Lamia Charlebois starts every day by speaking to her close friend in Lebanon.
These days the conversations are often filled with worry.
The Lebanese Canadian has tons of family and friends in Beirut and its suburbs and says the conflict in the Middle East is making everyone nervous.
“We’re all holding our breath because we don’t want the area, the whole area, to go into a World War III,” she said. “Nobody wants that.”
In recent days, there has been an upsurge in violence with intense cross-attacks between Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah and Israeli troops that have left 16 dead in both countries. The sides have been trading fire almost daily since Hamas’s attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
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On Monday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “Canadians in Lebanon should consider leaving while commercial flights remain available.”
The government is also advising against any non-essential travel to the country.
“It creates, unfortunately, a panic mode of should we go, should we not go,” Charlebois said. “As I said, some people have to go — their parents are ill, their brother is having a surgery — they have to go. It’s a personal decision at the end of the day.”
Nadim Barakat, who moved to Montreal three years ago from Lebanon, is in constant contact with his parents who still live there.
He says he’s offered to fly them here, but so far, they’ve refused and are living day by day.
“It’s like the calmness before the storm,” he said. “Nobody knows what’s going to happen. They’re also anxious, frustrated, and they have no clue what’s going to happen.”
Both Barakat and Charlebois have booked flights to visit their families in Lebanon in the next weeks.
They say they still plan to go but will be following the evolving situation closely.
— with files from Reuters
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