INTERVIEW
Five days after the double explosion that ravaged the port of Beirut and left at least 158 dead, several heads of state and representatives of international organizations exchanged Sunday by videoconference. Emmanuel Macron called in particular to "act quickly and effectively" so that aid "goes very directly" to the Lebanese population, whose needs are numerous and urgent.
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Quick disbursement hoped for
Guest from Europe 1 on Sunday evening, Frédéric Boyer, director of international operations for the French Red Cross, also insisted on this point. "We will ensure that there are rapid disbursements, and above all that the money goes into the right pockets, or directly to the Lebanese people," he explained.
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"It is essential to control the delivery of aid and its distribution so that it reaches those in need directly. One of the guarantees is that a significant part of this aid goes directly to civil society organizations, that is to say to Lebanese associations, then to NGOs ", continues Frédéric Boyer.
300,000 homeless Lebanese
Since the gigantic explosion, the French Red Cross has provided material support to the Lebanese Red Cross, which launched first aid actions, organized the transport of the wounded, collected blood and set up shelters because 300,000 Lebanese were left homeless. following the disaster. "They do not need arms, but money and material, such as medicine or protection for first-aid workers", summarizes Frédéric Boyer.
He also specifies that the French humanitarian association has sent, via the airlift set up by the French authorities, two generators, masks and gowns to protect caregivers from Covid-19, still present in Lebanon.