Lebanon: memories of home and hope for return for displaced families
From damaged villages to crowded shelters, families describe the human consequences of war across southern Lebanon.
“I was so happy with it,” says Warde* remembering her home in Deir Al Zahrani, in the Nabatiyeh governorate of southern Lebanon.
“[It was] a small, cozy home – two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. A small slope, starting from below with a big chinaberry tree. You go up a little, there is a loquat tree with big, delicious fruit. ”
When the Israeli war escalated into Lebanon on March 2, Warde remained at home with her husband, son and three daughters amidst the shelling and relentless airstrikes. But when Israeli missiles struck directly behind their house, the family fled to Jiyeh for safety, where, along with Beirut, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides medical services through mobile clinics.
*Name has been changed to protect identity
War, displacement and compound suffering
The Israeli war displaced more than one million people in Lebanon. By July 22, more than 375,000 are unable to return home or have no homes to return to, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
But the toll extends beyond the loss of a home. For Walaa*, displaced with her husband, Mohamad Ali* and their son and daughter from Mayfadoun in the Nabatiyeh governorate, the intense violence caused her to suffer a miscarriage.
“No matter how much faith one has in God, fear is out of your hands,” she says.
“Everything here is hard for me. I’ve developed so much stress I can no longer stand on my feet or walk.”
Halime, a displaced person from southern Lebanon
Displacement also weighs heavily on Halime, who fled Qaaqaaiyet El Jisr in Nabatiyeh with her husband and daughter for Beirut. “Everything here is hard for me,” she says. “I’ve developed so much stress that I can no longer stand on my feet or walk. I have inflammation throughout my entire body.”
Children bear doubled burdens
Due to ongoing attacks, people have often fled their homes multiple times. This has compounded the hardships displaced people already face: inadequate shelter and water and sanitation, disrupted livelihoods, financial distress and challenges accessing healthcare.
“Every child now has emotional distress and depression.”
Warde, displaced from her home in Deir Al Zahrani
Memories of home and hope for return
Nisrine was displaced from her home in Seddiqine, Sour/Tyre. She returned when the ceasefire was first announced, however, she was soon forced to leave again with the renewed Israeli military threats against her village.
“I miss everything about my house — everything, everything, everything,” she says. Nisrine returned to her village in early July, but is unable to return to her home. “I went to the house and saw the destruction,” she says.
Said and his wife Sanaa lost their home in Hariss, Nabatiyeh. “I just want to sit on the soil,” he says. “They deprived us of so many things that were dear to us. This is my home and one’s home is like their own skin.”
“If there’s anything we’ll hold on to from our displacement, it’s the good people we’ve met, the people who helped us and those who welcomed us.”
Mohamad Ali, a displaced person from southern Lebanon
Despite the cruelty of displacement, Mohamad Ali holds on to a few cherished memories. “If there’s anything we’ll hold on to from our displacement, it’s the good people we’ve met, the people who helped us and those who welcomed us,” he says. “They made us feel like we weren’t strangers.”
*Names have been changed to protect identity
