By Nohad Topalian | 2024-03-10

BEIRUT -- Hizbullah's actions are precipitating a mass migration out of Lebanon, especially of Christians, rending the country's social fabric and bringing about demographic change that favors the Iran-backed party, observers said.

Residents of southern border villages are in the vanguard of this exodus -- among them George, 45, who spoke with Al-Fassel on condition that only his first name be used.

"My family and I left our village some time ago, because we could no longer live under missiles and at the mercy of Hizbullah," he said. "I used to make my livelihood from my land and today it's in the line of fire."

The Iran-backed party "opens a front with Israel whenever it wants and puts our lives at risk by placing its weapon depots in our midst," George said.

"I can no longer bear this situation and I am seriously thinking about emigrating to Canada to secure a stable future for my three children."

Loss of stability

Armed with a social sciences degree and a master's degree in human resources, 26-year-old Ruba Salama, of Chahtoul in Keserwan, told Al-Fassel she is also seriously considering emigration.

"I started looking for work in Arab countries where my sisters reside, or France, where my brother is, as my last option," she said. "I am looking for the social and security stability that is lacking in Lebanon."

This is lacking due to "Hizbullah's hegemony over the state, its control over state agencies and the decisions of war and peace, and its efforts to bring about demographic change at the expense of Christians," she said.

The economic and political deterioration and resulting feeling of hopelessness for Lebanese youth, coupled with Hizbullah's aggression on the southern front, have sparked a new wave of mass migration, of Christians in particular.

According to Information International, Lebanon saw a significant increase in the number of emigrants in 2023 compared to 2022 -- from 59,269 in 2022 to 175,500 in 2023.

Choosing immigration

As a symptom of this exodus, the Labora NGO has noticed a decline in the number of job applications, organization head Fr. Tony Khadra told Al-Fassel.

In 2023, "we recorded about 27,000 job applications, but when we tried to review the applicants at the beginning of this year we found that 60% of them had left Lebanon," he said.

Today the number of open jobs at Labora is greater than the number of job applicants, he said.

Many Lebanese families are considering emigration, especially residents of the southern border villages who were forced to leave and those who have relatives in the diaspora, Khadra said.

If this continues, it will empty Lebanon of its youth "who are its future," he added, noting that the 18 to 35 age group is leaving in the largest numbers.

Losing hope

"The pace of migration of Lebanese people, by both families and the youth, has increased compared to what it was three years ago," International Database Management Group (OGMA) chairwoman Ghita Hourani told Al-Fassel.

"It is rife with loss of hope and surrender," Hourani said.

She attributed the rising level of migration to Hizbullah, explaining that the party's actions and attitude makes Christians in the border villages feel like outsiders in the south.

"With the inability of citizens to openly confront Hizbullah, there is a noticeable trend toward forced silence," she said.

This is experienced not only by Christians, she added, but also by other components of society, including Shia who oppose Hizbullah's behavior.

The Lebanese of the south "cannot clearly express their opinion, and do not dare to prevent Hizbullah from placing its missiles amidst their homes and their lands, which exposes them to bombardment," she said.

"They are thinking that they will have to sell their property sooner or later," she added -- "in other words, we are facing major and catastrophic repercussions."