Feature: Lebanese refugees in Syria longing to go back home

by Hummam Sheikh Ali
RABLAH, Syria, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) — At a monastery in the quiet town of Rablah, nestled in the countryside of Syria’s Homs province, Lebanese refugees displaced by the escalating Israeli military operation against Hezbollah have found temporary safety away from the powerful explosions day and night.
Huda Arman, in her 40s, fled Lebanon with her two children, leaving her husband behind. Speaking to Xinhua at the monastery, the woman said they stayed in their home for as long as they could amid intensive strikes but had to succumb to constant fears for their lives.
“We’ve been here for almost a week,” she said. “Our home country was no longer safe, especially for the children.”
Sitting in one of the monastery’s small rooms, she added, “I hope we can return to our village soon. No matter where you go, no place feels like home. We are comfortable here, the services are excellent … but I miss Lebanon.”
The monastery, now converted into a shelter, offers sparse accommodations. Displaced families sleep on mattresses placed on the floor, and local organizations hold activities for children to distract them from the trauma of war.
Fleeing the town of Hermel with her parents and two sisters, 17-year-old Khawla Al-Amr told Xinhua that they had to leave their home due to the terrifying sounds of continuous bombings.
“We had to leave. I was so worried about my youngest sister. I feared that she might become depressed over everything she saw and heard,” she said.
“We just want this war to end, so we can return home safely,” Al-Amr lamented, sitting beside her sisters, who clutched toys gifted by volunteers.
The monastery is one of the several shelters in Rablah, situated just a few kilometers from the Lebanese border.
According to Zakaria Fayyad, the head of the local council in Rablah, of the Lebanese families taking refuge in the town, 213 families were hosted in local homes and 52 were housed in such monastery-converted shelters. In total, the town is hosting around 1,170 individuals.
More than 100,000 people have moved from Lebanon into Syria, as over 200,000 people have been displaced from southern Lebanon due to the evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military, Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Tuesday.
The number of displaced people is expected to rise as Israeli strikes against Hezbollah have shown no sign of abating since mid-September.
Despite a growing displaced population, the local community and organizations are helping those seeking safety with their utmost efforts. But for many refugees, the situation remains uncertain, and going back home is all that they are thinking about. ■