Lebanon

This summer, I am excited to go back to my home country, Lebanon, for a few weeks.  It will be the first time I have been there since six years.  I was born in Calgary, but travelled to Lebanon at the age of nine.  I attended school in Lebanon as soon as I got there and it was a bit tough trying to adapt. The hardest part was grasping the language which I am fluent in currently.

I loved life there as there was barely any stress on teenagers and everyone knew everyone so you would always feel part of the community.  I used to walk from my home all the way to my grandma’s which would take about half an hour. On the way, I would see about a dozen people that would smile and greet me every time. It is such a hospitable country. But this place, like many other Middle Eastern countries, had one thing that made it unstable.

It was summer of 2006, I was with family and friends in my home country, Lebanon, watching the FIFA 2006 World Cup which Italy would go on to win.  Italian fans in Lebanon were in the streets celebrating, people singing and dancing, and all seemed so normal.  Fast forward a couple of weeks and suddenly all this happiness and excitement turns into anxiety and chaos.

In August, Israel and Lebanon declared war on each other which would go on to last about one month. It was traumatic going through such an experience at 15 years of age, as still I will never forget what I had witnessed.  We would see the Israeli planes hovering in the air, missiles exploding in nearby areas, and many people had been killed and injured. Israel had hit major roads in our country which shut down the airport so no one could flee. At the time, my brother and mother were both really ill so we had to leave as they needed treatment for cancer. The only way was to go to Syria as a temporary solution. We stayed in Syria for ten days then we finally came back to Canada.

So no, I do not miss the chaos, but hopefully when I go there all is well.  It is an amazing country and it attracts many tourists during the summertime.  I really miss my friends and family there as I did not even get to have a proper goodbye. However, I will make amends once I get to see them in July.