As Gulf states face strikes, SAT-7 is working to connect people across affected countries through...
War is often measured in numbers: the dead, the displaced, the wounded. But for those caught up in conflict, war unfolds in moments: a decision made under pressure; a prayer lifted quietly; a choice to stay or go. As conflict affects daily lives in various parts of the Middle East, SAT-7’s broadcasts are revealing how people across the region face war.
Some speak from the heat of today’s violence, while others reflect on conflicts they have previously endured – and come out the other side. Together, their experiences offer a powerful reminder that, even in the hardest situations, faith and resilience can endure.
In the suburbs of Beirut, a woman assesses the damage to her ruined home.
On March 9, in Qlayaa, southern Lebanon, Father Pierre El Rahi was helping those wounded in the bombings. As he went from family to family, another explosion hit nearby…
The Maronite Catholic priest did not hesitate. He raced towards the damaged homes. But a second strike followed. And by the time rescuers reached Father Pierre, he was critically injured.
Juan Carlos Samaa, a Red Cross paramedic who helped carry him from the scene, recalled on You Are Not Alone the remarkable calm Father Pierre showed even in those final moments: “He couldn’t talk to us. But he passed away with a smile on his face.”
For the people of Qlayaa, Father Pierre was far more than a priest. He was a familiar presence in daily life, someone who knew families by name and shared their struggles.
“We all relied on him,” Rania Afif, head of a local NGO, told Good Morning from Beirut. “He supported everyone. He was a symbol of courage; a man who was close to the people… it is a wound for the whole region.”
The funeral drew church leaders, representatives of the Lebanese Army, and the Vatican ambassador. Yet the deepest grief was felt in the town itself, among the people he had quietly served.
“If he did not abandon us, how can we abandon our homes?” one resident told SAT-7 during a live call. Across the region, decisions like these – whether to stay or flee – shape the lives of millions.
For some, war means watching the life they built disappear almost overnight.
Speaking in a special segment of SAT-7 ARABIC’s youth program, Quality Time, Christiana Kamal described how she had spent years building a stable life in Sudan with a home, job, and community.
But, in spring 2023, when fighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces erupted into civil war, everything changed for Christiana. She closed her pharmacy, assuming the violence would pass quickly. But within days, the situation escalated.
“After a week of enduring the war, some people attacked the market where the pharmacy was, smashed it, and looted it,” Christiana said. Soon, electricity and water were cut off. “I began to feel unsafe. There could be rape, or even death,” she added.
Christiana and her brother eventually made the difficult decision to leave, traveling to Egypt with his family. “On the way, I felt as if my whole life was being taken away from me,” she says. “My friends, my church, and everyone I knew – I had left them all behind without knowing where or when I would see them again. When we arrived in Egypt, everything felt unfamiliar to me. I felt like I was nothing.”
In time, Christiana discovered a new purpose. Through connections with a Christian ministry supporting Sudanese refugees, she began helping others who had fled the war she too had escaped.
“When we meet, we embrace one another,” she says. “We share the same pain and suffering.” In helping others heal, Christiana has found healing herself. And her message to young SAT-7 viewers was this: “Be certain that in the midst of chaos, God is good and He holds the reins of everything.”
For many young people in the region, war is not a single event but a backdrop to their entire childhood.
Manuel from Libya, also a guest on Quality Time, grew up shaped by conflict. “The first time I heard protests was in 2011. I was eight years old then. I didn’t understand what was happening; as I walked in the street, I saw bullet shells on the ground.”
During the turmoil of the Arab Spring, Manuel’s father was arrested, then later released. The family moved to Aleppo; but there Manuel found himself caught in the Syrian civil war.
As the situation deteriorated, Manuel became concerned over his studies and his future, and asked God why he could not see a clear path ahead.
“He answered me saying that He wanted me to rely on Him by knowing only what to do today and then come to Him tomorrow so that He is with me daily,” Manuel said.
This lesson has become a message he now shares with others facing uncertainty. He told Quality Time viewers: “If you are living in a country where you don’t know the future, my answer to you is that all things work out for the good of those who believe in the Lord.”
Across SAT-7’s programs, stories of faith like these are shared across the Middle East again and again.
Those who run towards danger to help the wounded. Refugees who rebuild their lives while helping others do the same. Young people learning to trust God one day at a time.
War may shape the chapters of many lives across the Middle East and North Africa. Yet the stories shared by those who have lived through it point to something deeper.
Even in the midst of destruction and loss, faith persists. Communities endure. Lives begin again. And in uncertain times, many across the region continue to hold onto this faith, trusting that God is overseeing the bigger picture.
In 2024, at least 81% of your gift went directly to fund programs building up women, children, and families across the Middle East.
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