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We were expecting, and looking forward to, a peaceful summer and had made our plans accordingly. We had scheduled a number of training sessions in preparation for the beginning of the academic year in September and to lay the groundwork for a couple new projects that we were planning to launch this fall. As we write to you, however, we are struggling to adjust to a completely different reality : one that can only be described by the number of dead and wounded, by the hundreds of thousands who have been displaced, and by a staggering amount of physical destruction. As bad as it is now, however, we fear that it will get much worse : the bombs continue to fall.

Although our country is in turmoil, we are still here. Volunteers are caring for the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are now living in Beirut and the surrounding areas. Teams have been organized to provide whatever assistance they can—medical supplies, cleaning products, etc. Assabil has joined a group that is focusing on the psychological and educational needs of the men, women, and children who have been displaced by this war and have suffered—and are continuing to suffer—so much : fear ; in some cases, also death and hunger.

We thank the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation who responded so quickly and generously to our appeals for support during the first days of this war. The Ile-de-France Regioin and the Anna Lindh Foundation have also offered their support for our efforts to launch programs in the libraries to address the needs of the refugee population.

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(Français)

Nous souhaitions un été tranquille, avions mis en place une série de formations destinées à préparer la rentrée de septembre, la naissance de nouveaux projets. Aujourd’hui, 4 août 2006, le bilan des trois dernières semaines est tout autre : morts, blessés, destructions, déplacement en catastrophe d’un million de personnes.

Notre pays est dans la tourmente mais nous sommes là. Au-delà des divergences politiques et des nuances d’analyse, un groupe de volontaires, chaque jour plus important, met tout en œuvre pour accueillir et pourvoir aux besoins des milliers de réfugiés qui affluent à Beyrouth ou ailleurs. Des équipes se sont progressivement constituées, afin d’organiser cette aide quotidienne : soins médicaux, hygiène, ravitaillement, etc. Assabil fait partie du groupe de soutien pédo-psychologique, gardant portes et bras grand ouverts pour ce public inattendu.

Nous remercions OSI et Heinrich Böll Foundation qui ont répondu à nos appels dès les premiers bombardements. La région Ile-de-France, ainsi que l’Anna Lindh Foundation, ont également manifesté leur désir de permettre aux bibliothèques de faire face aux bouleversements actuels par à un programme de longue haleine.