Maronite Village of Deir al-Ahmar, Lebanon, Opens Homes to Shiite Families Displaced by Israeli Strikes

In the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, the village of Deir al-Ahmar, whose residents are exclusively Maronite Christian, has taken in Shiite neighbours displaced by Israeli strikes. Elham, 77, who has lived in the village since birth, is hosting 16 people in her modest home. Her family is among many that have opened their doors, as the village did during the previous confrontation with Israel in 2024.

Elham attends Sunday Mass at the Maronite church of Saint Georges, just below her street. She explains the family’s welcome by pointing to the Gospel: “We welcomed them as the gospel says: ‘I was a stranger, and you gathered me; I was naked, and you clothed me’.” She added, “If anyone knocks on our door, they will never close it to him.” Opening her home to strangers is a practice of charity and hospitality (Matthew 25:35).

The newcomers are almost 5,000 Shiites from Baalbek, which the report describes as a historical fief of Hezbollah. They were welcomed from the first day of the war with Israel into schools, churches and private homes. During the 2024 confrontation, the district had taken in as many as 25,000 people, roughly its summer population. The winter population is about half that figure.

Toni Habchi, vice-president of the Deir al-Ahmar City Council, said residents are accustomed to opening their houses and churches whenever fighting affects the area. “We, the children of the Bekaa, consider ourselves as one family. We don’t know who is Shi’ite or Sunni,” he said. He also said the region is neglected by the Lebanese state.

Elham’s household has been stretched by the arrivals. She lives on a single survivor’s pension from her late husband, which amounts to between 400 and 500 dollars a month depending on the month, based on her years of military service. Her eldest son, Jihad, and her mother gave up their own rooms so that Zahraa, a 35-year-old from Baalbek, and her children could stay. Zahraa said the families had known one another since they stayed with Elham for two months in 2024.

Zahraa’s children have lived through years of conflict. She said her four children “have known nothing but war,” and that the younger ones suffer from psychological disorders. Her two-and-a-half-year-old, Nour, is traumatised by the noise of aircraft. Zahraa said her older children, aged 17 and 18, had hoped to marry and build futures, and that those plans have been disrupted by the war.

Source: Read the original report (translated from French)