![[Lebanon] Hassan Awwada (centre) helped his relatives Layla Awwada and her father stay at his brother's family home. [Date picture taken: 09/05/2006]](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/2006960.jpg.webp?itok=PBFuxYLF "Hassan Awwada (centre) helped his relatives, Layla Awwada and her father, stay at his brother's family home.")
Among the towns and villages hardest hit by the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah was Al-Khiam, 100 km south of Beirut and just 500 metres away from the Israeli border.
As was the case in other border towns where Israeli attacks were particularly destructive, very few people remained in the town during the war, seeking shelter instead in larger southern cities, such as Tyre and Sidon, or the capital, Beirut.
Following a United Nations-brokered cessation of hostilities between Israel and the armed wing of Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party, on 14 August, most of the nearly one million people displaced by the conflict have returned, according to UN agencies. While many found their homes inhabitable, thousands of others were not so fortunate.
“When the war finished, we came back to Al-Khiam only to find our home completely destroyed by bombing,” said Layla Awwada, who lives with her sisters and her elderly father. “We didn’t know what to do to start with. Then a relative of my brother’s wife welcomed us at his home.”
Rough estimates indicate that the number of displaced in Lebanon could still be as high as 150,000, said Astrid Van Genderen Stort, spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) in Beirut.
The vast majority have sought refuge with host families, comprising relatives, friends or well-wishing fellow villagers.
According to UNHCR, roughly 15,000 houses were completely destroyed during the war, another 15,000 were partially damaged, and a further 30,000 suffered minor damage.
Reasons for remaining displaced
Besides destroyed homes, there are a number of other reasons why some people remain displaced three weeks after the ceasefire.
Damage to infrastructure, roads, and water and electricity systems has created obstacles for the return of families to their homes, particularly in the south, the eastern Beqaa Valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut, where bombings were more intense.
Rising unemployment in areas of the conflict has also caused many to relocate for a second time.
“Finding their workplace or businesses damaged or destroyed, many people travelled back up to Beirut to find temporary work there while reconstruction here gets underway, so as to be able to support their families and themselves,” said Mohamed Abdullah, deputy mayor of the Al-Khiam municipality.
Another major cause of continued displacement has been the widespread presence of unexploded ordnance (UXOs), often inside homes. To date, 435 cluster bomb sites have been identified, according to the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre in South Lebanon (UNMACC).
“While my son and I are staying home while [UXO] clearance work is carried out, his wife and children are staying with family in Tyre,” said Zainab Bahsoon Shoghri from Al-Malkiyye village, a short distance away from Tyre, 80 km south of Beirut.
Other displaced people still cannot return home because Israeli soldiers remain in the areas they used to live in.
Strain of hosting
Hosting families presents various problems. The most obvious is overcrowding.
“People have been extremely tolerant and resilient through this period,” said Van Genderen Stort. “However, it is inevitable that there will be tension among people sharing a house, given that there will remain much insecurity about the future until the recovery phase is over.”
However, with renowned resilience to war, the Lebanese have been willing and generous hosts in this critical period.
“For us, even if we might have occasional problems, we consider that we are all one family by virtue of the fact that we come from the same village,” said Fatme Faour, who is hosting Awwada’s family in Al-Khiam. Contributing to this sense of closeness is the fact that the majority of people in the south, displaced or not, are living with the same water and electricity shortages.
In a bid to try and ease overcrowding, UNHCR has distributed 4,500 to 5,000 tents in Lebanon over recent weeks. However, there is scant evidence of people living in them. In Al-Khiam, the municipality has not even distributed them.
“We do not live in tents,” said Abdullah, explaining that the Lebanese are used to a certain living standards that even during a crisis they will not give up on.
Some families have used these tents as supplementary storage space when there was a shortage of room in their homes, either because they were hosting displaced relatives or because their homes had suffered partial damage.
As the winter approaches, the question of where to seek refuge grows more pressing. “Real decisions will have to be taken as the winter approaches,” said Van Genderen Stort.
SA/ED
As was the case in other border towns where Israeli attacks were particularly destructive, very few people remained in the town during the war, seeking shelter instead in larger southern cities, such as Tyre and Sidon, or the capital, Beirut.
Following a United Nations-brokered cessation of hostilities between Israel and the armed wing of Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party, on 14 August, most of the nearly one million people displaced by the conflict have returned, according to UN agencies. While many found their homes inhabitable, thousands of others were not so fortunate.
“When the war finished, we came back to Al-Khiam only to find our home completely destroyed by bombing,” said Layla Awwada, who lives with her sisters and her elderly father. “We didn’t know what to do to start with. Then a relative of my brother’s wife welcomed us at his home.”
Rough estimates indicate that the number of displaced in Lebanon could still be as high as 150,000, said Astrid Van Genderen Stort, spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) in Beirut.
The vast majority have sought refuge with host families, comprising relatives, friends or well-wishing fellow villagers.
According to UNHCR, roughly 15,000 houses were completely destroyed during the war, another 15,000 were partially damaged, and a further 30,000 suffered minor damage.
Reasons for remaining displaced
Besides destroyed homes, there are a number of other reasons why some people remain displaced three weeks after the ceasefire.
Damage to infrastructure, roads, and water and electricity systems has created obstacles for the return of families to their homes, particularly in the south, the eastern Beqaa Valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut, where bombings were more intense.
Rising unemployment in areas of the conflict has also caused many to relocate for a second time.
“Finding their workplace or businesses damaged or destroyed, many people travelled back up to Beirut to find temporary work there while reconstruction here gets underway, so as to be able to support their families and themselves,” said Mohamed Abdullah, deputy mayor of the Al-Khiam municipality.
Another major cause of continued displacement has been the widespread presence of unexploded ordnance (UXOs), often inside homes. To date, 435 cluster bomb sites have been identified, according to the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre in South Lebanon (UNMACC).
“While my son and I are staying home while [UXO] clearance work is carried out, his wife and children are staying with family in Tyre,” said Zainab Bahsoon Shoghri from Al-Malkiyye village, a short distance away from Tyre, 80 km south of Beirut.
Other displaced people still cannot return home because Israeli soldiers remain in the areas they used to live in.
Strain of hosting
Hosting families presents various problems. The most obvious is overcrowding.
“People have been extremely tolerant and resilient through this period,” said Van Genderen Stort. “However, it is inevitable that there will be tension among people sharing a house, given that there will remain much insecurity about the future until the recovery phase is over.”
However, with renowned resilience to war, the Lebanese have been willing and generous hosts in this critical period.
“For us, even if we might have occasional problems, we consider that we are all one family by virtue of the fact that we come from the same village,” said Fatme Faour, who is hosting Awwada’s family in Al-Khiam. Contributing to this sense of closeness is the fact that the majority of people in the south, displaced or not, are living with the same water and electricity shortages.
In a bid to try and ease overcrowding, UNHCR has distributed 4,500 to 5,000 tents in Lebanon over recent weeks. However, there is scant evidence of people living in them. In Al-Khiam, the municipality has not even distributed them.
“We do not live in tents,” said Abdullah, explaining that the Lebanese are used to a certain living standards that even during a crisis they will not give up on.
Some families have used these tents as supplementary storage space when there was a shortage of room in their homes, either because they were hosting displaced relatives or because their homes had suffered partial damage.
As the winter approaches, the question of where to seek refuge grows more pressing. “Real decisions will have to be taken as the winter approaches,” said Van Genderen Stort.
SA/ED
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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