A Plea from the Christian Border Villages: Help Us So That Resilience Is Not Just Waiting for the Unknown

The five Christian border villages in the south addressed an urgent cry and plea to the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops meeting in Bkerke for resilience, safe and dignified return. It stated:

Your Beatitude Patriarchs, Your Excellencies the Bishops, Reverend Fathers General and Provincial Superiors, Reverend Mothers General and Provincial Superiors, after seeking your blessing and prayers, from the farthest south of Lebanon, from Ramish, Ain Ebel, Debl, Al-Qouzah, and Alma al-Shaab, we raise to you the cry of people rooted in their land, clinging to their faith and identity, despite the fear, siege, displacement, destruction, and harsh humanitarian and living conditions they endure, carrying in their hearts hope that their villages remain alive with their children, and that displacement does not become permanent uprooting.

The appeal added: "We write to you from villages that no longer ask only what the future holds, but whether they have a future. In this land where its churches and bells testify to centuries of faith and rooting, our people live between the anxiety of staying and the fear of leaving, as resilience has become a daily challenge to secure the simplest necessities of life, from food and medicine to education, work, treatment, and freedom of movement. Our villages have paid heavy prices due to successive wars and attacks, offering martyrs and victims among their sons, especially in Alma al-Shaab, Debl, Ain Ebel, Al-Qalaa, and other villages, in addition to the wounded, injured, and families who lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods.

As we bow in reverence before the memory of those who fell, and stand in solidarity with their families and all those affected, we affirm that their sacrifices and the pain of our people must not be in vain, and that loyalty to them means working to protect the living, preserve their dignity, and ensure a safe future for their children.

Maintaining the historic Christian presence in the southern villages is not just a matter concerning Christians alone, but a national responsibility linked to preserving Lebanon's diversity, unity, and identity, and to the right of all its citizens to live freely, with dignity and safety on their land.

We affirm, based on our Christian faith and human mission, that we are advocates of peace and not people of war, and that the people of the south, who have long suffered the horrors of conflicts, attacks, and displacement, can no longer tolerate more fear, destruction, and loss of lives. They have the right, as do all Lebanese, to live in fair and lasting peace, under a state that protects its citizens, preserves its sovereignty, and guarantees their security and rights."

It continued: "Our people who remained in their villages do not seek privileges, but their natural right to life and safety, and that their attachment to their land should not become a punishment. As for those forced to displace, they seek nothing but safe and dignified return to their homes, along with securing decent living conditions for them until conditions for their return are met.

Based on our trust in the Church's mission and its presence alongside its children, we turn to you, representing spiritual, ecclesiastical, and human authority, appealing to you to continue your efforts and contacts with the Lebanese State, the Holy See, international bodies, and relevant humanitarian institutions, to achieve the following demands:

1. Guarantee safe freedom of movement for residents of border villages

Work with competent Lebanese authorities and relevant international bodies to secure safe roads and passages for residents of border villages, especially Ramish, Ain Ebel, and Debl, enabling them to travel from and to their villages, reach hospitals, educational institutions, and markets, meet basic needs, and return home safely. Leaving the village for medical treatment or earning a livelihood must not become a dangerous journey, nor should the road home become a one-way street.

2. Reactivate weekly visits for residents of Alma al-Shaab

Work to reorganize safe weekly visits for residents of Alma al-Shaab to their town, in coordination with Lebanese authorities and relevant international bodies, and in cooperation with Caritas Lebanon and concerned humanitarian institutions. These visits aim, when security conditions permit, to enable residents to inspect their homes, properties, and lands, take personal belongings, and maintain their connection to their town, even if for two or three hours weekly, awaiting suitable conditions for permanent return.

3. Secure safe and dignified return for displaced persons

Continue efforts with Lebanese and international bodies to secure safe, voluntary, and dignified return for residents of Alma al-Shaab, Al-Qouzah, and other border villages whose inhabitants were forced to leave their homes. In this context, we urge special attention to the sons of Yaroun, Al-Qouzah, and Alma al-Shaab, who are dispersed across various Lebanese regions, while some reside in Ramish, Ain Ebel, and Debl. We also hope to contribute to providing decent housing, rental allowances, and living assistance for displaced families until their return, so that temporary displacement does not become a permanent reality that deprives villages of their children and future.

4. Secure elements of resilience and continuity of life

Support residents in their villages by contributing to securing basic services, especially water, electricity, fuel, food, medicines, and communications. We also urge support for schools and educational institutions and guarantee their continuity, contribute to paying school and university fees for struggling families, and help those who lost jobs and livelihoods due to security and economic conditions.

We request special attention to farmers, small business owners, and artisans, through economic and development support programs helping them restore activity and provide families with means of decent living. Resilience is achieved not only by emergency aid, but by providing conditions that allow humans to work, raise their children, and build their future on their land.

5. Secure fair compensation for those affected

Work with the Lebanese State, relevant bodies, and donor institutions to conduct a comprehensive and documented damage survey, and establish a fair and transparent mechanism for compensating families of martyrs, civilian victims, the wounded, and owners of damaged or destroyed homes and businesses, as well as tobacco farmers, agricultural landowners, olive grove owners, and commercial interests hit by destruction.

We also hope to support reconstruction efforts, home restoration, and infrastructure rehabilitation, helping residents regain their lives and livelihoods. We stress that families of martyrs, victims, and the wounded must not be left alone facing the humanitarian, social, and economic burdens resulting from war, but should receive proper care and support.

6. Support activation of Ain Ebel Hospital and enhance health services

We welcome the cooperation agreement signed by the Ministry of Public Health, the Lebanese Army represented by military medicine, and Caritas Lebanon, on October 30, 2026, to integrate the existing primary healthcare center at Ain Ebel Hospital into the national primary healthcare network.

We appreciate this step contributing to providing medicines, vaccines, medical supplies, and enhancing healthcare for regional residents. We urge you to support relevant bodies in implementing the agreement, mobilizing support from church institutions and donors to develop a phased plan to activate Ain Ebel Hospital, especially operating the emergency department around the clock, completing equipping of operating rooms, intensive care unit, and medical lab, and securing necessary medical, nursing, and technical staff.

We also hope to contribute to securing hospital coverage for residents of border villages and displaced families residing there, and supporting ambulance and emergency medical transport services. The life of a patient or critically injured person must not depend on opening a road or dispatching a convoy.

7. Enhance emergency, ambulance, and civil defense services in Ramish

Support the Civil-Military Medical Center 'Martyr Brigadier General François El-Hajj Center' in Ramish, by providing medical equipment, medicines, and essential supplies to enhance its capacity to meet residents' health needs. We also urge contribution to equipping the Civil Defense Center in Ramish with vehicles and equipment necessary for rapid response to emergencies, fires, and rescue operations, ensuring service to residents of the three villages: Ramish, Ain Ebel, and Debl.

8. Protect churches and religious and heritage sites

Work to protect churches and religious and heritage sites in border villages, preserving them from destruction and violations, considering them an integral part of the region's spiritual and historical memory, and a witness to the faith and rooting of its people.

We draw particular attention to the importance of protecting the church of Al-Qouzah, representing a symbol of the town's people's faith and history of presence. In this context, residents of Al-Qouzah thank and appreciate the Jesuit Fathers who contributed to rebuilding their town between the wars, and appeal to them to continue caring for this spiritual and historical heritage upon their return, in cooperation with relevant ecclesiastical authorities.

9. Enhance ecclesiastical and humanitarian coordination to monitor border villages' conditions

We urge the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon to establish an effective committee emerging from the Council, in cooperation and coordination with the Apostolic Nuncio in Lebanon, including representatives from dioceses, orders, relevant church institutions, and Caritas Lebanon, tasked with monitoring border villages' conditions and their residents' needs, and overseeing implementation of demands in this appeal.

This committee will focus on identifying humanitarian, health, educational, social, and developmental priorities, coordinating initiatives and aid, and monitoring projects in cooperation with Lebanese authorities and donors, ensuring continuity and effectiveness of work and avoiding duplication of efforts.

In this context, we appreciate the humanitarian and diplomatic efforts of the Apostolic Nuncio in Lebanon, His Excellency Archbishop Paolo Borgia, and the pastoral and humanitarian efforts of Their Excellencies Bishop Charbel Abdallah and Bishop George Iskandar, and other bishops of Lebanon and the diaspora, alongside local and international relief organizations, supporting and standing with the people of the south in their ordeal.

10. Confront consequences of UNIFIL mission end and ensure security of border villages

Given the decision regarding ending the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission, and potential security, humanitarian, economic, and social consequences of its withdrawal, we express deep concern about the future of border villages and safety of their residents, especially since these forces played an important role over decades in monitoring security situations, contributing to reducing tensions, facilitating some humanitarian initiatives, in addition to contributions to the region's social and economic life.

The end of this mission, amid continuing tensions, attacks, and security risks, raises serious fears of a vacuum negatively affecting residents' security, freedom of movement, and daily life, increasing fragility of economic and social conditions in border villages.

Therefore, we urge intensifying efforts with the Lebanese State, the Holy See, the United Nations, and the international community, to ensure no security or humanitarian vacuum arises due to UNIFIL's mission end, and working to establish clear and effective arrangements and guarantees to protect civilians and their property, and ensure continuity of services and humanitarian aid.

We stress the importance of addressing potential economic and social consequences of international forces' withdrawal, especially regarding job opportunities, commercial movement, services, and initiatives benefited by border villages throughout years of these forces' presence.

Our people who endured on their land amidst wars and risks must not find themselves facing a new phase of anxiety and the unknown. They have the right to actual guarantees protecting their lives, security, and future."

It concluded: "Resilience is not measured by number of houses remaining inhabited, but by ability of residents to live in them with dignity, educate their children, secure livelihoods and treatment, and look forward to a safe future.

We fear not only losing house and stone, but losing villages that preserved names and memories of our ancestors, churches that baptized our children, and fields that witnessed our people's toil and labor over generations.

We fear a day when churches stand without worshippers, houses remain without residents, turning our villages into names on a map after being vibrant lands of life, faith, and hope.

Southern Christians were never passersby on this land; they are part of its fabric, history, and future. Their staying is not a challenge to anyone, but testimony that Lebanon stands only with all its children, and its diversity is source of richness and message.

Our people have endured long, but it is unjust for resilience to become fate of isolation and forgetting, or for people to be asked to stay rooted then left alone facing fear, need, and the unknown.

We do not ask the Church to replace the State, but to continue its mission as we knew it: voice for those whose voices have faded, support for those fearing abandonment, bridge carrying hope to suffering hearts.

Hence, with convening of 59th ordinary session of Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, we urge giving special attention to border villages' conditions, adopting this appeal and demands, establishing effective church mechanism for follow-up, and including clear position in final statement confirming residents' right to safe staying on land, and displaced persons' right to dignified return to villages and homes.

We do not want our villages to become memory, nor residents to become strangers to their land. Help us keep bells ringing, churches filled with believers, houses lit by residents, and land alive with children.

Help us so resilience is not mere waiting for unknown, but choice for life, based on security, dignity, work, and hope.

We place this cry in your hands, confident Church accompanying children in times of hardship will remain beside them, appreciating spiritual, humanitarian, and national efforts.

We ask God, through intercession of Our Lady Mary, Queen of Peace, to protect our people, villages, and homeland, grant Lebanon fair and lasting peace, turn fear into reassurance, displacement into return, pain into hope, and keep southern land land of encounter, life, and peace for all its children.

Please accept highest expressions of respect, appreciation, and gratitude.

Mayors signing the appeal:
Ramish Mayor Hanna Al-Amil, Debl Mayor Aql Nazaf, Ain Ebel Mayor Ayoub Khreish, Alma al-Shaab Mayor Shadi Sabah, and Al-Qouzah Mayor Charbel Rizk".