2024-10-11 04:28:00
A year ago, Jomana Siddiqui visited Lebanon, where her father was born and is now buried. He planned to return there soon; this time, he thought, he would bring his two teenage daughters with him.
Instead, Siddiqui, who lives in California, now worries about relatives who live there. As Siddiqui watched from afar the violence and recent escalation of Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, he thought of the people he met during his visit and the kindness and generosity he encountered.
He thought about his father’s grave and when or if he could visit it again. His voice was hoarse with emotion. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said.
“This is like the universal history of the Lebanese people,” he said. “They have to keep leaving and they don’t know when they’ll be able to come back.”
From the United States to South Africa, Cyprus, Brazil and beyond, many in the vast and far-flung Lebanese diaspora are facing a wave of violence, heartbroken, terrified for their loved ones and their homeland, and trying to find ways to help.
Some 1,400 Lebanese – including civilians and fighters of the political paramilitary group Hezbollah – have been killed and some 1.2 million have been forced to flee their homes since Israel stepped up attacks in late September, which Israel says is trying to push Hezbollah Drive out of Lebanon.
For Lina Kayat, who moved to South Africa some 36 years ago but still has many relatives in Lebanon, the violence and tension there echoed previous chapters of turmoil.
“We lived in a civil war for a long time; I was about seven years old,” he recalled. “It feels like history repeats itself…you don’t know who’s going to be killed next.”
Kayat lives in the South African coastal city of Durban and talks to his family, including his mother and sister, every day.
“They were very scared, very worried about what was going to happen,” he said.
Generations of Lebanese have faced a choice: to leave in search of better opportunities or to escape varying periods of unrest – from a 15-year civil war to military occupation, attacks and political assassinations – or to stay in Lebanon , despite Lebanese scars, he still appeals to many. The country, home to diverse religious groups including Christians, Sunnis and Shia Muslims, is proud of its large immigrant community, including successful businessmen and celebrities of Lebanese origin.
The current military escalation comes amid concerns that fighting could spread across the region and comes just days after the first anniversary of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“The fact that this is happening over Gaza is almost unbearable,” said James Zogby, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Arab American Institute.
“Just to see the extent of the trauma almost makes you physically ill,” added Zogby, whose father was born in Lebanon.
The country is already reeling under the weight of an economic crisis, the fallout from a massive port explosion in 2020 and other crises. He has not been president for two years.
Against such a gloomy backdrop, Zogby wonders what will happen to the displaced.
“Who will take care of them? “Where will the medical services come from when the country is already overwhelmed and on the verge of collapse? “When will it finally collapse?” Who cares?
Adding to the pain, he noted, is his anger at the U.S. response to the destruction in Gaza and now the escalation of attacks in Lebanon.
“There is a feeling of helplessness, a feeling of almost despair… that could spiral out of control. As long as nothing is done there to contain it, it will get worse,” he lamented.
Akram Khat, director of the Kelara Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies at North Carolina State University, said that since the first diaspora, departing Lebanese have contributed significantly to Lebanon’s economic well-being, sending large amounts of remittances.
He said he was retraumatized by the escalating conflict in Lebanon, where he was born and raised.
“I found myself in the middle of a whirlwind of unresolved emotions from this recurring nightmare,” he said. “Yet, even in these circumstances, our community has come together to provide comfort and comfort to others.”
Hundreds of Lebanese flags flew in the night sky at a recent rally in Dearborn, Michigan, in support of Lebanon and to protest Israeli attacks.
Recently, two Lebanese brothers living in Brazil held a grand gathering at the Sao Paulo International Airport. They said eight of their relatives – their sister, brother-in-law, four nephews and two nephews’ children – were killed in an attack in Lebanon.
Hussein Zeineddine, one of the brothers, told The Associated Press that he was on vacation with his family in southern Lebanon when the area came under Israeli attack. He and his family moved to a safer location until they could book a flight back to Brazil. “My wife cried and asked us to leave. We started with only basic projects. Then, soon after, my sister’s house was bombed,” he said upon arrival.
“It will be difficult here. But it will be even more difficult for the people there,” he noted.
In Cyprus, Rosalind Goukasian noted that the vast majority of Lebanese do not want this war. She moved to Cyprus with her husband Raffi Garabedian and daughter Maria after the 2020 ammonium nitrate explosion at Beirut port killed more than 200 people. She said she was disappointed with Lebanon’s political leadership and regretted Hezbollah’s influence.
“We knew this was coming,” he said. “The problem is in Lebanon… because we don’t have a good government.”
Her decision to leave Lebanon was never about money, but for safety, as her daughter explained in a letter she wrote in class in Cyprus: “I didn’t want to go there because I was saved from the explosion, and I didn’t want to Go there. “I don’t want to live there because I don’t want to die. “
The family chose to stay.
“I’m not here to make thousands of euros. No, I’m here just to live. To be happy, to be safe. That’s what I want. To live,” Garabedian said.
After Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, militants killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. After that, Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israeli territory. saved many lives.
Back in California, Siddiqui said dealing with it all has been a challenge.
“You pick up the phone; you hesitate to turn it on because you’re afraid of what you’ll see, but you have to,” he noted.
Talk to friends and others in her circle who resonate with her.
“We’re all feeling a little sad, frustrated, helpless, tired,” he said. “We can do things like fundraise and donate and protest, but at the end of the day it still puts a strain on you.”
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Associated Press writers Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg; Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia contributed to this report.
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