“As if we were orphans”, Lebanese share stories of displacement to Karbala

Shafaq News/ Buildings were destroyed, many people were killed and injured, and a large number of Lebanese people fled the country to save their lives since the beginning of the Israeli bombardment on Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, and its southern suburbs. Iraq opened its borders to them on the first day. Some of these displaced families have reached Karbala Governorate.

Thousands of Lebanese pilgrims visit Karbala every year for the Arbaeen commemoration when Iraqis open their homes to visitors during that period and offer them food.

Among those currently fleeing is Kamel Safieddine, who said he chose to come to Karbala to escape the war in southern Lebanon after visiting it earlier this year. “I experienced great hospitality and services during my visit,” he said, according to AFP.

“I arrived in Karbala a week ago after I heard that people here had reopened their homes to visitors,” said the young man, who used to work as an accountant in an electrical company. Adding, “I can't stand the bombing in Lebanon anymore, and it's not safe to flee to Syria, as the situation there is also unstable.”

The spiral of cross-border violence that began a year ago between Israel and Hezbollah against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip turned into open warfare on Sept. 23. The Israeli army began bombing Hezbollah strongholds in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Since October 2023, more than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, including more than 1,110 since September 23, according to an AFP count based on official figures. More than one million people have been displaced as a result of the Israeli incursions into Lebanon, according to the authorities.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi government decided to allocate three billion dinars (about 2.3 million US dollars) to “provide services” to Lebanese arriving in Iraq. It has also organized relief efforts and sent medical and food aid to Lebanon.

For its part, Hussaini Shrine has formed a supreme committee to “provide relief to the Lebanese people” and has begun coordinating with local organizations to secure travel for Lebanese at risk of bombing.

“Nowhere Else”

Jalal Assi, a 40-year-old man who fled south Lebanon after five days of incessant Israeli raids said “The shelling reached near our house, to our neighbor's house next to ours. At that point, we decided to leave.” Adding, “The hostile shelling targeted civilian homes, and there were massacres in our town,” he added. “When we couldn’t find anywhere else, we decided to travel to Iraq, which offers facilities for Lebanese travelers,” he continued.

“We hope that things will calm down in our country and that security and safety will return so that we can return,” Assi added.

On Sept. 27, when Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was killed in devastating raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah's stronghold, the Iraqi government instructed that Lebanese citizens without passports be provided with expedited travel documents to ease their entry into the country, which maintains strong relations with both Lebanon and Tehran's ally, Hezbollah.

On Sept. 30, Israel announced the start of “limited” ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and mobilized four military divisions at the border, 24 years after the withdrawal of its forces from southern Lebanon, which it occupied for 22 years.

“As If We Were Orphans”

On September 26, Hussaini Shrine announced that all of its hospitals were on “alert to receive” casualties from Lebanon, “in implementation of the statement issued by the supreme religious authority.”

Three days earlier, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, had called on “believers to do what contributes to alleviating the suffering of the Lebanese and securing their humanitarian needs.”

About 5,700 Lebanese entered Iraq through Baghdad and Najaf international airports and the Al-Qaim border crossing, the Iraqi Interior Ministry announced Saturday.

More than 500 of them are currently being hosted in six hotel complexes in the modern city of Sayyid Al-Awsiyaa, which is affiliated with the Husseini Shrine, according to Ali Al-Husseini, 35, its media officer.

The first batch arrived 12 days ago and a “new batch is arriving daily,” he said, including the families of patients receiving treatment at Hussaini Shrine hospitals.

Rasha Nasreddine recounts how she was first displaced from the southern city of Nabatieh to the southern suburbs of Beirut, where she was followed by bombing, lack of electricity and water, and then to Iraq.

“We feel like orphans now,” said the woman, who lost seven family members in Israeli airstrikes, breaking down in tears.

The assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Nasrallah in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut has made the situation “very difficult”, she pointed out.

“We don't know what we will do with ourselves, we don't know how we will live in Lebanon when we return,”sheadded.