Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday 15th August 2006 – MERCY Malaysia has set-up an office in Beirut and will continue to work in Lebanon with its local partners under the OIC Countries Humanitarian Forum (OICCHF).

“The emergency phase will come to an end sooner than expected with the opening of the humanitarian corridors. As it is now, there are about 6,000 local NGOs and hundreds of international organisations waiting to pour assistance to Lebanon. The great challenge will be coordination and ensuring that transition into the recovery and rehabilitation will be smooth and fast. I was also able to monitor assistance from MERCY Malaysia to the people of Lebanon while I was in Beirut. MERCY Malaysia provided chronic medication worth RM 150,000 to people in South Lebanon through local partners”, remarked Datuk Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, President of MERCY Malaysia.

MERCY Malaysia has also been approached by the United Nations agencies as well as local government and NGO partners to provide capacity building training in various health related fields as well as rebuilding of some health centres in South Lebanon.

MERCY Malaysia’s team, which has been working in Homs, Syria for the past three (3) weeks, reported that refugees in Nazarieah centre in Homs Damascus were seen packing whatever belongings they had with them in anticipation of their return journey back to Lebanon. “I don’t know if there is anything left of home but we cannot wait to get back to it” says Fatma, a Lebanese refugee who left with her family almost one (1) month ago.

“The Lebanese people I have met were from all walks of life and all sections of society from religious clerics, church organizations, government and NGO representatives as well as the business community. What is clear is there is a sense of unity among them. They want to speak as one voice – a Lebanese society that was unjustly attacked by Israel and now want to recover. It is our duty as global citizens to help them”, commented Dr Jemilah.

Datuk Dr. Jemilah Mahmood was part of a Task Force to promote collaboration and coordination among NGOs from OIC countries. The Task Force also worked to promote coordination among local and international NGOs with international bodies like the United Nations as well as the Lebanese authorities.

“We were very fortunate to find good local partners in Lebanon. Due to logistical difficulties during the war, it was easier to purchase the medications directly in Beirut and have them sent to the people in need. Each person we treated was given his prescription for one month and the medication were sent directly to them either in the centers or to the communities still trapped in areas like Borj Al Brajneh camp and villages in South Beirut and Southern Lebanon”, added Dr. Jemilah Mahmood.

To cope with the massive exodus which is expected to start on Tuesday, 15 August 2006, MERCY Malaysia has rushed two trucks of hygiene kits and stationed its staff and volunteers at the Syria-Lebanon border crossings of Arrida, Dabousi and Jusi to provide assistance including hygiene packs and women’s health packs in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).

MERCY Malaysia will also work in partnership and coordination with OIC Humanitarian Forum organizations including The Lighthouse Association of Turkey and Qatar Charity, who will provide drinking water, food and non-food items to the returnees.

With its wide experience in disasters including in war torn countries like Kosova, Afghanistan, Sudan, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, MERCY Malaysia is planning a mid to long term aid programmes for Lebanon.

MERCY Malaysia is appealing to the public to send only cash donations in aid of its Middle East Aid Fund. Cheque contributions can be made out to ‘MERCY Humanitarian Fund’ and send it to MERCY Malaysia’s headquarters at:

Donations can also be deposited directly into MERCY Malaysia Maybank Account No. 5621 7950 4126. Please ensure that the ‘bank slip’ is faxed to 603 – 4251 8435, which include information like name, address and telephone number for official receipt issuance.

All donations within Malaysia to the MERCY Malaysia Humanitarian Fund are tax exempted. For donations from outside Malaysia, our ABA Swift Code is MBBEMYKLA 5621 7950 4126 at: