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     Flyer Veterans for Lebanon
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Subject:
Update june 2024 travel to Lebanon, on behalf of the VVL board

Click on Transavia cr 
for information.
Due to the unrest in southern Lebanon, transavia has cancelled all flights.


4 May 2025

Remembrance Day in Tyr (Sour)

5 May 2025
Liberation parade Wageningen
start 12:35 from Belmonte Arboretum

28 June 2025
Dutch Veterans Day in The Hague

 

Rotterdam, 27 November 2021easy shipping

Today, the container, which we loaded on 12 November, will be loaded in Rotterdam on the more than 120-metre-long container ship Tokyo Bay.

Deventer, 12 November 2021

On 23-7 and 15-10 we collected, at the request of contacts via Facebook, many prostheses, many crutches, a number of operating tables, various accessories, tools and about 2000 kg of feed (in bags).

Utrecht, Deventer and Hoogezand, 5 November 2021  dr. Aletta Jacobs College

Today Fred, Bart, Bert and I collected the hardware in Deventer to be able to load into the container next week.

Germany, 15 October 2021   Auguste Viktoria Klinik

Upon arrival (15-10) at the first charging point we (Fred and Bert) thought to load 4 more operating tables,

Deventer, 12-09-2021logo stentor

Interview by Sander Grootendorst of the Stentor.
Former soldier Bert (60) from Deventer shocked by harrowing situation in Lebanon: 'Terrible to see'.
Living in Averlo , Bert Kleine Schaars is concerned with the ups and downs of the city and surroundings as a politician for Deventer Belang.

About Veterans for Lebanon


Background

From 1979 to 1985, have a total of more than 9000 Dutchmen, mostly conscripts, contributed to the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon.
On February 25, 1979, 74 quartermasters left for Lebanon, the main force of almost 800 soldiers left on March 10, 1979.
The soldiers were deployed in South Lebanon under the name Dutchbatt (Dutch Infantry Battalion).
On 30 September 1983 the Dutch contribution was reduced to the size of a company (about 150 soldiers) named Dutchcoy (Dutch Infantry Company).
On 23 oktober 1985, the last Dutch UNIFIL soldiers left Lebanon.
Now 45 years later, this peacekeeping force is still present on the border of Lebanon and Israel.

 

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It is in 2018 when Bert Kleine Schaars organizes a first trip with former Dutch Unifil soldiers. This is possible with the cooperation of, among others, Minister Bijleveld and the airline Transavia, which has just started direct flights from Amsterdam / Beirut.

The second trip with several veterans and their wives or children is in March 2020. It is another great trip through a country that has great poverty and unfortunately also has few options of its own. Only recently have gas and oil fields been found off the coast. In fact, the country is completely dependent on food imports.

Due to the global crises, the country is in bad shape if the Corona strikes there too in March. Medical facilities are coming under even more pressure.

From this group, the idea quickly arises of how help can still be provided and what would be the best way to organize it. If the group in the Netherlands in the Lock down is still working on that thought, something will happen on August 4 that will change everything in that country and in Beirut.

On August 4, 2020, an unprecedentedly heavy explosion destroyed a large part of the Lebanese capital within seconds. The damage is enormous, the human suffering hard to comprehend.

The sad balance: 200 dead, 6,000 injured, 300,000 homeless!

 

Background and establishment of the foundation

 

The explosion of August 4, 2020 in Beirut is the direct reason for the establishment of the VVL foundation, veterans for Lebanon.

August 12, 2020
At the initiative of Bert Kleine Schaars, the campaign 'Veterans help Beirut' is being set up together with the Veterans Institute and the Foundation for the Support of Veterans Activities (OVA).

August 14, 2020
Bert Kleine Schaars is a guest in the TV program Een Today, where he gets the opportunity to draw attention to the action.

September 22, 2020
Intermediate position of the aid campaign: more than € 20,000.

September 29, 2020
Establishment of the 'Foundation VVL, veterans for lebanon'.

Ambassador and Board members of the foundation

Objective of the foundation

  • Promoting the friendships of the Dutch with Lebanon and Lebanese;
  • Promoting knowledge of the archaeological riches of Lebanon in the Netherlands;
  • Promote Lebanon as a country and travel destination;
  • Supporting the preparation and guidance of UNIFIL veterans on return trips;
  • Supporting targeted aid actions to offer support and/or relief goods for or in Lebanon.


In collaboration with other Containers of Love, we as a foundation are still committed to sending relief supplies to Beirut with the help of our sponsors. Every transport means a lot of arrangements and, in addition to careful planning, requires targeted supervision of the execution. Because we want to be sure that the containers not only arrive, but also that all relief supplies on site find their way to the planned final destination as quickly as possible. Given the current circumstances in Lebanon, this is a challenging operation.

42 containers have now been successfully shipped. But many more transports will be needed. This is not possible without financial and material support. In that regard, we would like to make an urgent appeal to you and to companies that want to contribute to the reconstruction of the city of Beirut and to that beautiful country full of potential, which Lebanon was and is!

Help is urgently needed! On behalf of the people of Lebanon: THANK YOU!

If you want to help, please transfer your contribution to the following bank account:
NL71 ABNA 0118 7463 91 in the name of VVL Veterans Lebanon

See also our weblog above for the current state of affairs.