Wed Sep 25 01:30:00 UTC 2024: ## Lebanese Community in Ireland Fear for Families Amidst Escalating Conflict
**Dublin, Ireland** – Lebanese families living in Ireland are expressing deep concern and fear for their loved ones caught in the escalating conflict in their home country. The situation has impacted their daily lives, leaving them feeling anxious and helpless.
“It’s horrific, it’s so disturbing,” said Ibrahim Itani, who moved to Dublin in 2018 with his family to escape the violence he had experienced since childhood. “Seeing what happened in Palestine, you’ll always be pessimistic and plan for the worst.”
Rachad Merashli, another Lebanese resident of Dublin, described the stress and worry he felt after receiving news of the conflict. He was unable to focus at work due to constant calls and notifications, and was horrified by the images and videos of civilian casualties.
“My parents were in the southern part of Lebanon, so very close to Sidon, but thank God, we convinced them to actually move down to Beirut on Monday,” said Merashli. “Family and friends are living over there. Seeing some of the images and videos over the internet and the TV with civilians and kids, women being killed – it was shocking, it was horrifying for me.”
Roland Mansour, also from Lebanon, shared the community’s concern about the increasing violence and the plight of those affected. “Everybody keeps checking and sharing the news about what’s happening,” he said. “They keep bombing many villages. We’re getting a lot of videos from the streets there. There’s a lot of innocent people and children who are getting killed. Thousands of people that they are moving, thousands of people injured.”
The Lebanese community in Ireland is actively seeking ways to support those impacted by the conflict. They are exploring fundraising initiatives and raising awareness about the situation.
“We were thinking about raising awareness and seeing if there are fundraising activities that we can do to help any families that are stuck, that have moved, or that have been displaced,” said Mansour. “We’re using our platforms to spread some news related to people in the country who are offering homes for the people that do not have homes.”
The community is also appealing to the Irish government to consider facilitating the evacuation of Lebanese families from Lebanon if the situation worsens.
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