The MECC Secretary General Professor Dr. Michel Abs in a Solidarity Meeting with Lebanon at the Invitation of WCC
“I call on the international Ecumenical family to make pressure to decide an immediate cease fire, a prevention of any blockade, and secure relief support for the destitute population”
Solidarity with Lebanon and its people in light of the bloody war they are experiencing. It is an urgent matter with which the World Council of Churches (WCC) held an online consultative meeting, on Friday 4 October 2024, with the participation of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the ACT Alliance, and invitees from various fields.
The meeting formed a participatory space for discussion, exchange of experiences, and diving into the challenges that Lebanon is facing during the current period amidst insecurity and an unknown future. The attendees also presented their experiences each one from their position, region, framework, and specialization, calling for a ceasefire and continuous efforts to respond to humanitarian needs.
During the meeting, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Dr. Michel Abs addressed a word to the Ecumenical family in the world, in which he highlighted the difficult circumstances that Lebanon is passing through, explaining that “the Lebanese are living a state of total insecurity due to the daily bombing Lebanon is undergoing. The aggressors are supposedly targeting Lebanese of a certain political affiliation.” He added “in the actual displacement situation, nobody knows what the political identity of his new displaced neighbor is.”
He continued “We have witnessed the demolition of buildings and the killing of hundreds of innocents just to reach a bunch of people. This implies that the Lebanese are in a state of generalized anxiety and are at the brink of a collective nervous breakdown. The destruction is becoming also a daily practice. We have seen all the villages along the Palestinian borderline totally destroyed. Some villages do not exist anymore. Some urban areas too. We are aware, compared to what has happened in Palestine for 76 years, that there is always a pretext to destroy massive parts of the country, which is being totally ravaged.”
Hence, Professor Dr. Abs talked about the phenomenon of actual displacement that Lebanon is experiencing, and said “the displacement of more than 1,200,000 Lebanese, out of whom 250,000 live in about 800 shelters, is creating a social disorder, and gradually, if the displacement lasts very long, with a decrease in resources, this will imply an emergence of the sectarian hate speech which will be the prelude to a civil instability or may be a civil strife.”
He mentioned that “the future is gloomy, and a huge uncertainty covers the country. We fear for our natural resources, and we fear more the threat of putting Lebanon under siege.”
At the end, Professor Dr. Michel Abs emphasized the importance of solidarity and cooperation in order to overcome this difficult stage in Lebanon, and called” the international Ecumenical family, lead by the WCC, and the participation of the MECC, both seconded by our member Churches, to make pressure to decide an immediate cease fire, a prevention of any blockade, and secure relief support for the destitute population, awaiting longer term measures.”