MALAYSIA PROVIDES HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO 1000 SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN SHEBAA VILLAGE, CLOSE TO THE SYRIAN BORDER IN SOUTHEAST LEBANON
Malaysia provided humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Shebaa village, located some 150 km from Beirut deep in mountainous region of southeast Lebanon. The village is close to the Syrian border and Israeli occupied Shebaa farms. According to Mr. Mohammad al-Saadi, the Head of Social Development Centre in Shebaa, Malaysia is the first country that had distributed humanitarian assistance to the refugees in that village.
The Malaysian Ambassador to Lebanon, H.E. Bala Chandran Tharman and wife distributed 1,000 packets of winter clothing to the refugee children and women on 11 February 2016. The packages contained pullovers, pants, scarf, jackets, socks, and blankets worth USD28,500.00 (RM 125,682.15). Due to limited supply in the area, the embassy had to procure the clothing in the town of Tyre in southwest Lebanon and have them transported through the rugged mountain roads to Shebaa village in the southeast some 100 km away. Given the severe winter, it is important to ensure Malaysia’s assistance reach those most vulnerable, i.e., the children and women, even if they are in remote areas, so that our contributions make a difference in the lives of the Syrian refugees.
The humanitarian assistance in Shebaa village is one of the many currently being undertaken by the Embassy in several villages and towns along the Lebanon-Syria border in the north and east of the country.
Y.A.Bhg Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, had initiated Malaysia’s humanitarian assistance to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, in her capacity as Patron of the Global Children’s Wellbeing Fund (GCWF) and as President of the Welfare Association of Minister’s Wives (BAKTI) Malaysia. The GCWF and BAKTI Malaysia contributed USD300,000.00 and USD60,000.00, respectively, for distribution to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Malaysia’s humanitarian assistance to Lebanon is part of a larger contribution of USD600,000.00 (RM 2.7 million) by the GCWF and BAKTI Malaysia for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.
The Embassy is hopeful that the contributions would help alleviate the suffering and hardship of the refugees, particularly in facing the current winter.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs PUTRAJAYA On 2/15/16