11 October 2024
The ADF has been supporting the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in flying Australians out of Beirut in Lebanon, amid conflict in the Middle East. Here, some of those people share their experiences from their temporary accommodation in Cyprus before their final flights home to Australia.
Noha Zanvanka
'It was very scary. I feel safe now here in Cyprus.'
As conflict in Lebanon escalated, Noha Zanvanka made the tough decision to return to Sydney to be with her family.
“I came from my home village in Lebanon, I received an email from the Australian Embassy on the 6th [of] October,” Ms Zanvanka said.
“It was very scary. I feel safe now here in Cyprus.
“I’m very happy, I like Australia, my mother is from Australia. My family is in Sydney, all waiting for me, I’m happy to go back.
“Thank you to the Australian Government for getting me home to Australia and my family.”
Houda Ammoun and Berriah Maghchouch
'The first thing I want to do is hug all my children.'
Sydney sisters Houda Ammoun and Berriah Maghchouch were visiting Lebanon before conflict in the Middle East Region escalated.
“We're here [Cyprus] and we're happy to be here,” Ms Ammoun said.
“We're going back home to Australia. We really thank the Australian Government [for] assisting us in coming all this way, and putting themselves in danger in Lebanon.”
Ms Maghchouch described the experience of making the decision to leave Lebanon for her safety.
“On the way to Beirut, as we were heading to the airport, there's also a lot of smoke and gun powder smells,” Ms Maghchouch said.
“We were very afraid, we were just hoping to get there in one piece.
“I know it's not easy for anyone, especially the volunteers. They are amazing people to put themselves in danger and come up here.
“The first thing I want to do is hug all my children.”
Talal Abou-Eid
'All our kids are waiting for us.'
Talal Abou-Eid lives in Australia, but was visiting Lebanon when conflict in the Middle East Region began to escalate.
“We were very worried about the road being bombed while we were on the way to the airport,” Mr Abou-Eid said.
“We've got all the kids there [in Australia], and all our kids are waiting for us.
“They call us every half hour to see where we are, wanting to know how long we’ll wait until we catch the plane.
“We hope we'll be there very soon. We're proud, we're proud we are Australian.”
