Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Donations needed!

I know I said this won't turn into another political space... I just couldn't turn my back on this one:

World Medical Camp for Libya: charity to respond to the urgent medical needs in Libya

I am writing you today to ask for your help in addressing what has now become an unbearable situation in Libya, where for the past week we have seen unrelenting military attacks undertaken against innocent and unarmed Libyan civilians. As a recent Foreign Policy article indicated, "Libyans are painfully aware of the fact that their country does not attract nearly the same level of interest as Egypt or Iran [...]. This, despite the fact that the Qaddafi regime has been in power significantly longer than nearly any other autocratic system, during which time it has proved itself among the world's most brutal [...].”

Eyewitness reports to this effect are already trickling in from Libya, and the death toll appears to be slowly mounting with reports of nearly 300 casualties. Though growing, regrettably, international attention has thus far been minimal and action to stop the violence has been non-existent.

We are a group of Libyans who have established a UK registered charity called the World Medical Camp for Libya (WMCL) to respond to the urgent and immediate medical needs in Libya. With such high civilian targeting and limited physical access permitted for support agencies, we know that these needs are critical. Sources on the ground have reported that the situation is dire with hospitals in Benghazi and elsewhere in Eastern Libya lacking the basic medical supplies and equipment to treat the injured and wounded.

We currently have $50,000 USD worth of donated medical supplies and arrangements are being made for a convoy to transport these much-needed supplies from Libya by road via the Egyptian border which has recently been opened. This current run will allow us to deliver aid directly to hospitals in Benghazi as well as to other eastern towns including Derna, Bayda, and Tobruk, where reports have been received of a greater number of injuries. We will use a wide network of well-established local contacts in Marsa Matrouh (at the Egyptian border) and Tobruk who are experienced in the logistics of transporting cargo across the border into Libya. Representatives on the ground are currently receiving the medical supplies in Egypt and coordinating the transport arrangements so the supplies may be delivered as soon as possible. The representatives will also lead the convoy until its final delivery points within Libya and identify additional needs.

These efforts to provide medical humanitarian aid to Libya need to continue and we appeal to you for urgent, cash and in-kind donations. Kindly find attached a detailed list of required items and equipment required by the hospitals, compiled with doctors and nurses in the hospitals in Libya. With the news of more and more disproportionate and lethal attacks on an unarmed civilian population being reported on an hourly basis, we would respectfully implore you to treat to our appeal for assistance with the required urgency and expedition.

For cash donations, please find the following banking details:
World Medical Camp Libya,
HSBC Bank PLC ,
Sort Code: 400327, A/c No.: 52062666,
SWIFT: MIDLGB22 ,
IBAN: GB77MIDL40032752062666

Please contact Ekram El-Huni (ekramelhuni at hotmail dot com) if you require further clarification or have any questions.

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