30 July 2007

Memories of a war: Lebanon Oil Spill in the Mediterranean Sea

Last week marked the first anniversary of the Lebanon oil spill disaster caused by Israeli attacks in July 2006.

The Israeli air fighters attacked, last year, the Jiyeh facilities located 28 Km to the south of Beirut. More than 10 thousand tons of fuel oil spilled in the water of the Mediterranean Sea, from Jiyeh up to the north till the shores of Syria, to form one of the worst environmental disasters the Lebanese coast has suffered.

Of course, that is not all I remember from the July 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon; I live in south Lebanon, and bombings on our village was intense and some of it barely 100 meters away from our house. I lost a few good friends and neighbors in this war, my brother was injured and my father’s shop damaged; Back then, everyone - those who stayed in town - were constantly dodging air raids, moving from one place to another, trying to help people under the rubbles. It is called a war, but from my experience, it seemed like a trail of endless human sufferings.

Anyway, the war was over, and the Lebanese people and their friends had 3 major concerns:
- Rebuilding what is destroyed.
- Removing cluster bombs: almost a million of these extremely damaging bombs were thrown on us!
- Mitigating the oil spill impacts.

Greenpeace started, under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and other organizations, the assessment and evaluation of the oil spill disaster, and helping in the oil spill cleanup and finding solutions. The “Rainbow Warrior” visited Lebanon to help in this issue, especially underwater with divers, and ran operations for three weeks until more material and vessels arrived. I remember seeing the ship in Beirut, but did not have the chance to get aboard….

Now, after one year, after all the cleanup efforts, some bags are still lying on some of our beaches, waiting to be handled, and risking to melt and spread in the water again, due to the summer warm sun.

In this first anniversary of the oil spill disaster, and as part of the “Defending Our Mediterranean” campaign, Greenpeace published a report and a short video about the Lebanon oil spill, stating the updates after one year, showing the other threats that endanger our sea, and of course the suggested solutions: Marine Reserves.

The waters of the Mediterranean Sea takes almost a 100 years to renew - because it is almost a closed sea – and this make it more fragile and requires more attention and more care.

You can watch the Video and read the report here: One year on Lebanon oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea.

You can join our “Mediterranean Defenders” list to receive updates and an Action Plan to help : Signup the Mediterranean Sea photo petition (if you dont have a related image, you can still sign up with just comments)

Whether you live on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, or you just spend a summer holiday on its beautiful coasts, or even just love Mediterranean food, you can help to save and protect the Mediterranean Sea, so you can continue to enjoy it.

The last war was not the first in the region, and unfortunately, maybe it will not the last, but like a UN envoy said after the cease fire:"I never seen a country recover that fast after such a war"… Our Mediterranean Sea needs recovery as well, it needs support and protection. Marine Reserves will provide that.

   

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