“As if we were orphans”, Lebanese share stories of displacement to Karbala
Shafaq News/ Buildings were destroyed, many people werekilled and injured, and a large number of Lebanese people fled the country tosave their lives since the beginning of the Israeli bombardment on Beirut, thecapital of Lebanon, and its southern suburbs. Iraq opened its borders to themon the first day. Some of these displaced families have reached KarbalaGovernorate.
Thousands of Lebanese pilgrims visit Karbala every year forthe Arbaeen commemoration when Iraqis open their homes to visitors during thatperiod and offer them food.
Among those currently fleeing is Kamel Safieddine, who saidhe chose to come to Karbala to escape the war in southern Lebanon aftervisiting it earlier this year. “I experienced great hospitality and servicesduring my visit,” he said, according to AFP.
“I arrived in Karbala a week ago after I heard that peoplehere had reopened their homes to visitors,” said the young man, who used towork as an accountant in an electrical company. Adding, “I can't stand thebombing in Lebanon anymore, and it's not safe to flee to Syria, as thesituation there is also unstable.”
The spiral of cross-border violence that began a year agobetween Israel and Hezbollah against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Stripturned into open warfare on Sept. 23. The Israeli army began bombing Hezbollahstrongholds in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as the southern suburbs ofBeirut.
Since October 2023, more than 2,000 people have been killedin Lebanon, including more than 1,110 since September 23, according to an AFPcount based on official figures. More than one million people have beendisplaced as a result of the Israeli incursions into Lebanon, according to theauthorities.
On Tuesday, the Iraqi government decided to allocate threebillion dinars (about 2.3 million US dollars) to “provide services” to Lebanesearriving in Iraq. It has also organized relief efforts and sent medical andfood aid to Lebanon.
For its part, Hussaini Shrine has formed a supreme committeeto “provide relief to the Lebanese people” and has begun coordinating withlocal organizations to secure travel for Lebanese at risk of bombing.
“Nowhere Else”
Jalal Assi, a 40-year-old man who fled south Lebanon afterfive 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 massacresin our town,” he added. “When we couldn’t find anywhere else, we decided totravel to Iraq, which offers facilities for Lebanese travelers,” he continued.
“We hope that things will calm down in our country and thatsecurity and safety will return so that we can return,” Assi added.
On Sept. 27, when Hezbollah Secretary-General HassanNasrallah was killed in devastating raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut,Hezbollah's stronghold, the Iraqi government instructed that Lebanese citizenswithout passports be provided with expedited travel documents to ease theirentry into the country, which maintains strong relations with both Lebanon andTehran's ally, Hezbollah.
On Sept. 30, Israel announced the start of “limited” groundoperations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and mobilized four militarydivisions at the border, 24 years after the withdrawal of its forces fromsouthern Lebanon, which it occupied for 22 years.
“As If We Were Orphans”
On September 26, Hussaini Shrine announced that all of itshospitals were on “alert to receive” casualties from Lebanon, “inimplementation of the statement issued by the supreme religious authority.”
Three days earlier, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah AliAl-Sistani, had called on “believers to do what contributes to alleviating thesuffering of the Lebanese and securing their humanitarian needs.”
About 5,700 Lebanese entered Iraq through Baghdad and Najafinternational airports and the Al-Qaim border crossing, the Iraqi InteriorMinistry announced Saturday.
More than 500 of them are currently being hosted in sixhotel complexes in the modern city of Sayyid Al-Awsiyaa, which is affiliatedwith the Husseini Shrine, according to Ali Al-Husseini, 35, its media officer.
The first batch arrived 12 days ago and a “new batch isarriving daily,” he said, including the families of patients receivingtreatment at Hussaini Shrine hospitals.
Rasha Nasreddine recounts how she was first displaced fromthe southern city of Nabatieh to the southern suburbs of Beirut, where she wasfollowed by bombing, lack of electricity and water, and then to Iraq.
“We feel like orphans now,” said the woman, who lost sevenfamily members in Israeli airstrikes, breaking down in tears.
The assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Nasrallahin 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 knowhow we will live in Lebanon when we return,”sheadded.
