Subject: Negative travel advice, on behalf of the board of VVL
Schalkhaar, june 22, 2024
We are sorry
to have to disappoint you with regard to your plans for a future veterans' trip with us to Lebanon.
Events in the Middle East have moved quickly. The situation is horrific for many people and still shows no sign of improvement. As the board of Veterans for Lebanon, we are saddened to see innocent people in different countries bearing the brunt of violence. For their sake, we can only hope that it won't escalate further and that peace will return to the region as soon as possible.
Lebanon has enjoyed relative calm in recent years, which made the return trips a great experience for us and our fellow travellers.
This was evident on each visit, not only for us, but also for the locals.
Wherever we went on each of our trips, we were welcomed with enthusiasm, open arms and beautiful words of gratitude and fond memories.
The situation in Lebanon is now so uncertain. Sadly, it has now become impossible to travel.
A new travel advice for Lebanon has just been published.
In short:
- In the border area between Lebanon and Israel, shelling and bombing are taking place almost daily place. Threats between Hezbollah and Israel are increasing, with the potential for further escalation of the conflict.
It is unsafe in Lebanon and the situation remains very unpredictable. Read more under News.
- Since October 20, 2023, color code red applies to the whole of Lebanon. Whatever your situation, don't travel there.
It's too dangerous. The Dutch embassy cannot always help you if you get into trouble.
- Are you in Lebanon? Leave the country if it is safe to do so. Make sure your information is up-to-date and complete in the Information Service. And make sure you have valid travel documents for you and your family.
Read the information on https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/crisis/regelen-in-crisissituatie to be prepared in crisis situations.
- Are you no longer in Lebanon? Log out of the Information Service via https://informatieservice.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/signin.
Read the entire travel advice: https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/reisadvies/libanon
The safety and security of all travellers has always been at the forefront of every trip and will continue to be so in the future. Only when peace is restored can we consider whether travel to Lebanon is possible. That could mean not being able to go at all in 2024. Every trip requires a long period of preparation, and we will only be able to start doing that when it is as safe to travel as it was before the 7th of October 2023.
Keeping the current waiting lists and moving forward is not desirable for anyone, as there can be a lot of change in people's schedules in the space of a year. We will therefore be deleting all of the existing waiting lists and deleting all of your details.
As soon as we are in a position to organise trips again, we will post information on our website and on our Facebook page. Our advice is to keep an eye on these pages for updates.
Hopefully this is enough information for you and we hope that we can meet again in the future in preparation for a special trip to a safe Lebanon.
Kind regards,
Jeannet Kleine Schaars
Secretary VVL
