Lebanese Nova Scotians fear for family back home as violence escalates
CBC
When Sara hangs up the phone with her family back home in Lebanon, she worries it might be the last time she ever speaks to them.
Sara has lived in Halifax for nearly 10 years. Her family and friends are in southern Lebanon, which is being invaded on the ground by Israeli forces.
She is among the many Lebanese Nova Scotians worried for their family's safety, and trying to cope while watching the devastation unfold from afar.
"It's just a feeling of hopelessness, helplessness of not being able to physically do something or physically be there," said Sara.
Sara is not the woman's real name, but she has asked that CBC News use a pseudonym because she fears her family could be targeted if she is identified.
As of Wednesday morning, Sara's loved ones were safe. But she said that could change in an instant.
"It's the unknown of what tomorrow, or even the next half hour, will hold," said Sara in an interview on Tuesday afternoon.
Israel launched a ground invasion on Tuesday, sending its troops into southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah. The Iranian-backed militant group confirmed its fighters were engaging with Israeli forces inside Lebanon on Wednesday.
The invasion follows Israel's several attacks against Lebanon, including a deadly detonation of booby-trapped Hezbollah pagers and two weeks of repeated airstrikes. An airstrike on Friday in Beirut killed Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, along with many civilians.
According to Lebanese government statistics, nearly 1,900 people have been killed and more than 9,000 injured in Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023. Most of those deaths and injuries have occurred in the past two weeks.
Officials say around one million people in Lebanon have been displaced. Sara's family is among them.
Halifax resident Nancy Hoyeck is among the 7,200 people in Nova Scotia who are of Lebanese descent. Her family is also in Lebanon, although they are in the northern part of the country and currently far away from the fighting. Still, Hoyeck is constantly worried for their safety.
"Whether or not it will affect where they live is just something I'm waking up to every morning," said Hoyeck.
She said she feels angry having to witness this while being so far away from her parents — checking on them every day and then having to go to work as if nothing is wrong.
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