Changed Lives

This war isn't only about the people who are dying ... it's not only about the bridges, roads, beaches, and homes (not houses) that have been destroyed ... it's about the people who are left stranded. Some of my friends are stranded. I'd like to share a little of their lives (I have their permission to do this).

1- Sarah
She's in hammana - one of the first places to be hit. She's a graphic designer who spends her time helping her mother run their pharmacy. She, her mother, and her sister get yelled at because there isn't enough medicine to go around. They live with people who have set up flags and tents almost literally in their backyard; people whose desperation they have to deal with everyday - people who they are literally forced to care about. The good news is that Sarah is going to back to university and study pharmacy rather than obtain her mba. In her words: "graphic design and business are all bullsh*t. i want to help."

2- Mohammad
He and his family escaped their home in Dahyeh when this whole fiasco started. Since then, he's been forced to keep going to work which means his wife, Zeina, who is 6 months pregnant and huge, has been looking for somewhere safe for them to stay. Somewhere close to beirut so Mohammad can go to work and come home at night. Somewhere close to a hospital in case Mohammad's father, who is in the final stages of liver cancer, should need one at 3 in the morning. Somewhere where their 3 year old daughter, Nour, can see the sunlight instead of the bleak walls of a basement.

3- Carla
She's in Geneva. She went there on holiday to visit her fiance. They were supposed to be getting married in October. Now, because no one knows what the situation will be like by then, she and her fiance are getting married in a civil ceremony in Geneva. No white dress, no bridal shower, no hen night, no wedding reception, no church ... and worst of all: no family or friends.

4- Salwa and Najat
They're sisters. They're in their sixties. They can't go to their home in Beirut because someone allowed some families from the south to "move in". They're not about to kick the people out so they're staying at the home of a family friend in the mountains. They don't drive and there are no shops within walking distance, so they depend on whoever has time to get them basic supplies (of which Lebanon is running out of faster than you can say toilet paper).

5- Toufic
His graduation ceremony from university was supposed to happen this month. He has worked his butt off to keep his grades up so he could remain eligible for financial aid. The culmination of all his hard work over the years was to get the highest grade on his senior project as well as an interview with a multinational. He needs a job to be able to support his parents, both of whom are jobless. Instead of the stellar future he was looking at just a couple of weeks ago, he's now looking at the walls of his home. He can't go anywhere or do anything.

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Those are changed lives.