In the country of the cedars, dragged into the Middle Eastern conflict, two thousand Caritas volunteers take care of internally displaced people: more than a million, out of four and a half million inhabitants. “Among us, we are a family, beyond sectarian differences”.

“A few days ago, while I was distributing hot meals in one of the reception centres that house displaced families, I heard a noise coming from the street: it was just a car with a bad carburettor, but all the children, terrified, ran to their parents crying because they feared it was an attack like the ones they had survived…”.

The story of Charly Khalil, deputy coordinator of the young volunteers of the Lebanese Caritas, effectively photographs the trauma suffered in recent weeks by many of his fellow citizens, starting with the youngest. Since the beginning of the Israeli military operations across the border, approximately one million two hundred thousand people have had to hastily leave the hottest areas of the country: from the villages of the South to the Bekaa region, not far from the border with Syria, but also the southern outskirts of the capital, Beirut.

These were the areas where the presence of Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim “party of God,” that alongside Hamas in Gaza, embodies the violent opposition to Israel in the area, was most deeply rooted. But as always, those targeted by the bombs were also and above all civilians, belonging to all the ethno-religious communities of a historically mixed nation.

“Among the families arriving from the South, many were Christian, confirms Charly, a 28-year-old originally from Kasrouane, on Mount Lebanon, who since taking up his role as coordinator at Caritas has found himself managing an incessant series of emergencies.

“First we had the serious economic and financial crisis that broke out in 2019, which the World Bank has defined as one of the worst in the world, then the Coronavirus pandemic, and then the devastating explosion in August 2020 at the port of Beirut”, he said.

Each time, the Lebanese have suffered a severe blow, so much so that the level of poverty in a few years, thanks to the devaluation of the lira and galloping youth unemployment (estimated at around 60%), has reached unprecedented levels.

“In this situation, the regional conflict that broke out after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 represented the final blow and the Israeli campaign in Lebanese territory  plunged us into a nightmare.”

And yet, faced with the displaced people who in the first weeks of the emergency, with makeshift camps, the central Plaza of the Martyrs and the iconic corniche of the capital, many young people decided to get involved to lend a hand: “Those who have mobilized through Caritas are more than two thousand throughout the country”, said Charly, tracing an overview of the interventions promptly implemented to help fellow citizens uprooted from their homes.

These are families who have joined the million and a half Syrian refugees welcomed in recent years, not without difficulty, in a small nation that in total has four and a half million inhabitants.

“We take care of the displaced people welcomed in public schools, converted to hospitality by the Ministry of Education, and in the many monasteries of Mount Lebanon, but also of those who have managed to settle in the homes of their relatives and who however lack everything”, explains the volunteer.

“We faced the first emergency by providing mattresses, blankets and food and today we guarantee medical assistance, hot meals for lunch and dinner in collaboration with the World Food Programme, personal hygiene kits and also toys for children, who are the most traumatized of all. We organize group entertainment for them, as well as targeted psychological assistance programs”.

In addition to Beirut, the young people work in all 36 sectors into which the national Caritas is divided: in the North, where the displaced have poured en-masse, but also in the areas closest to the Israeli fire, from the Bekaa Valley to Tyre, in the South.

“Everywhere, the situation of the refugees is dramatically similar: Recently, – says Charly – in one of the reception centres I have distributed questionnaires in which the families could indicate their most urgent needs. Everyone wrote different things, but the theme that summed them all up was: ‘We want to go back to our homes!’ Also, today adults cannot work and therefore have no way of supporting themselves. While the children have had to leave school”.

The outlook, however, is bleak. The photos that the displaced keep on their cell phones and that they often share with the young volunteers show their homes in ruins, hit by bombs. Even if the attacks stopped, it is already clear that many of the villages in the South will not be habitable for long and people have no idea where they will be able to go. Not to mention that the land, contaminated in many cases by white phosphorus used by the Israeli army, will also need to be treated, as will the wounds of the people.

“All Lebanese are worried – confirms Charly-. We realize that no one is safe and sometimes we no longer even have the strength to pray for peace. And yet, we young people of Caritas continue to believe in it and to commit ourselves, despite the unknowns about the future. We, who work side by side every day, without any sectarian distinction, represent the possible coexistence”.

The volunteers young people aged 14 to 34, are not only Christians but belong to the different confessions that characterize the Country of Cedars: Muslims, Sunnis, Shiites, and also Druze. “We all respect the values taught by the social doctrine of the Church, without any problem. Serving those in need together allows us to create a special bond: this is why we are more than friends; we feel like a big family. And what gives us hope is that every time the country faces yet another crisis or emergency, there are always more young people who make themselves available to lend a hand.” (Photo: Caritas)

 Chiara Zappa/MM