- Refugees in Lebanon fear potential Hezbollah-Israel conflict
- Syrians prefer fighting Israel over returning home; others plan to flee
- Migrants feel trapped, with few options if war escalates
In 2014, the Syrian regime launched a missile against Alaa’s residential building in Aleppo, Syria. Alaa, 13, and his family, which included his mother, father, and two sisters, escaped the explosion and fled to Lebanon.
Today, Alaa works as a hairdresser in Beirut and is concerned about the possibility of another battle between the Lebanese party Hezbollah and Israel.
A war would affect everyone here: Lebanese and Syrian,” Alaa explained outside a barbershop in Hamra, a thriving neighbourhood in West Beirut. “Whatever occurs, happens. “I live day to day.”
Alaa is one of millions of refugees and migrants who have found safety in Lebanon, away from their war-torn home countries. Most keep a low profile and make a meagre life.
Several Syrian and Sudanese nationals have stated that Lebanon could soon be the site of a giant fight between Israel and Hezbollah.
However, many appear to be resigned to the future. Others are concerned that as refugees, they may have fewer possibilities to find protection than Lebanese nationals and migratory labourers from other nations.
“I wouldn’t return to Syria [where there is still conflict] if a big war happened here”. I would initially try to travel to the mountains, where my parents live.
‘Nobody to rely on’
Regional tensions rose when Israel executed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shakr on July 30 in Dahiya, Beirut’s busiest residential district.
Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas‘ political head, was slain hours later in Tehran, Iran, while attending President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
Israel did not deny or claim involvement in the assassinations, but US authorities and Iran claimed Israel was behind the attacks.
The assassinations put a pall over Lebanon and its people, notably Syrian and Sudanese citizens seeking asylum there. Since then, Israel has increased airstrikes on southern Lebanon, resulting in a rise in civilian casualties.
Most recently, on August 17, an Israeli attack killed ten Syrians and injured a Sudanese national in Nabatiyeh, a village in southern Lebanon.
Bakhri Yousef, a 28-year-old Sudanese national, fears that the war will soon reach Beirut. He has been working as a cleaner since 2017, allowing him to send a few hundred dollars to his family monthly using an informal money transfer mechanism. He claims they need this money to survive, and it is the only reason he remains in Lebanon.
His family lives in a hazardous situation in El-Obeid, Sudan, a city controlled by the Sudanese army but under siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary as the two sides battle for control of the country.
“If the situation got really bad here, then I would rather go home,” she remarked. “Here in Lebanon, I have no one to depend on. But in Sudan, I can depend on my family, and they can rely on me.”
Shared adversary.
Even if Lebanon descends into civil war, the majority of Syrians have stated that they will not return to their homeland.
Many people are frightened of being drafted into the Syrian army to fight on the front lines of the civil war, which began in 2012 when the government ruthlessly quashed nonviolent rallies.
While the world’s attention has shifted away from Syria, it has not been safer. Many Syrians claim the regime wants them because of their genuine or perceived opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.
Mohamad, 33, who manages a small laundromat in Beirut, said he couldn’t imagine leaving Lebanon after rebuilding his life here.
He stated that he is among many Syrians who would consider attacking Israel before returning to Syria.
“If Israel invades, I’m telling you that many Syrians in Lebanon would pick up arms and fight against them,” says Mohamad. “We would prefer fighting against Israel than returning home to fight against our people.”
Furthermore, Mohamad feels that if a conflict broke out, the growing bigotry against Syrians in Lebanon would come to an end.
He claims that everyone understands that Israel will not discriminate against those it murders.
“There will be no racism as there is today. Israel is the enemy of both Lebanon and Syria. We share the same adversary. That’s why everyone believes now is the moment to rally behind one another and stick together,” he stated.
Fleeing
However, Mohamad explained that Lebanon is not ideal for many Syrians, who see their only option as trying to reach Europe.
With Lebanon already undergoing a severe economic crisis and the possibility of war, thousands of Syrians are entering Syria illegally and paying smugglers to transport them to Turkey.
According to Mohamad, Syrians then pay smugglers to take them to Greece or Cyprus.
“Beginning a week ago, many Syrians I knew returned to Syria in an attempt to enter Turkey. They want to reach Europe.”
Sayed Ibrahim Ahmad, who manages the Sudanese club in Beirut, expressed concern about being trapped in Lebanon if Israel began hitting the entire country.
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He stated that Lebanese nationals can attempt to travel to Syria or Jordan. Still, refugees and migrants from Sudan and other countries will have few options, and he believes that fleeing to Europe is too tricky.
“Most of the people that try to go to Europe either are pulled back to Lebanon or drown”.
Ahmad moved to Lebanon in 2000 to work as a chef and spent most of his adult life in Beirut. He supports his four children and wife in Sudan and cannot envision dying so far away from his family and home.
“Whether in Lebanon or Sudan, I’ll be trapped in a war,” he said. “But if I’m to die, then I would prefer to die in my country.”
