PRESS RELEASES
U.S. Embassy Joins in Hosting Night of A Thousand Dinner An International
Benefit for Global Humanitarian Mine Action
13 December 2004
The Embassy of the United States in Lebanon joins its partners,
the Embassy of Canada and the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates,
to participate in the fourth annual Night of a Thousand Dinners,
Thursday, December 16, 2004. The dinner, hosted by the three embassies
at the Metropolitan Hotel in Beirut, is part of a global event where
world leaders, celebrities, and caring citizens come together to
dine and raise awareness and resources for the international landmine
crisis. Since 1998, the United States Government has contributed
nearly eight million dollars to support humanitarian demining programs
in Lebanon. The U.S. Embassy aims to promote increased awareness
of landmine issues in Lebanon with its participation in the Night
of A Thousand Dinners event in Beirut.
The United States is proud to work with the Government of Lebanon
to reduce the dangers of landmines and unexploded ordnance. To that
end, the United States, in partnership with the Lebanese Armed Forces,
helped establish the National Demining Office in 1999. In an effort
to increase the capabilities of the Lebanese to reduce the dangers
of landmines and unexploded ordnance, the U.S. has also provided
extensive training and equipment. This year, the U.S. expanded its
assistance to include Mine Risk Education training to 260 teachers
from 240 schools throughout the country. U.S. military teams trained
50 manual deminers and 60 unexploded ordnance specialists and donated
equipment to include $200,000 of personal protective gear during
the year 2004. Previous U.S. donations of equipment have included
18 mine detection dogs, five fully-equipped ambulances, a mechanical
flail, protective equipment, maintenance equipment and medical supplies.
And as it has for the past four years, the U.S. Government also
provided technical expertise, manual, mechanical, and mine dog detection
demining, to reduce the risk of landmines and unexploded ordnance
in Lebanon.
Finally, to expand economic opportunities for landmine survivors
and their families, the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) funded the establishment of the Development Cooperative
Center in Azour. This project has benefited 800 landmine survivors
and their families in the district of Jezzine who participate in
poultry raising for egg production, bee keeping for honey production
and herb cultivation. These activities aim to help landmine survivors
reclaim their sense of being productive members of society again.
Land mines are hidden killers. With an estimated 400,000 mines
and unexploded ordnance still in Lebanon, danger abounds. By last
year, almost 2,800 people had been killed or maimed by these lethal
leftovers of war. Americans, like the Lebanese people, look forward
to the day when every child, every teenager, every adult, can walk
the earth in safety, free from the fear of land mines and unexploded
ordnance. To bring that day closer, the U.S. is committed to working
with its Lebanese partners to eradicate the threat of mines and
unexploded ordnance. U.S. Embassy participation in the Night of
a Thousand Dinners is another step in making this goal a reality.
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