Jamsheed is Media Correspondent for Islamic Relief Worldwide. While in Lebanon with aid workers from the charity, he has written a daily blog for us. FINAL DAY: MONDAY 7 AUGUST 2006 Humanitarian crisis I am set to leave Beirut today and head back to Damascus. My colleagues will be in Lebanon for three months, if not longer, delivering aid to the people affected by the conflict. We have a meeting with other aid agencies to discuss the crisis and our strategy. Islamic Relief is clearly one of only a handful of international charities able to reach south Lebanon. We all agree that the humanitarian situation is critical and that aid agencies desperately need access to south Lebanon. Crater on the highway
 | | Destroyed van |
We head to Beirut’s port to unload a shipment of 80 tonnes of medical aid that has come from Islamic Relief’s USA office. After we are finished we hit the road. Driving out of Beirut we come across the now common sight of a crater on the highway. This time a van lies destroyed in the carnage. Whoever was in the vehicle would not have stood a chance – it looks like they took a direct hit from a missile. Joining the exodus As we drive down the winding roads leading out of Beirut I look back at the Lebanese capital - it is stunning city. I wonder if the towering flats that dominate the skyline will still be standing in a week’s time. We reach the Lebanese border and it is complete chaos. Last time I was here I was travelling in the opposite direction but this time I am joining the exodus leaving Lebanon. We are stuck at the border for hours. Each day thousands cross at this point, desperate to escape the unrelenting bombing. Anger and pain
 | | Aid at the port |
We cross the border and we are now in Syria. The six days I spent in Lebanon will stay with me for the rest of my life. I saw a nation being devastated by continuous bombing, the scale of which is unimaginable for someone who hasn’t seen it with their own eyes. I saw anger at the international community who the Lebanese feel have stood by as hundreds of civilians have died and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes. For how much longer will they have to suffer like this, they ask? I sense that the perceived inaction of the West in protecting Lebanese civilians from the indiscriminate bombings is something they will not forget. Unnatural disaster
 | | Aid at the port |
I will never forget the humanitarian spirit and drive of Islamic Relief aid workers and partners as they risked their lives by trying to deliver aid to those who have been cut off from the rest of Lebanon. I will never forget the look on the faces of people terrified and hiding in the basement of schools just waiting for the bombs to drop. They have no money and no means to leave. The only other place I have seen such physical destruction was after the earthquake that struck northern Pakistan. But this time, it is not a natural disaster. Tragedy on many levels As aid workers our job is to help the needy, regardless of the cause or politics behind the conflict. But where a humanitarian crisis could have been avoided, it is difficult not to feel that this is a tragedy on many levels. While civilians are asking what they have done to deserve so much suffering, the bombs continue to fall. The end to this terrible conflict cannot come soon enough. | 
