The latest estimates place the casualties of the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon at 2,371 mostly civilian deaths, about a third of them children; 5,479 wounded; and approximately 1,300,000 displaced persons. In addition, the conflict has caused an estimated $4.5 billion in damages to civilian infrastructures and to the natural environment, and has left large areas in southern Lebanon littered with unexploded ordnance. In response, CCAS has planned a series of activities and online publications to address this issue.
The CCAS Reseach and Publications division is publishing a series of “Emails from Lebanon and Israel” on our website from MAAS alumni on the ground during the turmoil. Some of the personal narratives are also accompanied by photos.
To complement the online stories, the Public Affairs Program will hosts the first in a “Lebanon Series” series on August 31. A panel of scholars, academics, and humanitarian aid practitioners will analyze Israel’s most recent war against Lebanon at the local, regional and global levels, from its impact on Lebanon’s internal and sectarian politics to its repercussions on the overall policies of the US in the Middle East. The panelists will focus on the regional re-configurations of power in the wake of the war, on the resulting humanitarian situation, and on the varied media reactions to and portrayals of the war. Finally, they will assess the prospects for peace, democratization, or renewed conflict in Lebanon and the larger Middle East, and will address such issues as the survival of Lebanon’s political sovereignty and its economic recovery; the future of Hizbullah’s political and military wings; and the continued viability and relevance of the United Nations.
And on September 19, the Outreach Program is organizing a teacher workshop for an audience of K-12 teachers in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Speakers will cover the history of Lebanon from French colony to independent state, the fragile political sharing that undergirds the country’s government, the impact of the civil war as well as of regional forces that created a volatile context for Lebanon in the region, the Israeli invasions, and the current situation with Hizbullah and other forces vying for power in the country.