In connection with Mother’s Day, SAT-7’s Marianne Awaraji explores the tension of her dual...
Gaelle and her family were enjoying a meal together. But within minutes, the family was shattered when their home in Lebanon was hit in a missile strike.
“We were having lunch; laughing a lot as we always do,” Gaelle said. “Then my brothers and I went down to the café my dad had opened for us. He stayed home to rest. My mom stayed with him. And a neighbor came up to have coffee. That’s normal.
“Later, we called my dad. He wasn’t answering. We were joking at first, saying, ‘What is he doing? Is he messing with us?’”
But Gaelle’s father would never answer the phone again.
Just days after the devastating loss of both her parents, the 27-year-old lawyer from Ain Saadeh, a predominantly Christian town east of Beirut, shared her story with SAT‑7 ARABIC’s You Are Not Alone program.
“We were all together,” she continues. “And then, within minutes, everything changed.”
Gaelle (right) shared her story with presenter Sirene (left) on You Are Not Alone.
On April 5 – Easter Sunday – Israeli airstrikes hit multiple locations across Lebanon. At least 11 people died, including civilians in residential areas previously thought to be safe. Among them was Ain Saadeh.
“There was nothing left. No human, no stone. When I saw the house, I knew it was impossible for anyone to come out alive.
“My parents were young,” she adds. “That was the most beautiful thing in my life, that my mom and dad were young. I always thought that I would grow older and they would grow older with me.
“I prayed and thanked God for them: this great blessing You gave me – my parents’ health, my siblings by my side – nothing in the world could upset me as long as they were around.”
Hundreds of families like Gaelle’s have been left in a state of grief and shock after weeks of violence in Lebanon.
Just three days after her parents lost their lives, Lebanon experienced what is now being called “Black Wednesday.” In the space of just ten minutes, over 100 strikes were launched, killing hundreds and overwhelming hospitals.
Since March 2 when Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East conflict, approximately 2,300 people in Lebanon have been killed.1 Across the country, 1.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes, seeking shelter with relatives, or in churches, schools, and other temporary accommodations as the humanitarian crisis deepens.2
Currently, a fragile 10-day ceasefire is in effect. But what happens next remains very uncertain, and people like Gaelle are left picking up the pieces of their shattered lives.
It is stories like hers that SAT-7 is working to bring into focus: the human reality behind the headlines – and also the role of faith during times of crisis.
For all that Gaelle has lost in this war, faith remains.
“It’s so hard to suddenly lose the two most precious people in your life,” she said. “My mind can’t grasp it. I still can’t sleep. I wish I could, just to let time pass.
“But I talk to God. I tell Him I’m upset: ‘Why did You give me such a heavy cross?’ My shoulders are small; they can’t carry this. I tell Him, ‘You could have stopped this. You are capable of everything.’
“But in the end,” she concludes, “His will be done. Not a single hair falls without Him knowing.
“Jesus, I trust in You.”
Sources
1 Reuters
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