palestinian territories.
Matthew de Galan, chief development officer of the Portland, Ore., organization, says that the charitable response is sluggish in comparison with other crises like the earthquakes in Pakistan and Indonesia, which affected comparable numbers of people. (About 3.3 million individuals were left homeless by the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, while approximately 1.5 million people lost their homes in the 2006 temblor.)
“People respond to wars very differently, as donors, than they do to natural disasters,” he says. “Initially, the media focuses on the story as a political-military story, and not as much as a humanitarian story. Therefore, the humanitarian needs really aren’t as top of the mind.”
$12-Million for Israel Fund
Despite a slow initial response from some donors, several Jewish organizations have raised significant sums.
United Jewish Communities has already raised nearly $12-million through its Israel Crisis Fund, including a $5-million grant from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, in Baltimore.
“There’s almost a reflexive desire to respond when Israel finds itself in need,” says Doron Krakow, a senior vice president at the organization.
In the past two weeks, the charity has increased the new fund’s fund-raising goal — now $18-million — on four separate occasions because of the growing needs in the region.
At the moment, the organization is earmarking contributions to aid elderly people, new immigrants, and other vulnerable people who remain in the north of Israel, which has borne the brunt of attacks by the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah. It is also working to help open camps for those who have fled to the south and to respond to other needs.
Other groups have raised far less. Save the Children, which is assisting people in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon, has received just $5,800 for relief efforts so far.
Eileen Burke, a spokeswoman for the charity, says that donors are often slow to contribute to humanitarian crises created by war because they want to ensure their gifts will help those in need. “We usually see fund-raising levels increase once people see it’s easy to reach children and women with life-saving materials,” she says.
Zahir Janmohamed, Amnesty International’s advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, agrees that the potential for donations to fall into the wrong hands gives some donors pause.
“People are nervous about donating humanitarian aid to Lebanon because of a fear that the money could end up with a group like Hezbollah,” he says. “There is a lot of trepidation and people aren’t donating.”
Donors may also worry that their gifts could send a political message, says Mr. Janmohamed. “People have a fear their donations might be construed as endorsing either a political agenda or side, or worse, might even be construed as endorsing a terrorist or disfavored group in the eyes of the U.S. government,” he says.
‘Too Early to Gauge’
Despite some hesitation among donors, several groups aiding Lebanon and Gaza are beginning to see stronger fund-raising results. American Near East Refugee Aid, which is distributing medicine and other supplies to the displaced in those regions, has raised $150,000 in response to the fighting. The U.S. Fund for Unicef has raised more than $42,000 for such efforts, $14,000 of it in response to an online appeal sent last week.
Even as donations increase, many groups caution that it is too soon to measure donors’ response to the crisis. Most charities have only begun to send out appeals or contact donors in recent days.
“It’s still too early to gauge,” says Mostafa Mahboob, a spokesman for Islamic Relief, which sent out an e-mail appeal a week ago to its approximately 30,000 donors. The group is trying to raise $5-million for aid efforts in Lebanon and Gaza, and has allocated $1-million thus far.
Some relief groups are also turning to Lebanese-Americans for support. Mercy Corps, for example, has started contacting Lebanese-American organizations to ask for donations.
While Mercy Corps officials say it is too early to tell if their appeals have been successful, many Lebanese-American groups say they are beginning to raise money to send to Lebanon. Elie Najm, chairman of the Council of Lebanese American Organizations, in Raleigh, N.C., says his group is encouraging members to give to the Lebanese Red Cross.
And at least one nonprofit group has been established in Lebanon with the mission of helping people made homeless by the violence. A group of young Lebanese friends and acquaintances started Mowatinun, or Citizens, out of frustration with the political situation and a desire to take action.
“It started out making sandwiches and collecting money and second-hand clothes within our circle, and giving them to places where refugees were staying,” says Talia Khalil, the group’s New York representative.
The group then received $20,000, as well as office space in Beirut, from a Lebanese family to expand its efforts. It has since raised another $20,000 and is providing food and other aid to 3,800 people. Ms. Khalil is in the process of applying for nonprofit status for the group in the United States.
Gaining Attention
American aid groups are hopeful that the news media’s growing interest in the humanitarian aspects of the crisis, as well as increasing attention from the U.S. government to humanitarian needs in recent days, will also help their fund-raising efforts.
The United Nations announced an appeal on July 24 for $150-million for Lebanon, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — during her trip there that same day — announced a commitment to provide $30-million in federal aid to the beleaguered country.
“Now that the U.S. government has stood up and announced this as an issue, this is hopefully something that could garner more attention,” says Elizabeth Griffin, director of communications at Catholic Relief Services, which is providing aid to people who have fled or are trapped in their homes because of the violence.
Meanwhile, charities working in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region say their efforts to help those in need have been handicapped by a lack of security. The south of Lebanon is virtually inaccessible to humanitarian workers, and groups like Mercy Corps, which worked there before the outbreak of fighting, have relocated to other parts of the country.
Civilian trucks and other vehicles in southern Lebanon have been hit by the Israeli army, and aid trucks bearing relief supplies for displaced people were held up at the Syrian border because of violence.
“A lot of truck drivers don’t want to go out there and put their lives at risk, and a lot of food, water, and day-to-day supplies aren’t getting to the people,” says Ms. Griffin of Catholic Relief Services. “Should these humanitarian supplies not get through, we’re looking at a major humanitarian catastrophe.”
Many relief organizations are calling for the establishment of a “humanitarian corridor,” 50 miles long and five miles wide, into Beirut and southern Lebanon so that aid can arrive safely.
Some progress on the humanitarian front was made last week.
According to the United Nations, Israel has agreed to create a safe route for ships and aircraft, as well as for ground transportation to travel from the Syrian border crossing at Arida to Beirut. But while the first 10 of 100 U.N. trucks traveled south of the capital last week to provide aid, humanitarian groups say it is still unsafe for them to transport supplies in many parts of the country.
Charities have also been unable to travel to assess the extent of the need because of the dangers involved.
CARE, for example, is waiting until safety improves before sending staff members into Lebanon to determine the scope of the crisis and how much money will be required to help victims of the conflict.
And in Gaza, aid groups say that humanitarian needs fueled by the cut-off of international assistance after the January election of Hamas have only been exacerbated by recent air strikes and other violence.
Refugees Given Aid
Some charities are now helping those who have fled Lebanon for the United States. As part of a plan administered by the federal government, the American Red Cross has provided food, water, mental-health services, and assistance in finding housing to approximately 1,000 people in five cities.
Even groups that do not provide relief say their work has been affected by the crisis. Seeking Common Ground, a Denver charity that runs a program for Palestinian and Israeli girls, says that its staff members have spent more time discussing the mental health of the young girls it serves over the past two weeks than in previous years and are now seeking ways to provide psychological support.
But if the charity’s work has become more challenging, it may well benefit from increased attention and additional contributions this year, says Melodye Feldman, the executive director.
“We are an alternative to the mayhem.”
