<html><div style='background-color:'><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 15pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Lebanese open up homes for refugees <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">By Martin Patience <BR>BBC News, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Lebanese widow Nadya Azar was used to the quiet life. </SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Until two weeks ago, the 70-year-old woman spent her days sitting in her living room decorated with paintings of Swiss landscapes, or on her first-floor balcony overlooking a busy street. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Now her small four-room house in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>'s Ashrafiyeh district is hosting four mothers and their nine children who have fled the south of the country. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Even as a young boy tears around the house with a plastic orange tennis racket in one hand and a sticky slice of watermelon in other, Mrs Azar says she would not have it any other way. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"They can stay as long as they like," says Mrs Azar. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"They are like children to me." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">'One of a kind' </SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">As the Israeli bombardment of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> continues, up to a million people have been displaced from their homes in the south of the country, according to the UN. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></TD>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">They can stay as long as they like - they are like children to me </SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR>Nadya Azar <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">About 90,000 of these people are being accommodated in schools and other public buildings in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:City>. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">But like the families staying at Mrs Azar's apartment, the majority of those who have fled are staying with friends and family in other areas of the country. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"She's one of a kind," says Fadiya Assad, a 34-year-old mother of two, wearing pale green Christian Dior pyjamas and a grey headscarf, as she picks up her pack of cigarettes. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"She does all she can to make us feel at home. She's like a mother to us." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Mrs Azar is Christian and the families staying in her house are Shia Muslim, but they say religion does not come into their relationship - they are all Lebanese. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Fleeing the south </SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The four mothers staying in the apartment are all sisters-in-law. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Their husbands used to run a bakery in this district of Beirut and became close friends with Mrs Azar and her husband Nasri, who died 11 years ago from cancer, before returning to their <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">village</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Khayzaran</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> in the south. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></TD>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The children were frozen with fear on the journey up </SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><BR>Amina Wahbe <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">But, when <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> began bombing close to the women's homes, their husbands told them to leave. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Mrs Assad says she knows of at least four people from nearby villages who have been killed by the Israeli bombardment. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Packed into two cars, the families fled their homes with the sound of screeching Israeli jets overhead and the soft thud of bombs being dropped in the distance. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"The children were frozen with fear on the journey up," says Amina Wahbe, 38, another of the mothers, holding up her clenched fist to emphasise the point. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Din of war </SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">For now, the families are sleeping in one of the apartment's two bedrooms, on couches, and mattresses on the floor. They count themselves lucky. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The men stayed behind in the village to continue working in their bakery, which provides bread to the south of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">While the children appear happy, they are aware of the different environment. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Three-year-old Ibrahim started crying at one stage, but shielded his tears from those sitting in the room by grabbing his mother's headscarf. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"He misses his father," says Mrs Assad, patting her shirtless son on the back trying to comfort him. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The children are eating more as they are bored and cannot play outside, say their mothers. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">And yet the children cannot escape the din of war. While the families are housed in a relatively safe district of Beirut, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> continues to bomb the city's southern suburbs. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">"Every time they hear a bomb they run to a corner and stand still," said Mrs Assad. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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From: <I>"seza metrebian" <curlys74@hotmail.com></I><BR>To: <I>lebanon-articles@mit.edu</I><BR>Subject: <I>[LCM Articles] Who wants a ceasefire and who doesn't</I><BR>Date: <I>Mon, 24 Jul 2006 15:00:07 +0000</I><BR><BR>
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