In the mountainous area of Shab’a, in south-east Lebanon, a Lebanese goat farmer welcomes Lt Col Bhupender Bishnoi to his farmstead. Lt Col Bishnoi, a UNIFIL Indian peacekeeper, is the only veterinary officer in his contingent. He and his team are visiting the local farms as part of a vaccination drive against foot and mouth disease (FMD).
 
“We have a complete schedule of camps to be conducted,” says Lt Col Bishnoi. “We cover all 13 villages in the Indian battalion area, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays we attend to any critical cases and emergency cases. So you can say we are working 24/7.”
 
Lt Col Bishnoi works closely with UNIFlL language assistants as well as civilian peacekeepers to meet the local farmers. At each visit they discuss the farmers’ concerns and share advice about ways to treat any sick animals. By the end of the day 1,600 goats receive FMD vaccinations.
 
Col Santosh Kumar Tripathi, Commander of the UNIFIL Indian battalion, contextualizes why the Indian UN peacekeepers extend this assistance to the local community. “The majority of the people in this area are shepherds whose livelihoods depend on sheep and goats, and for them there is limited veterinary assistance available,” he says. “So we have this camp today to provide vaccines to their goats.”
 
In addition to the extensive patrolling and monitoring by UNIFIL peacekeepers that has helped maintain 12 years of calm in south Lebanon, the mission also extends small-scale support, like this vaccination drive, to UNIFIL’s host communities.

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Article: Aoibheann O’Sullivan
Video Camera: Mohamad Hamze
Video Edit: Aoibheann O’Sullivan, Zeina Ezzeddine
Translation: Ghifar Charafeddine, Rana Hashem
Music: Bensound
Stills: Pascual Gorriz
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