When the war started on March 2, I was in shock at first. I did not expect this to happen. I wondered “Why is this happening again?”. I started receiving phone calls as soon as the first airstrike started, around 3am. Everyone was asking for a place to stay. People were sleeping in the open, by the sea, and on the streets. They had nothing to cover themselves with and it was very cold. There were children and elderly people among them.
I felt really overwhelmed. I thought to myself: “people were already struggling financially and are unemployed. They need everything. How are we supposed to provide food, water, clothes, and all the rest?”
Thankfully, MERATH was the first to support us. Not even two days after the crisis started, MERATH was already helping us support displaced families in different places. Thanks to them, we were in Saida the first night, because people there were on the streets. We also did a distribution in Jezzine on that evening. The following day, we went to a public school in Beirut that has been transformed into a shelter where 120 people are staying, including children with special needs and elderly people. The school told us we were the first to contact them to offer help.
At first, we focused on blankets and mattresses, but we quickly received more supplies from MERATH, like jackets and tracksuits, diapers, feminine pads, tarps, and more. Anything we get helps us supplement our assistance and help the families with all their needs during this new crisis. The needs are huge, and we really need a lot of support this time again. Our phones do not stop ringing as people call us to request support.
The last time the war happened, people showed a lot of emotions, sadness, and fear. This time, it is hard to explain, but I feel people are hopeless and depressed to the extent they have no more emotions. It feels like people don’t have feelings anymore. Like their mind is frozen. I guess it is to be expected in such difficult and uncertain circumstances, but it is sad to witness.
In all this mess, people try to adapt as much as they can, and the help we provide brings them some joy and relief. We have it on our heart to help these people, because Christ told us the greatest commandment is to “love one another”. As Christians we are not supposed to just love the people closest to us, like our children or our immediate relatives. We must show His love to everyone. That is our primary motivation, and we feel it is the least we can do. It is always such a privilege to have this chance to tell people we are here because Christ sent us, and that He thinks about them and loves them.
