ICRC Supports Returning Families

News -- Red Cross helps returnees (Reuters.com, 21 Aug. '06)

"As thousands of people stream back to their wrecked homes in south Lebanon, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is scaling up its operation to support at least 200,000 returnees each month until the end of the year.

"The British Red Cross is actively supporting the humanitarian effort, with two logisticians delivering aid from Cyprus and one of our delegates co-ordinating relief operations in Syria with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"We are also sending 227,000 ready-made meals to those most in need in Lebanon. As the long-awaited cease-fire holds, thousands of people are now returning home to face new difficulties including a lack of electricity, water and food. The level of destruction varies drastically but many private homes and even hospitals have been badly damaged.

"Red Cross convoys carrying food, medical supplies and fuel for generators have taken to the roads in a major effort to reach villages and towns that have been cut off from the outside world for weeks. "