Reference of Social Work In The Face of Crises and Disasters Booklets – Part Two
Researcher – Hiam Samaha Kahi
Research Assistant – Aimee Ghanem
In 1978, the Karantina neighborhood, where families, known as “Arab Al-Maslakh”, Kurdish families and other poor and marginalized groups were living, was displaced. It was well known that there has been a “Centre de Protection Maternelle et Infantile” at Karantina since 1948, where a group of social workers, Mrs. Mona Khachan & Mrs.Danielle Cremona, dedicated their lives to extend a helping hand to those in need in that region. That centre was considered a pilgrimage place for many social workers and nursing trainees in those days.
It was well known that those social workers facilitated those families moving to the areas to which they were displaced. The “Mouvement Social” welcomed the largest number of families in Ouzai, in equipped shelters especially allocated for them. The most prominent example was the frequent visits of these two social workers to the Ouzai shelters, to complete some of the tasks that they had started with those families, despite the security risks, blocked roads, and the difficulty of reaching areas that were divided by war and threats during that period of time.
This experience has shown us that professional commitment was greater than regional and sectarian affiliations and above fears and risks.