ACT members in Lebanon are continuing to respond to humanitarian need after an explosion devastated Beirut on August 4, 2020. The ACT Lebanon Forum put out an appeal, which can be pledged to by contacting George Majaj.

Here are three stories, from the Middle East Council of Churches, the Department of Service for Palestinian Refugees, and Norwegian Church Aid, of the impact of the explosion and the work that ACT members are doing to respond to the needs that are so urgent in Beirut.

MECC

For every family in Beirut on August 4 there is a story; its effect touched the lives of thousands of people in the city most profoundly felt by vulnerable families.

Johnny the 47-year-old husband who lives with his wife Sally 50-year-old and their son Ramy 11 years old; along with his mother in law Maguy 83 years who has a hearing problem and Chronic diseases. The family live in Karantina, and their home is the second building facing the port.

During that evening the family was at home having dinner and Sally, was the first one to hear the first explosion and immediately the memory of the war flashed back and told her husband that there is something wrong. A few minutes later the whole family heard the big explosion and immediately ran away from the dining room to the hallway where it felt the safest place.

The power of the explosion shook the whole house down and the fridge moved from its place making a shield for the family and protected them from flying glass and windows. The house has five windows which all exploded and shattered everywhere.

Sally and Maguy were injured and Johnny’s eye was injured also. Ramy explains the horror and pain he felt during the explosion after seeing his family hurt. The family was in shock and the first thing that came to their mind was that the war is back.

Johnny’s story like many others is often delivered in tales of depression, of need and often hope. Since the explosion the family received help from several organizations; however, the family was extremely grateful by the support of MECC since it consisted of food, hygiene, detergent supplies that can support them for a few months along with mattresses and linens which was mainly their essential needs.

The family was grateful for that since there is always a fear of not being able to afford getting these essentials because of the economic situation, MECC alongside with local churches were able to support essential supplies to families in need and hoping to continue to meet other urgent needs.

DSPR-JCC

Youth from DSPR’s Joint Christian Committee for Social Service in Lebanon programme have been working tirelessly since August 4 to help clean up the blood and debris from the explosion.

These teens have been volunteering to remove debris, clean up homes, and to do whatever else they can to help those affected by the blast in Beirut. Many of them were also impacted by the explosion.

17-year-old Vanessa says, “I was there that same day. I was with my family going to Damour (south of Beirut). We had crossed the port when the explosion happened. We got out of the car. There were people everywhere, covered in blood. Some people were dead. I tried to help. There was so much blood.”

The teenagers practically grew up together at their hillside mountain Palestinian residences, known as the “Dbayeh camp.” As Palestinians, their futures are bleak. Palestinians are barred from acquiring Lebanese citizenship, and thus acquiring Lebanese identity cards, which would entitle them to government services, such as health and education. They are also legally barred from owning property and prohibited from working in over 60 skilled jobs.

“Even if we are Palestinians,” said 18 year-old Jubran, “We live here. We must help.”

“We kids cannot rebuild [their] home[s],” said Rudolph Habib, “We don’t have money to help. All we can offer is our youth. The capability of cleaning and carrying things for all these people.

“If we don’t do it, who will?”

Read the full story from DSPR-JCC.

NCA

The 4th of August 2020 deprived Hayat from a safe modest home, her source of living but most of all her son. Hayat a 65 years old woman living in Ashrafieh has endured the long years of civil war in Lebanon with her daughter Nancy and her son Shadi. Despite all her suffering, Hayat is a survivor and a strong mother who managed to stand on her feet to be supporting her family who needs her.

During the Lebanese civil war, Hayat’s son, Shadi, lost his capacity to speak and hear when a bomb exploded next to their home. He was then a two years old child. Thirty-six years later, Shadi was killed in the Beirut Blast, where he was buried under a destroyed three storey building.

Hayat was watering the flowers in front of the nearby church and Shadi was visiting a friend nearby, when the explosion ravaged their neighborhood. Hayat’s daughter and neighbors ran to her rescue as she was thrown on the floor drenched in blood and directly took her to the hospital to treat the wounds caused by the shattered glass all over her head, chest and hands.

As soon as Hayat’s wounds were treated, a painful journey started in search of her son. Relentlessly, she toured the hospitals holding her son’s photo, hoping to find him among the wounded worried that he cannot provide his name being deaf. It was until the next day when the civil defense team found Shadi’s body under the wreckage of his friend Issam’s collapsed building.

Thanks to the ACT appeal funds, NCA is supporting IOCC to rehabilitate Hayat’s house. Hayat and Nancy have this house as their only shelter. The explosion caused damage to the ceiling and the walls, and broke the door and the windows of their house. But now, despite all her pain and sorrow, Hayat considers the support to be a gift from God. She was hesitant to believe that someone would come to help her till she met the engineers who visited her house to assess the damage. Then, in no time, the contractor started the work to ensure that the family house is ready before winter hits Beirut.

Super Typhoon Goni, referred to locally as Typhoon Rolly, made landfall in the municipality of Bato, Catanduanes province in the Philippines on 1 November 2020. Over 1.4 million people in five regions across Luzon were affected.

The typhoon made landfall as a category five storm and has been labelled the world’s strongest typhoon of 2020. Super Typhoon Goni followed the same path as Typhoon Quinta, which made landfall just five days prior, affecting 200,000 people, leaving 22 dead, and four people missing. A third typhoon (Atsani) has taken a slightly different path to Typhoon Goni and Quinta, is anticipated to make landfall in the Philippines in the next few days.

The typhoons caused rivers to overflow, flooding communities and putting the region in a state of crisis. As widespread infrastructure was destroyed, many towns have become difficult to access, leaving thousands of families in need of food, shelter, safe drinking water, and hygiene materials.

The situation is particularly dire for people with vulnerabilities, such as the elderly who left their homes for evacuation centres or temporary shelters, as the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in crowded spaces is high. 

ACT members are coordinating their response with other humanitarian actors and faith-based networks, such as NASSA/Caritas Philippines and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches – PhilRADS. The ACT Philippines Forum is working on an appeal to provide immediate food and psychosocial support to the most affected.

More information on ACT’s response, including how you can help, will be provided shortly.

[PRESS RELEASE]

The Hundred Billion Dollar Climate Promise: Will it be kept?

Today the OECD published a report on the status of climate finance that has been mobilised by developed countries in relation to their commitment to deliver 100 bn USD annually by 2020. The report takes stock of funds that had been delivered by 2018, indicating that although there is a steady increase in funds, the goal of reaching 100 bn USD by 2020 is far away.

“The significance of delivering 100 bn USD annually by 2020 is not just about reaching an arbitrary number target. It is about saving lives, and preventing further suffering around the world. These funds are urgently needed to deliver action on the ground by people and communities in climate-vulnerable countries,” says Patriciah Roy Akullo, co-chair of ACT Alliance’s climate justice group.

The increase in funds reflected in the OECD report is to a large extent due to a growing number of loans, offered by multilateral development banks. While loans serve as an important source of support, they are very different from grants which do not have to be repaid.

“The 100 bn USD should serve its intended purpose – to support, not to add a burden of debt. The increase in finance reported would look rather different if it was just grants that counted towards the 100 bn USD,” says Mattias Söderberg, co-chair of ACT’s climate justice group.

“With the current approach, countries are delivering a large portion of climate finance as loans- which developing countries would have to pay back. As a result, we risk ending up with a situation where developed countries actually generate a profit from the support that they have committed to deliver. To say this is unfair is an understatement” continues Söderberg.

Apart from the commitment to deliver 100 bn USD annually, developed countries have also committed to balance the support that they provide for mitigation and adaptation initiatives. Despite this, the OECD report reveals that there is still a large focus on mitigation globally.

“It is difficult to continue to have faith in promises such as the 100bn USD commitment, or the balance of support for mitigation and adaptation, when countries are not taking concrete initiatives to deliver on their commitments. There is a huge need for an increase in adaptation finance, and this is even more critical given the additional challenges that communities face due to COVID,” says Söderberg.

Climate finance is a central element in the UN climate talks and disagreements on this topic is often identified as the reason for a lack of progress in the general negotiations.

“Climate finance is urgently needed to enable climate action. However, the fulfilment of commitments are also needed to build trust and confidence in the UN climate talks. Developed countries should deliver on their commitment to mobilize 100 bn USD by 2020. This climate promise must be kept,” concludes Akullo.

Media contacts

Mattias Söderberg co-chair of ACT Alliance Climate Justice Group | msd@dca.dk
Patriciah Roy Akullo, co-chair of ACT Alliance Climate Justice Group | prak@dca.dk
Joanna Patouris, ACT Alliance Climate Change Communicator & Coordinator Joanna.patouris@actalliance.org

Policy Brief

ACT Alliance’s Policy Brief: A Review of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a Climate Lens  is now available for download in English and Spanish.

In 2015, the international community made an unprecedented set of commitments to pursuing a sustainable future through the adoption of the Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals as well as the Paris Agreement on limiting global warming to well below 2° Celsius. The world set course for a transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient societies and economies, with countries working toward common goals while focusing on their national circumstances, challenges, and opportunities. Adapting to climate change is a key objective of the two agendas. 

Climate change threatens many of humanity’s biggest achievements as well as its future goals as reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Progress on SDG 13 on climate action is falling short of what is needed to meet the targets of the global agenda by 2030.

The brief explores various SDGs and presents a set of recommendations to strengthen the synergies between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Adapted from story by Anglican Alliance/Elizabeth Perry.

ACT continues to build its influential network of faith-inspired climate justice advocates around the world. Through this network, ACT has been able to influence, inform and inspire climate action at the national and international level, while working to ensure that the needs and solutions of communities made vulnerable by climate change are taken into account, and responded to.

Through the support of ACT member, Brot für die Welt (BftW), ACT has begun the implementation of its new Climate Justice project, “Faith actors enhancing inclusive, ambitious and sustainable climate policy and action in accordance with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

One component of the Project brings ACT Alliance members and faith leaders together through multi-stakeholder dialogues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions. 

“This series of dialogues has allowed ACT members and church leaders in Jordan to gather and share their stories, experiences, and solutions related to climate resilience, and to identify opportunities for collaboration and action. We also asked participants to share with us their reasons for taking action on climate change, and this helped us to understand some of the key concerns of our members and church leaders” said Rachel Luce, ACT’s MENA Regional Representative.

ACT’s Jordan office hosts first climate justice dialogue

The first dialogue was hosted by ACT Alliance’s MENA Region. Both because of COVID-19 travel restrictions and the different contexts within the region, this workshop exclusively focused on Jordan. Equivalent dialogues are due to take place in Palestine and Egypt later in the year. 

The Jordan climate justice dialogue was convened through a combination of in-person meetings (compliant with local COVID-19 rules) and online sessions, bringing together ACT members, church leaders, environmental NGOs, representatives of Jordan’s Ministry of the Environment, and others to discuss climate change in Jordan. Participants explored issues of loss and damage, adaptation and mitigation, identifying their common concerns, and specific actions that they could take on climate change.

“These dialogues helped us to catalyze greater climate ambition amongst ACT members and faith leaders in the MENA region as participants said that they previously identified Climate Justice as a secular issue. By the end of the dialogue, participants said that they understood the need for faith actors to take action on climate change in their context,” said Rachel Luce.

“The dialogue encouraged participants to explore issues of climate justice in ways that they had not before,” said Joel Kelling, ACT’s MENA region Climate Justice Working Group Chair. 

“One of the participants spoke about how they were used to the idea of creation care, but that the concept of climate justice was new to them,” he continued.

Bringing together various actors working on climate change in the region through the dialogues has the potential to strengthen relationships between ACT members and other local networks, “Some of the participants offered to provide additional capacity-building on climate change to clergy in Jordan. This is great for us, as the sharing of resources means that we do not have to replicate already existing materials,” said Joel. 

As climate change continues to threaten lives, livelihoods and all of creation, it is important that all of ACT’s membership joins the fight on climate change, and the multistakeholder dialogues present an opportunity to do so. 

“Climate change is one of the issues that bring ACT members in the region together, ACT’s MENA region will continue to mobilize and equip ourselves to contribute to tackling the injustices in our communities that are exacerbated by climate change,” said Rachel.