Khaled, Lebanon, "It's clear my family have no love for me, so I might as well look after myself"

Child worker Khaled, aged 14, was abandoned by his family when they fled to Syria during the bombing of their home town, Akkar, 110 km northeast of Beirut. For three years before the beginning of the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah on 12 July, he used to spend most of the week working in the capital, only returning home for weekends.

"When I heard about Israeli air strikes in Akkar, I travelled there, only to find that my family had left for an unknown location in Syria. I returned to Beirut to see out the rest of the war with hundreds of other displaced Lebanese in Sanayeh Park in the heart of the city. With nowhere to go and with the return of thousands of displaced people to their homes last week, I am now one of the last to remain in the park.

"When I heard about the bombing of Akkar a week into the war, I decided to go home to see whether my family and home had survived. I was glad to see our home had not been damaged, but when I knocked repeatedly at the door and no one came I began to worry.

"Our neighbour heard the knocks and came out, only to tell me my family had left for Syria the night before. She did not know that they had left without me, or where in Syria my family planned to go.

"I still feel that I do not want to return to my family now that they may have returned. Even if they have come back, and even if they want me home, I don't want to live with them ever again. I know that the only reason why they would want me back is because they would want me to work to support them as I used to. It's clear they have no love for me, so I might as well look after myself.

"But I very much want to see my brother and sister. During the war, I was not scared about what could happen to me. But every night I worried that my sister was sad or scared.

"Now that the majority of the displaced have left Beirut, I feel lonelier than ever. Samidoun [the Resilient Ones, an NGO], is helping me try and find a place to live. I don't know what to do, whether to agree or to continue living like this. But if they will help me go to school, then I might accept, because I want to be an interior decorator when I grow up. Then, I will be able to help my brother and sister live like kings."

SA/AR/MW