h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If Mr. Blair sees your daughter's letter, he will think she is a very concerned little More power to her!

You're right, there are people we can alert to this. I hope will get some reply, although I have no idea how they cope with this sort of letter

Hi Lady C... I wish she had let me read it first - the Mummy in me can only think of all the spelling mistakes and her handwriting . He probably won't get it, Bella, let alone read it - but we won't tell her that

W

No, T.B. will not get it, but as far as I know they have extra staff for this sort of mail here, and they are obliged to read it and answer to it - I think

I will let you know if she gets a reply...

Wilma, the spelling errors and handwriting make a letter like that even more endearing, imho. I would think it might even be an eye opener, since a child took the time to write it.

Surely at least some of his staff will read it and answer it. That's only common courtesy. Even dubya has someone who can reply to letters--probably a good thing he does too.

What an amazing wee girl. Brings a lump to my throat just thinking about it. She is a credit to you.

yes lady C, it probably *is* a good thing...

Hello, Famous Fi, thank you for your words and welcome to this mad little bit of hootoo.

Thanks for the welcome Wilma. This thread brings home what is happening and makes it ever so more real. Love to you and yours.

You know, I actually feel almost sorry for TB, if I know lil atall, which I do...then he's in for one hell of a roasting. Bet she threatened to tell his mum and everything.

Your little one sounds adorable!

Just been wondering how you and your family are, Wilma - so I'll go to the start of this entry and find out.

See you again in a while - but in the meantime I hope your family is safe and that the whole awful business in the middle-east stops NOW.

Hi Wilma, we have never met before, but I was reading various threads about the conflict and saw that you are from Lebanon. So I found this convo and found so much information about what is going on. May I stay subscribed, just so that I can keep in touch with your information? I find the BBC can be biased so to hear from someone who knows the area and the people, means I can hear the reality of it.

Take care and I hope you don't mind strangers subscribing to your journal too much.

I have just heard about this environmental catastrophe in Lebanon --
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060731-lebanon-oil.html

That is all those people need--an oil spill! Wilma, how are things with your family now?

*sidles in with a little update*

Thanks, T and Lady C, my parents are still ok, and so is everyone else in our families that we know of. The phones are still working and we are still calling for a minute or so every day. It is all starting to get a bit desperate. Fuel is set to run out country wide this week, which means no electricity and no water Thankfully, there is some fuel destined for Lebanon tomorrow. I hope it is allowed through. My inlaws have run out of petrol but they'll be fine as they are in the midst of family around them.

The refugee situation is truly dire, aid is not able to move around so there are warehouses full of stuff on the borders. The UN were unable to follow through with 2 out of the three planned convoys yeaterday. They were denied safe passage. I have spent the last three days trying to connect A to B. As you know, my niece is involved in the relief affort on the ground. She has been passing people on to me who need stuff. I was contacted by a neurologist in Byblos, desperate for meds for his chronically ill patients. He has all his patients in the south in a hospital now in Saida and has sent meds to them in care of a colleague. He has less than a week's worth of meds left. He said there is medication but he doesn't know where it is... so I have been in touch with (it seems like) everyone.. and finally got hold of a central virtual control centre which tells where stuff is and when it is being moved and by whom although it does not seem to be all-inclusive...

I also have been trying to put people trying to help in touch with each other. I had someone from a Hindu temple in West London call. He has collected 22 tonnes of food and hygiene items and didn't know how to get it there. A friend of ours owns a shipping company and has now offered to take it out there for free. There is also a London school being refurbished so by early September, we will have the entire contents of a seconday school for 1400 pupils donated to refurb a school in south Lebanon. Another friend is on an arab TV channel today urging people to work together and not set up little individual aid efforts. That is what I am trying to do - put people together for economies of scale.

Now I need to find a load of nit combs

Kaz, welcome.


W

It's a wonderful thing you are doing. No wonder your children are so eager to help too. I'm sitting here safe and sound in the US and all I can offer is concern. I think I will contact the Red Cross and see if they are setting up any relief efforts for Lebanon.

Hi Wilma, I am so glad you have heard from your family. Well done at the work you are doing, its good to see such constructive work as all the politicians do is talk and talk. I don't understand why Bush and Blair are leading the talks, surely there are countries that are closer who have greater understanding of the situation? However of course there are the links between the US and Isreal to consider. It sickens me that Bush is called the leader of the free world, he seems to feel he should take a leadership role in all of these situations.

I would love to hear what other people think, especially you Wilma, do you welcome Bush and Blairs input or do you feel that there are other more appropriate countries who should be leading these talks?

Yes, I think it was a good thing for the French to become involved.

I think its great the French are involved as well, its good to know reason has a chance now. I recently read that Chirac is getting stronger on environmental issues as well, so we need his influence on the world scene.