In Palestine, and to a lesser extent in Syria, the population continues to suffer the violence of bombings and attacks. "For two days the area where the Nazareth school is located was subjected to heavy bombing. The children could not attend classes," say the Salesians. Refugees are threatened again. There are thousands of refugees in the region, mainly from Syria and Iraq. The difficulties for them have increased due to the escalation of violence in the region.
Currently it is mainly the Lebanese population that lives in a state of panic for the present and uncertainty for the future. The attacks, which until a few days ago were concentrated in the south, are now extending to the capital, and the continuous bombing increases the number of dead, wounded and displaced. The Salesians continue to adapt their facilities in El Houssoun to welcome the displaced and offer them a safe space, with specific attention to minors, but they are aware that needs will increase in the coming days. A part of the Syrian refugee population, who once fled the war in their own country, is returning to Syria, with the paradox of fleeing the conflict in the host country to return to their homeland where a war still persists.
Lebanon is a country with a population of six million inhabitants and hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees; in fact, it is the country with the highest number of refugees per square kilometre in the world. From 7 October 2023, since the Gaza conflict broke out, until a few days ago, the country was in a state of latent war, but the attacks that Israel has carried out in recent days have caused a number of displaced people greater than that of the 2006 war.
The bombings have spread throughout the country, forcing the closure of schools and hospitals and damaging electrical and water infrastructure. The death and injury toll continues to rise and more than a million people have been displaced from their homes. “Most have fled with nothing and are abusively occupying public buildings or wandering the streets in search of food,” reports a Beirut Salesian.
"Electricity is barely available for one or two hours a day and we are worried about the arrival of rain and winter," he said. The Salesian work in El Houssoun has once again become a safe haven for the population. During the civil war in the country (1975-1990), while the Salesian school in Beirut was permanently closed due to the circumstances, the house in El Houssoun was occupied and transformed into a barracks, but it also became, for years, a safe haven for hundreds of displaced Christians. And during the first war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, it temporarily hosted a hundred displaced people, Muslims and Christians, from villages in the South.
“They arrive with nothing and we try to offer them the essentials to live: a place to sleep, warm clothes, food, a safe place to stay, childcare... Psychological assistance for the youngest, who have had their education interrupted, will be very important. More than 9,000 displaced people have arrived in the city and at the Salesian house we are already taking in more than a hundred, of which more than half are children, but in total we are assisting more than 4,000 people in our works," says the Salesian.
In general, over 180,000 people have left Lebanon in the last few days. At least 125,000 are refugees from Syria who have decided to return to their country of origin, despite the war is still ongoing. Many of them had been in Lebanon for more than 10 years and would never have thought they would have to flee again because of the war. The rest of the people who have left the country are Lebanese who have themselves become refugees in Syria. “Right now the borders with Syria are open, so it is also difficult to know exactly how many people are leaving the country,” the Salesians explain.
The escalation of violence in the region and the condition of many refugees and displaced persons is leading the Salesians to establish a general plan of reception, to offer life opportunities to people who arrive in the Salesian works and to nearby families who need help.
Among the various solidarity bodies that have already been activated for this there is also Misiones Salesianas, the Salesian Mission Office in Madrid, which has launched the "Middle East Emergency" campaign.
Source: Salesian Missions
