MEDIA ADVISORY: Solidarity Activists in Beirut, Available for Interviews
Montreal solidarity activists in Beirut – available for interview on current crisis
13 July 2006, Montreal/Beirut – Members of the Montreal-based Tadamon! collective are in Beirut and available for interviews on the current crisis. Since mid-June, the three-person delegation from the Montreal group has been working out of Beirut, meeting with social justice and cultural organisations, participating in popular campaigns, coordinating solidarity projects between Montreal and Beirut, and creating radio reports on social justice issues in the country. Delegation members were chosen for their experience and knowledge of Lebanese and regional affairs.
Delegation members have been reporting that the mood in Lebanon is extremely tense. Israel has systematically targeted civilian infrastructure in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut since yesterday. Ten bridges and the Beirut international airport have been attacked, and the main road from Beirut to the south has been cut, isolating the south, causing benzene shortages in the capital, clogging roads and cutting off escape as people flee the bombing zones and foreigners rush to leave the country. Over forty civilian deaths have been reported.
Tadamon!, which means “solidarity” in Arabic, is a grassroots collective aimed at creating ties between social justice initiatives in Montreal and Beirut. Tadamon! organised a popular event series in April and May in Montreal, creating a space for discussion among Montreal’s large Lebanese diaspora population and others interested in Lebanon’s important role in Middle East affairs.
With a coalition of other groups, Tadamon! is holding a rally in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Lebanon outside the Israeli consulate (corner of Peel and René-Lévèsque) on Friday, 14 July, at noon.
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For interviews from Beirut:
Sawsan Kalache 011 961 3 755 260 (French, Arabic, English)
Stefan Christoff 011 961 70 132 498 (English)
Dima Ayoub 011 961 70 911 453 (English and Arabic)
In Montreal: Ahmad Mustafa 514-571-7806 (French, Arabic, English)
