My Family in Lebanon

Hi,

My name is Leen. I am a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon, currently based in Cork.

I am reaching out during a time of unimaginable hardship. Lebanon, our home, is once again caught in the crossfire of massacres. Over the past month, Israel has heavily bombarded Beirut, including central Beirut, its suburbs, as well as southern Lebanon (Saida, Sour, Nabatieh, etc.), and many other areas that show no trace of resistance—only civilians and touristic sites. Just today, after a brief pause, two airstrikes hit the capital again, where I grew up. The streets are filled with displaced families, and the instability feels unending.

My Palestinian family – my 96-year-old grandmother, my aunts, and my mother – have fled to the north of Lebanon, away from the direct line of fire, but safety here is fragile. My father continues to work in Dahiyeh, risking his life amid bombardments to fulfill his duty. While I believe everyone should help the many suffering (please contact me for charities supporting the south), my focus remains on providing my family with the minimum they deserve after a lifetime of surviving multiple displacements, massacres, and loss.

They are too old to endure any more. At this stage of their lives, all I wish for them is a roof over their heads in a relatively safer area, but even that is becoming a challenge. Rent to keep them north of Lebanon and the threat of displacement looms over them daily. They deserve some semblance of peace, even if it’s just the comfort of a stable home.

This is why I’m asking for your support. Any amount you can contribute will go directly towards keeping a roof over their heads and covering basic needs. Your kindness could be the difference between my family staying safe or being forced into an even more uncertain future.

I’m hoping to start something creative to raise funds, like selling tote bags and notebooks with my own designs, and I’m aiming to organize a gig or event soon to bring in more support for the long run. If you have ideas to make this more sustainable, please let me know!

Thank you for your generosity, compassion, and for standing with us during this incredibly difficult time.

With heartfelt thanks,

Leen