“We live day by day”: in Lebanon, Khaled and Virginie talk about their “tense” daily life

Virginie Guillomon et Khaled Yassine, 65 et 74 ans, n’excluent pas de partir si cela devient nécessaire. D.R.

Virginie Guillomon et Khaled Yassine, 65 et 74 ans, vivent à Tripoli au nord du Liban. Ils témoignent de leur quotidien alors que leur pays subit depuis plusieurs jours des frappes israéliennes. 

Where he lives with his wife Virginie in Tripoli in northern Lebanon, Khaled Yassine, a university professor, is not worried for the moment by the Israeli gunfire. “The situation is calm for the moment but we can feel a tension, a malaise because what is happening is unbelievable. We have the impression, as always, of being abandoned to our sad fate, that no one cares. I don't know why no one finds solutions to the problems of the Middle East. I don't know for what reasons, for what calculations, for what policies ? In the meantime, we are wasting human lives from Gaza to southern Lebanon and we are continuing in this vicious circle of destruction. We are getting more and more stubborn despite all international laws, all conventions and human rights. We always hope that the wise men of this world will wake up one day and find a definitive solution. We are entire generations to suffer this situation, it must stop.

Khaled doesn't know “how things will turn out. I have the impression that they want to preserve areas so that civilians can flow into them and stay safe from this fighting. But anything is possible. But with the politicians who are running Israel today, we don't know what they are thinking, what they are planning. We shouldn't take their statements too seriously.

We're not afraid, we're used to it, we're seasoned

Tripoli has become a city of displaced people: “A hotel has been reopened and is now hosting about a hundred families. A school must also serve as a reception facility (Editor's note: all schools and universities in the country are closed). If things get complicated and the flow of refugees becomes very large, they will end up settling them in other schools.” Khaled Yassin describes the current situation with great distance and resignation: “We are not afraid, we are used to it. We are hardened.” And doesn't rule out leaving if necessary."That would be the third time," says his French wife, a teacher, Virginie, disillusioned. But for the moment, the question doesn't arise.

Leaving would be less difficult for them because they could be welcomed by their son who lives in France, their daughter who works in Holland or even the in-laws who live in the south of France, “but the problem is that we have savings but they are “sequestered” in the bank. And then there is no question of living on public assistance."

The situation is catastrophic today

"I am really fed up with all this. I have been here for 47 years. The situation is catastrophic today. We have 2 million Syrian refugees. Added to that are the displaced people. There is terrible tension. We don't know when it will hit us. In Tripoli for the moment we are not in danger. But in 2006, the Israelis had bombed everywhere. “We are not safe from anything,” says Virginie, his wife.

“We would like to live in peace, together. Because man is a social being, war is not in his genes. Unfortunately, we are tossed around by the interests of the powers on the global and regional level. We would like France, which often comes to the aid of Lebanon, to resolve this crisis and for us to stop talking about this story, every ten or fifteen years. For the moment, we are living in the moment. Our whole life is built on the moment.

Virginie confirms: “We live from day to day. We don't make any long-term plans.”