The war in Lebanon, a conflict followed with pain by the large Lebanese diaspora whose population exceeds the number of Lebanese living in their own country. For Lebanese expatriates in the Gulf, the situation is unique as they live in countries destabilized by this regional war.
From our special envoy to Doha,
In Qatar, two Lebanese friends living abroad for professional and economic reasons, like many of their compatriots, discuss the situation in Lebanon. “We have this huge concern about Lebanon. We live the news, we wake up, we watch the news, we are always in front of our screens,” says the first friend. “We work, it’s true, but our mind is elsewhere.”
“Lebanon is our country. It’s the most beautiful country, we love it. But unfortunately, we have experienced many wars and we continue to live through many wars,” completes her friend. “And now, Lebanon is bleeding. So we are tired, we are mentally exhausted.”
“We didn’t expect this”
One has been in Qatar for 17 years, the other for 10 years, one works in the health sector, the other in education. The two Lebanese friends have experienced other wars in their country, but this time, the conflict is regional, with Iranian drones and missiles intercepted here in the Gulf countries. “We didn’t expect this, and we don’t know what will happen in a week, in a few days, because we need to leave for better opportunities, to find stability for ourselves and our children,” expresses one of the friends. “And we find ourselves in a truly extremely complicated situation again.”
After the confusion of the first days, the two Lebanese friends feel safe in Qatar, where alerts are now less frequent. “So here, for us, what we are experiencing now is nothing at all, honestly, it’s nothing at all,” judges one.
“We are ashamed to talk about it,” reacts her friend. “So what we are experiencing now here is nothing at all because here, you can feel it, there is the state, there are people working behind the scenes, there are leaders present, there are people sending you messages to reassure you,” continues the first friend. “We miss that in Lebanon.”
“We will be torn”
The conversation between the two women continues: “We are in Qatar, we say thank God, we are in Qatar. Because even with the bombings and missiles, we always feel this protection. Really.”
Sometimes, a sentence is interrupted by a sob when the two expatriates talk about conversations with their family remaining in Lebanon. “We feel guilty because when we see our parents in what state they are in, well, as a Lebanese, I want to go there, to help them. I am helping them financially. But there is also the moral aspect. They need us. But how? We will be torn,” she confides. “Because here, Qatar, for me, it’s my second country, it needs us. Now, we cannot leave because we have our families here, we have our children, so we will stay, God willing, everything will be fine.”
