As internet access starts to return in Iran after a blackout lasting almost three...
“Lord, please make the war stop.”
Behind this simple prayer lies the experience of millions of children across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) whose lives have been turned upside down by conflict, displacement, and separation from the people and places they love.
Six-year-old Heaven is one of them.
Speaking recently on SAT-7 ARABIC’s You Are Not Alone program, the young child shared her experience of fleeing conflict in southern Lebanon, where war has driven over a million people from their homes – around a third of whom are children.1 Attacks have been continuing despite a ceasefire agreement.
“[We left] because there was a war,” she states simply. “I was not afraid. My mom was scared; she was scared from the time we were at home. But I would tell other children: ‘Don’t be afraid. It’s only a loud sound. There’s nothing scary. Jesus is with you. Don’t be afraid.’”
Heaven’s simple faith is carrying her through a childhood interruption she never expected. After fleeing Deir Mimas with her mother, grandmother, and baby brother, she found refuge at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) in Mansourieh, where displaced families were offered shelter and support after being forced to leave their homes.
Meanwhile, her father remained behind to safeguard the family home.
“We left the house, but my dad is still there. I thought maybe someone might enter and live in our house.”
Separated from her father for two months now, Heaven’s answer to whom she misses the most is quick and telling: “My dad.”
Just those two words, as she looks down and away.
While every child’s story is different, many across the MENA have experienced this same sudden loss of familiarity and routine. Across Lebanon, and in places including Gaza, Syria, and Sudan, children have been forced to leave behind homes, schools, friends, and loved ones as conflict reshapes daily life.
Heaven reveals how she longs for her home, her school, and her friends: “I miss you so much, my friends,” she says, looking at the camera, passing on the message.
But she smiles in recollection as she acknowledges she also misses “the balcony… because there were swings and slides.”
That same childlike perspective appears again when she talks of the home she left behind, and her desire to return is never far from the conversation.
Reflecting on a social media video message she recorded for the President of Lebanon, she remembers asking: “Mr. President, I love you very much. When can we return to Deir Mimas? I miss it so much. Please tell me when we can return.”
Heaven’s story is a window into the child’s experience of displacement: she misses the places and people that made her feel safe. Yet, as only a child can, she describes that loss through swings, slides, school friends, and a balcony she can no longer visit.
Destruction in Dahyeh, a suburb in southern Beirut, during the conflict in Lebanon.
Yet despite everything she has lost, Heaven’s interview is marked by hope. She speaks openly about her faith and about her prayers: “I say, ‘Lord, please make the war stop.’”
As the interview draws to a close, the presenter asks Heaven where Jesus is.
Her answer is beautiful: “Jesus is in your heart. Jesus fixes everything. Jesus will repair the broken houses.”
For Heaven, it is a simple expression of hope; faith through the eyes of a child, and the absolute trust that what has been broken can one day be made whole again by Our Lord.
Source
1 UNHCR
In 2024, at least 81% of your gift went directly to fund programs building up women, children, and families across the Middle East.
Login to your ministry partner self-service account.
