On Location in Lebanon | Seasonal Feature

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Day 6: Sin El Fil, Lebanon

Fadi, Mark and Donia Habou with their mother.(photo by Jennifer Scroggins)

In his 15 short years, Fadi Habou has lived a story almost too tragic to believe. He was kidnapped off a street in Baghdad at age 9 and ultimately set free in exchange for the life of his father.

His family, part of the diminishing Christian minority in Iraq, fled to the north of their country for four years before moving to Lebanon, where Fadi now works up to 11 hours a day wrapping chocolates. The $300 a month he earns pays for his family’s rent in a rundown neighborhood north of Beirut.

Fadi doesn’t go to school, doesn’t have friends. In the eyes of the Lebanese government, he is illegal. In the eyes of the United Nations, he is a “displaced person.” In his own eyes, he is a lost boy.

“Before, I used to be very good at school, and I had lots of friends,” Fadi says, speaking Arabic through an interpreter. “My only hope is to return to school. … I have no sense of humor now, no friends.” Click here for more.

Day 5: Beirut, Lebanon

Memorial to Priests Killed in Baghdad.(photo by Jennifer Scroggins)

A shepherd would never encourage his flock to flee, yet that’s exactly the dilemma facing at least one prominent Christian leader in the Middle East.

Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Youssef III Younan is mourning the recent attacks against Iraqi Christians while also grieving for what he fears is a future marked by jihad and the continued rapid decline of Christianity in the volatile region, particularly Iraq.

On Oct. 31, 50 people, including two priests, were killed during Mass in Baghdad when armed men burst into Our Lady of Salvation church. On Nov. 10, 11 roadside bombs were detonated in three primarily Christian areas in Baghdad, in addition to attacks on other Christian neighborhoods that same day.

The violence against Christians clearly is escalating, leaving the faithful and their leaders feeling powerless. “For those who survive, what can we tell them?” Patriarch Younan says Nov. 11, addressing a group of North American journalists. “They feel abandoned by everyone.” Click here for more.

Day 4: Jal El Dib, Lebanon

Sister Manal Haddad. (photo by Jennifer Scroggins)

An autistic child bangs his head against a wall, and a nurse races over to comfort and protect him. A young man with Down syndrome is singing Christmas carols, in November, and one of his caregivers raises her voice to sing along with him, cheering for him as he makes his way through the verses.

Still another boy, who has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair, shouts and is immediately tended to with gentle hands and a reassuring smile. The sights and sounds of this room are hard to take in —so many children whose futures seem to hold little promise or joy. Yet in this very room, the Franciscan Sisters of the Cross see God made manifest.

“When you serve these children, you serve Jesus Christ,” says Sister Manal Haddad. “I work to make their lives more easy, more happy.” Click here for more.

Day 3: Bikfaya, Lebanon

(photo by Jennifer Scroggins)

A holiday candle or a piece of Plexiglass could be the difference between a rich, productive life or an existence spent on society’s margins. That’s because those two seemingly mundane items are key components in the program run by Message de Paix, which helps the handicapped and recovering substance abusers find new places for themselves in a world that often disenfranchises those two groups.

“We want to change the mentality of the Lebanese society that people aren’t here out of pity or because they’re no good,” says Anita Khoury, social worker for Message de Paix. “They have certain capabilities— they need a system to show it.”

Click here for more.

Day 2: Antilyas, Lebanon

St. Elias Maronite church.(photo by Jennifer Scroggins)

St. Elias was an Old Testament figure who slew the priest of Baal; St. Charbel was a 19th century Lebanese Maronite who became a hermit and is known for his silence and selfless prayer. So what could the two possibly have in common? Just the devotion of an entire nation.

Lebanon has been ripped apart by war for decades and is an often volatile blend of faith traditions and confessions, with a primarily Shiite Muslim southern region and a mainly Christian northern region. Where the two sides meet is in their appreciation for Elias and Charbel. Click here for more.

Day 1: Yaroun, Lebanon

The future is uncertain for Christian Lebanese young people.(photo by Jennifer Scroggins)

The old man clasps his hands as if he’s praying—no, pleading—for help as he speaks. “They need work … opportunity to work,” he says of the younger generation of Yaroun, a small village in southern Lebanon. “Most of our young people go away. Why? Because of the war—and also no opportunity for their future.”

What he is describing is a phenomenon all too common throughout Lebanon, which is seeing its youth leave its small towns—and often, the nation itself—to pursue education and employment in larger Lebanese cities or abroad.

In the south, a predominately Shiite Muslim region, the emigration problem is particularly acute as small Christian communities worry for their survival after some 2,000 years of existence. Click here for more.

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