Lebanon: Truce Gradually Draws South Beirut Residents Back Home

Residents are gradually returning to Beirut’s southern suburbs after a ceasefire agreement was extended for six weeks, three months after they were displaced from the area, and after the suburbs were largely spared Israeli bombardment during the truce. Residents say they have no choice but to return after experiencing the hardship of displacement and a sense of joblessness. The return to the southern suburbs began early this week, although residents told Asharq Al-Awsat that complete reassurance remains absent. They said returning to livelihoods and homes had become necessary, driven by the need to restore the rhythm of daily life. Livelihoods reopen doors In an area where a large part of the population depends on self-employment and small shops, restoring livelihoods has become essential to restarting life itself. Ali Zeineddine, a father of two and the owner of a clothing shop in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said, “People are returning because they have work, a business, or a source of income. Today, the return is tied more to earning a living than to feeling reassured.” He said owning the shop helped him reopen at a time when many others faced difficulty returning because of rent burdens and losses. But reopening did not mean life had fully returned to what it was before. “There is movement, but it is timid. There is buying and selling on a limited scale, but it helps cover part of the family’s expenses,” he said. He added that the pattern of life itself had changed after the war. “Before the war, we used to work until late at night. Today, I open in the morning and close earlier, before sunset, because people’s movement has changed. Many come down during the day and then leave in the evening, so the night is no longer what it used to be.” He said the overall scene still reflects a gradual return rather than full stability. “People are trying to restore their lives with what is available, but no one is acting as if everything has returned to normal.” A long wait Wissam Shehab, the owner of a vegetable shop and a father supporting a family of five, had not initially planned to return quickly, but found himself facing a different reality as time passed. “We returned because my source of income is here. My shop is in the southern suburbs, and it is how I live and support my family. At first, we thought the displacement phase would be short and that it only needed some time. But when the period began to drag on, it was no longer possible to keep life suspended,” he said. He added that keeping the family in an open-ended state of waiting would make matters more complicated, both economically and psychologically. That is why he decided to return and settle in his home again. But the return did not lead him to rule out other possibilities. “We kept our place of displacement in Mount Lebanon as it is, in case of any new developments. It is true that we returned and settled in the southern suburbs, but no one feels that conditions have become fully settled,” he said. Shehab said the feeling of insecurity was no longer tied to one particular area. “The southern suburbs today appear relatively spared, but insecurity has become a general condition people feel wherever they are.” Return does not end displacement By contrast, Umm Hassan Harqous and her family have not yet decided to return fully. The family still moves between the southern suburbs and Bchamoun, where they are currently displaced. She said she goes down to the suburbs during the day and leaves before sunset, because, for her, returning does not simply mean opening the house door for a few hours. She explained that the reasons for delaying the return are not only security concerns but also the loss of the source of income on which the family had depended. The grocery shop that had provided its main income became a means of survival during the war, after the family relied on the food items inside it during the displacement period. “We lived on what was in the shop, and we gradually consumed its contents during the war so we could continue,” she said. “How can a person return and settle if their very source of livelihood has stopped? Return is not just about a home. People need work and a life they can sustain,” she added. She said members of her family had also suffered professional and livelihood losses, making the decision to return fully more difficult. Institutions wait, individuals return Sawsan Ammar, a teacher at a school in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said schools located deep inside the suburbs, including the one where she works, have not yet reopened due to concerns about the safety of students and teaching staff. “There is no need to take risks while instability continues,” she said. She noted that educational institutions differ by nature from individual businesses. “It is not about one person making a decision for themselves, but about hundreds of students and employees.” Home is less harsh than displacement On the other side, Hassan Maatouk sums up another aspect of the scene. The man, who had been living with his family in a school designated for displaced people, decided to return home despite realizing that fears remain. “Returning home, even with a relative risk, remains better than staying in a state of continuous displacement,” he said. He added that the long period of displacement had left a deep psychological impact. “When a person lives for a long time outside their home, they feel as if they are living a temporary life, as if they are a guest in a place that is not theirs.” “No one can say they returned because they are no longer afraid, but people grow tired of the life of waiting itself,” he said.