Introduction

This chapter tells the story of a remarkable social welfare movement that emerged in Beirut during the 33-Day War waged on Lebanon by Israel from 12 July to 14 August 2006. This was the third time that Israel had invaded Lebanon (with previous invasions in 1978 and 1982), and the effect on the Lebanese people was catastrophic. During the war: ‘At least 1,140 civilians – 30% of them children under 12 – [were] killed’ (The Daily Star, 2006). According to Human Rights Watch (2007), Israel showed ‘reckless indifference’ to the fate of civilians during its attacks.

These attacks included near-constant air and sea assaults on Beirut, Tripoli, Tyre, Qana, Srifa and Baalbeck. Roads, bridges and factories were targeted alongside civilian areas – like the large, impoverished, mainly Shi’a southern suburb of Beirut known as the Dahyeh – while the oil refinery at Jiyyeh was bombed, causing massive environmental damage along 150 km of the Lebanese coast.

As a consequence, as aircraft bombarded towns and cities and ground troops thrust into Southern Lebanon, refugees from across Lebanon, and particularly Southern Lebanon, abandoned their homes and villages and flooded into central Beirut. The refugees’ requirements were immediate and substantial – food, accommodation and medical support had to be provided and a range of social, welfare and psychological needs had to be met. But the traditional suppliers of welfare in Beirut, the vast number of civil society organisations in the voluntary sector and the more limited state sector both removed their staff and closed down under the air assault.

Into this gap stepped a new, vibrant and democratic organisation – Samidoun – which became the main provider of basic needs for a large section of the refugee population in the city.

In January 2009 we arrived in Beirut with a vague awareness of the organisation and its role in providing ‘humanitarian support’ during the 33-Day War. Over 10 very intense days, we spoke to 15 key activists who were involved in every aspect of Samidoun's activities. Each recorded interview lasted for approximately 90 minutes. In addition, the activists provided us with written material and photographs relating to their activities during the war.