From Classrooms to Shelters

Amidst the ongoing war, the country now confronts a humanitarian catastrophe.  Since September 24, devastating airstrikes following a year of low-intensity conflict have forced families to flee their homes and seek refuge in schools turned into shelters. Local authorities in Lebanon estimate that the number of displaced has surpassed 1.4 million people, nearly a quarter of the population. As of October 23, 191,503 internally displaced people were registered in 1,096 collective shelters.

Schools, once places where children laughed, learned, and played, have now become shelters for families who have lost everything. Classrooms have been transformed into living quarters, with desks and chairs pushed aside to make room for people to sleep.  

Despite the grim circumstances, people are trying to accept their temporary reality, clinging to hope. As winter approaches, many internally displaced families in Lebanon face severe challenges, as they lack the necessary resources like heaters, blankets and mattresses and winter clothing such as jackets, to withstand the harsh weather conditions. This added layer of challenge exacerbates their suffering. Families left their homes with whatever belongings they could gather and are now living day to day, trying to make do each week with the hope of eventually returning home. Marwa, seeking shelter with her family in a collective shelter in Beirut Mount Lebanon, spoke to us about fleeing amidst airstrikes and the longing feeling to return to her home.

"I am from the southern suburbs of Beirut. My family and I fled immediately after an intense airstrike took place near our home. The glass throughout our home shattered, and I could hear my daughter's terrified screams coming from her bedroom.  

She paused for a second and continued, “Thank God we have a car and were able to leave right away. Hundreds of people from our community fled at once. I started the car and drove with no clear destination, shakily following cars heading up the mountains. My daughter was shaking, so we played games like counting red cars and then black ones to calm her down” she said, acknowledging she had made the game up to soothe her daughter.  

She continues, “after driving for a while, we found a cafe and decided to stop for something to eat and use the restrooms. The owner asked where we were from, and when we told him what had happened, he kindly offered us the space in the cafe to stay for the night. We slept there on benches, and I slept in the little garden outside.” Marwa shared with me that living in the southern suburbs of Beirut, an overcrowded area with buildings packed closely together, rarely offered her moments of calm. She recounted how, amidst the chaos, it was the first time in a long while that she was able to pause and reflect, saying in her own words, "It was the first time in a long while that I noticed the stars."

“There were ten of us that night. Later, a family member told us that a school had opened for families seeking refuge. We joined our other family members there, and now we are 13 families, about 40 people, staying together in a classroom. We support and help each other. I am afraid that we will adapt to the current living conditions and that is something we do not want. I don't want that for my family. We want to return home.”

Our team in Lebanon continues to respond to the needs of the affected population. Since the 23rd of September, funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Medair has distributed over 10,000 mattresses and blankets to internally displaced people affected by the conflict.

Additionally, after conducting assessments in 187 collective shelters to update data, evaluate building conditions, and identify needs, Medair has started to conduct minor repairs such as installing showers, door handles, windows and partitions to create a liveable space that allows people to live with dignity. Our team has so far completed the rehabilitation of 37 Collective Shelters in Bekaa/BML, with another 37 with work ongoing and 81 in approval stages.  

To support displaced individuals' mental well-being, we have trained volunteers in psychological first aid and are implementing sessions in the collective shelters. Medair has expanded our emergency health response from supporting 2 primary health care centres to 4 further centres (6 in total) and is setting up mobile clinics to serve 27 designated collective shelters in the immediate area.  As winter approaches, Medair is scaling its response to respond to the needs of the affected population currently staying in collective shelters.  

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Medair's work in Lebanon is possible with funding from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Chaîne du Bonheur (Swiss Solidarity), Swiss Development Cooperation through Interaction-CH, German Federal Foreign Office (or AA) and generous private donors.

This content was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organization.

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