Corona help Lebanon/Syria

We, Lisa and Myrta, are currently following the situation in Lebanon with concern. We both have a personal connection. Myrta is in Beirut since 4 months for an exchange semester, and Lisa has been actively engaged in the board of a Lebanese NGO (Drops). For her master's thesis, she had planned a participatory field research in Lebanon with the Syrian organisation "Women Now for Development" starting in May, but due to the circumstances she will not be able to do this until next year.

The life of the people in Lebanon is difficult at the moment. The corona-induced lockdown has severely affected the already ailing Lebanese economy and made the situation intolerable for a big part of the population. For many, income is falling away completely and any savings have lost much of their value due to inflation. At the same time, real prices for everyday products are rising dramatically and have doubled and tripled in some cases in recent weeks. Meanwhile, every second person in Lebanon lives in poverty, which put further pressure on the Syrian refugees, who make up about a quarter of the population. According to the NZZ (Swiss journal) article " «Der Hunger ist gefährlicher als das Coronavirus» from 02.05.20, 90% of Syrians in Lebanon are currently suffering from hunger. The situation in Syria is also unbearable. The health care system and infrastructure have been destroyed by the war and have no capacity to deal with COVID-19 cases. Since the beginning of 2020, more than 900'000 people have had to leave their homes in Idlib and now live in camps - social distancing and hygiene are impossible there.

With this crowdfunding we would like to make a small contribution to improve the situation. We will split the collected donations between two organisations we both know and which do incredibly important work:

- Basmeh & Zeitooneh is an organisation founded by Syrians in Lebanon, which implements development and educational projects in various areas. It is currently distributing food parcels to thousands of people in all parts of Lebanon, but also helps with blankets, hygiene products and financial support. For more information about the organisation: www.basmeh-zeitooneh.org

- Women Now For Development fights for the education, protection and empowerment of women and continues to advocate for women's issues during the crisis in Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. It also distributes food parcels in Syria, especially in the camps in Idlib, as best it can despite the difficult conditions. For more information about the organisation: www.women-now.org

Would you like to make a contribution, too? Whether 20, 50, 100 or 500 CHF, each donation is valuable.

Thank you very much for your support!