“We love our land and are deeply attached to it,” a church leader from a Christian village in southern Lebanon told SAT‑7. He, like many believers, is staying put in areas directly impacted by the bombings.
SAT-7 ARABIC’s You Are Not Alone program heard similar thoughts from a man from another Christian village in the south. Rakan Diab, a father of three from Ain Ebel, had sent his wife and children to Beirut, but he stayed behind.
“This village is part of who I am; it feels like a living being, a part of my identity,” Rakan explained. “My faith has taught me to stay firm on this land… Our God sacrificed for us, and the suffering He endured is far beyond what we are facing.”
Just days after speaking on You Are Not Alone, Rakan was forced to leave his beloved home when the violence in the area became too intense.
SAT-7 has heard from people in several Christian towns and villages about their reluctance to leave, despite the danger. It’s hard to understand until you consider Lebanon’s long history of sectarian conflict – in which territory and identity have become closely bound. To leave a place for which your ancestors shed their blood feels like a betrayal of your community, and, for some, even their faith.
Lena was reportedly the last woman to leave the Christian village of Deir Mimas. She told You Are Not Alone: “We endured until we couldn’t anymore. We were sure that the Lord wouldn’t leave us – that’s why we endured for a year. We didn’t want to leave our village this way. It is abandoned now. We have faith in God, that He is almighty, and we will return to our village.”
War Impacts All
The conflict in Lebanon is affecting everyone. It is a small, densely populated country with a religiously and ethnically diverse make-up held in delicate – and often precarious – balance by the constitution and political system. Christians comprise around a third of the population, and since the civil war (1975-1990), different religious groups have lived within their own communities. But that doesn’t make Christian areas safe.
Christian families are among the 1.2 million displaced and the more than 2,000 people killed.1 But even for families in neighborhoods that haven’t been directly hit by airstrikes or fighting, the war is being felt, heard – and feared – everywhere.
Marianne Awaraji, SAT-7 ARABIC’s Audience Relations Manager, said: “I received a message from a friend living abroad, who, after hearing the news, believed we must be safe simply because we’re Christians. My friend assumed that because we live in a Christian village, we’re not under threat…
“How can we truly be safe when the sound of bombs disrupts our day without warning, shaking the house as we live only 25 minutes away from the chaos? Many Lebanese struggle to sleep, haunted by the deafening sounds. Isn’t this war just as much emotional and psychological? The sound alone feels as if the raids are right next door, adding layers of fear and anxiety.”
“Opportunity”
The war in Lebanon is undoubtedly impacting its Christian community, but they are also making an impact – and people are noticing. “Opportunity” isn’t a word you would expect to hear from people living in a war zone, but several Lebanese Christians have used it to describe how they view the current situation.
Enaam Haddad from the Resurrection Church Beirut told SAT-7: “Let’s see this challenge, this attack on Lebanon, and the destruction happening in our country as an opportunity for the Church to show the love of Jesus to the world around us. People have already begun to see it, and not only see it but also testify about it.”
Churches of all denominations in different parts of Lebanon have been working tirelessly to help the displaced and needy, providing accommodation, cooked meals, supplies, and emotional and spiritual support through counseling and pastoral visits.
Pastor Nehme Saliba from the Roman Orthodox Church in Lebanon told SAT-7’s Different Angle program: “We are all in shock and traumatized. It is a very miserable situation but, as a pastor and a human, I have a role to fulfill, which is to help everyone on the streets regardless of who they are and who is responsible for their displacement.
“Some see that displacement is a human tragedy, but from a spiritual perspective, it is a unique opportunity to express solidarity and peace and joy and love and hope.”
For SAT-7, it is an opportunity, too. Our studio in Beirut is continuing to operate; producing and broadcasting programs that give people a voice and that shine the light of Christ into the darkest of situations. The studio is only a few miles away from the site of airstrikes on the city, so continuing production work from the building requires courage and faith.
“We don’t want to leave our country. We don’t want to leave our mission,” said Maroun Bou Rached, Executive Director of SAT-7 Lebanon. “We want to stay committed to our ministry in the Middle East, and this is so important.
“This is a good opportunity, and I think churches and individuals in Lebanon grab this opportunity to talk about Jesus as much as we can, and show His love to everyone in Lebanon.”
Sources
1 Reuters
