Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon have sent shockwaves through West Africa’s Lebanese community, which comprises several hundred thousand members of the diaspora.
Three of them tell AFP how they are living vicariously through the violence — from Senegal’s capital, Dakar, to the economic hub of Abidjan in Ivory Coast and Nigeria’s megacity Lagos.
Syrian Red Crescent rescuers attend to displaced people arriving from Lebanon at the Jdeidat Yabus border crossing in southwestern Syria on October 7, 2024. – The head of the UN refugee agency warned on October 6 that civilians in Lebanon were caught in the crossfire as Israel’s intensified bombardment campaign forced many to flee while others were trapped under fire. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
From sadness to fear and anger, they speak of the solidarity which underpins their community:
– Zoheir Zeidan, Dakar –
“For me, the Israeli strikes began on October 8, 2023,” the day after Hamas’s unprecedented attack, said the 61-year-old director of a telecoms company, who is a Shiite Muslim.
“We knew that Israel’s next step would be Lebanon,” he added.
“On the first day of Israel’s attack (on Lebanon), a close childhood friend of mine, who I grew up with here, had a bomb dropped on his house,” Zeidan said.
“I received photos from (another) friend. Then we looked. It was him, his mother, his brother,” he added. They were all dead.
“My friend said to me, ‘Expect there to be more.’ And since that day, we’ve been on alert.”
People fleeing Lebanon sit in a bus at the Jdeidat Yabus border crossing in southwestern Syria on October 7, 2024. – The head of the UN refugee agency warned on October 6 that civilians in Lebanon were caught in the crossfire as Israel’s intensified bombardment campaign forced many to flee while others were trapped under fire. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
“I have aunts and cousins in Tyre in the south of Lebanon who left, who set off straight away when the problems started. But as we see that Israel is beginning to extend its influence over the whole of the Beirut area, it could be at any time” that they are affected, Zeidan said.
“Material support is provided through supply, distribution and money transfer chains via several groups based in Dakar, Abidjan, Nigeria and Lebanon,” he added.
“My cousin in Beirut sent me a message saying, ‘we have a group ready, mobilise everyone and see what you can do: nappies, towels, products for women and children, all these things are good to take.’”
“I feel sad and angry,” Zeidan said.
“Sad because we find ourselves in a situation where we can lose a country overnight and find ourselves the new Palestinians of the land.
Travelers arriving from Lebanon walk at the Jdeidat Yabus border crossing in southwestern Syria on October 7, 2024. – The head of the UN refugee agency warned on October 6 that civilians in Lebanon were caught in the crossfire as Israel’s intensified bombardment campaign forced many to flee while others were trapped under fire. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
“And anger because of the powerlessness we have today in seeing what is happening and the indifference of the West to this situation, which appals us,” he said.
– Zara Mirza-Branger, Abidjan –
“My parents used to live here in Ivory Coast, but they returned to Lebanon six years ago because of my mother’s health,” said the 31-year-old sales assistant, who was born in Lebanon to a Shiite mother and Sunni father.
“There was a lot of bombing around them, they were in Tyre” and “took refuge in a house in Beirut” about two weeks ago, she added.
“We’re always watching the news, we can’t even think about working any more. Every time we hear that they’ve bombed, we call my parents. We try to send them money, to help as much as we can,” she said.
Displaced people arriving from Lebanon rest in an emergency services tent set up at the Jdeidat Yabus border crossing in southwestern Syria on October 7, 2024. – The head of the UN refugee agency warned on October 6 that civilians in Lebanon were caught in the crossfire as Israel’s intensified bombardment campaign forced many to flee while others were trapped under fire. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
“If all this stops, if they go back south and don’t find a house, then we really won’t know what to do.
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“We’ll have to bring them back here, or to my family in Gabon, in France or wherever. Right now they’re trying to leave Lebanon, but it’s a risk for my mother,” she added.
“We have groups here that are trying to collect aid, whether it’s clothes, money, food, especially milk for the babies, medicines that they don’t have, nappies, so a bit of everything,” Mirza-Branger explained.
“The situation is really catastrophic, and what we want is for all this to stop,” she added.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visits the Jdeidat Yabus border crossing in southwestern Syria as displaced people arrive from Lebanon on October 7, 2024. – The head of the UN refugee agency warned on October 6 that civilians in Lebanon were caught in the crossfire as Israel’s intensified bombardment campaign forced many to flee while others were trapped under fire. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
Among Abidjan’s Lebanese community, “every discussion is about the war in Lebanon. Even where I work in the clothes shop, when we call the customers, everyone is sad,” she said.
“If it rains in Lebanon, Ivory Coast gets wet.”
– George Chaanine, Lagos –
“We are very worried about the situation,” said the 31-year-old business owner from the Maronite Christian community, who has spent most of his life in Nigeria.
“Because this time around… the war is almost in different parts of Lebanon and not just in certain areas,” he said.
Children play around an emergency services tent set up at the Jdeidat Yabus border crossing in southwestern Syria as displaced people arrive from Lebanon on October 7, 2024. – The head of the UN refugee agency Filippo Grandi warned on October 6 that civilians in Lebanon were caught in the crossfire as Israel’s intensified bombardment campaign forced many to flee while others were trapped under fire. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
“We create WhatsApp groups where we all make donations,” Chaanine said.
“The manufacturers in Lebanon have a hard time bringing in raw materials into the country due to the war… the shipping lines are taking longer to reach Lebanon,” he added.
“Importing goods from Lebanon becomes significantly harder, prices go up,” Chaanine said.
“You’re trying to bring your family out from the country, but it becomes difficult because the demand has exponentially increased,” he explained.
AFP
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