“We're fed up with extremism on both sides”: the cry from the heart of Béziers resident Alain Saad on the situation in Lebanon

Le Libanais Alain Saad, hématologue à l’hôpital de Béziers, révèle le quotidien de ses proches impactés par le conflit.

The situation in Lebanon remains unpredictable since the Israeli strikes. Alain Saad, a Lebanese by origin and a haematologist at the Béziers hospital, talks about the daily lives of his loved ones and shares his feelings about the conflict.

“I have three sisters and two brothers in southern Lebanon right now. After a few hours, they had to flee their homes in the village of Breikeh. About twenty homes were destroyed in the space of an instant. They had already experienced the war in 2006, and my whole family decided to leave urgently.”In an oppressive situation, Alain Saad, a Lebanese by origin and a hematologist at the Béziers hospital, describes the distressing daily life of his loved ones. Their forced exodus since the beginning of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. For them, survival takes precedence over everything.

Having taken refuge in the nearby mountains and then very close by in a host family, the family improvises:“They have no clothes while winter is about to set in, you have one toilet area for a hundred people and there is no drinking water. There are no mattresses and everyone sleeps on the floor. It's terrible, we have almost a million people who have left everything behind", says the doctor. Panic has also gripped the population, some nationals of other countries have also stormed the airports of major cities, but there are few free planes and flights are more than restricted due to the lack of secure airspace. Daniel Nassrallah, Lebanese owner of the restaurant “Au Cèdre du Liban” in Béziers on the Allées Paul-Riquet, was still stuck in Lebanon according to the latest news from the doctor who tried to contact him.

"This has to stop"

The Lebanese community is organizing itself in the Béziers region with its own resources : “There is mutual aid of course, between the families present here. There are about fifteen of us in total in the Béziers region and we are always on the alert for what is happening there. Associations like the Red Cross and Secours Populaire support us because it is not easy to set this up", specifies Alain Saad. If actions are taken to provide material aid, messages of compassion also emerge.

“We are counting on the intelligence and moderation of politicians to find a solution. This has to stop, and an immediate ceasefire must be obtained to avoid an escalation. We are fed up with extremism on both sides, and it is the civilians who are unfortunately paying for it,” concludes the hospital practitioner anxious for a rapid outcome to this conflict in his native country.

To make a donation, the French Red Cross (www.croix-rouge.fr) and the French Secours Populaire (www.secourspopulaire.fr) associations are collecting aid to finance basic necessities and the schooling of children in Lebanon. I subscribe to read the rest