Rima’s* eldest daughter suffered from a deep depression. ‘She didn’t want to do anything,’ Rima tells us. ‘She didn’t want to go out. She refused to accept the war. She rejected this reality.’
The war Rima is talking about is in the south of Lebanon, where the ongoing conflict around Gaza has spilled over, impacting families like Rima’s.
The family have been forced to flee twice already because of the danger. They have lost their home, their jobs and any sense of stability.
In the face of this, Tearfund’s local partner, MERATH has been providing some support – creating a sense of belonging for the family and helping them to cope with the ongoing crisis.
Since 7 October
‘We were first displaced from the south on 7 October 2023,’ Rima recalls. ‘We moved to Beirut and then Nabatiyeh, and then [when we thought it was safe to go home], back to the south.
‘Then, on 24 September, we were displaced again during the “Great Displacement”**.
‘This time,’ she says, ‘I know for sure that we’re not going back home, because there is no home left to return to. Even if the war ends, our house is gone. We’ve lost everything – our home, our jobs, everything.
‘I can’t put into words how much we’ve lost.
‘We never imagined this would happen to us. The first time, we left believing we would return in one or two days.
‘For over a month, we lived out of our car, with all our belongings inside. It took us so long to find a place to stay, and even longer for the kids to feel comfortable there.
‘And the moment we felt we could endure it, the war broke out again. It completely crushed us.
‘My kids have suffered so much during this war. They’ve lost their home, their bedrooms, their beds and their school. They’ve been learning online for two years now. The war is destroying our children’s future. An entire generation is getting only half an education. Online learning is not real education.’
For families like Rima’s, day-to-day existence looks completely different to the life they once knew. Even simple things like soap and toothpaste, previously not requiring more attention than perhaps a passing reminder to pick them up with the groceries, have become items on a long list of pressing needs that, without an income and having lost everything, they struggle to fulfil.
‘Sometimes you feel lost,’ says Rima.
‘Then someone comes and offers help, and it gives you strength. It makes you feel like you can stand on your feet again.’
