Hezbollah leads the way in rebuilding Lebanon, says CRS worker

Published: 2006-08-31

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Shiite Muslim organization Hezbollah is leading the way in rebuilding Lebanon, said a Catholic Church aid worker. "Hezbollah is out in front of everybody in its efforts to assist. Hezbollah started handing out piles of cash," $10,000-$12,000 for a year's worth of rent, and has given smaller amounts for houses that need repairing, said Mark Schnellbaecher, Catholic Relief Services' regional director for the Middle East and Europe. During the 34-day war between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants, Hezbollah was providing assistance to displaced Lebanese, he said. And before the displaced returned home, Hezbollah was on the streets bulldozing debris off the roads, he told Catholic News Service in an Aug. 30 telephone interview from Beirut, Lebanon. Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops' international development and relief agency, has been working with its partner, Caritas Lebanon, to assist the 90 percent of the displaced who returned home immediately after the U.N.-brokered cease-fire that took effect Aug. 14.

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