Two Souths and One Humanity Between Lebanon and Haiti

I was following the news from afar, watching the daily updates of the Israeli war on Lebanon through screens. However, after leaving Beirut International Airport and heading toward my southern hometown, I realized I was not prepared for what I would see with my own eyes. And how does one prepare for a shock of this magnitude? 

My name is Dona Lucia Saade, and I am from Jdeidet Marjayoun in southern Lebanon. 

I studied architecture and worked in the field. At the beginning of my career, the focus in the work environment was on luxury and aesthetics, alongside long hours spent either behind screens or in discussions with clients. I realized that this path did not nurture my interest in the humanitarian aspects that lie at the core of architecture. Therefore, I decided to expand my academic and professional experience by pursuing a master’s degree in international cooperation, thus combining my two passions: architecture and humanity. 

When the Beirut port explosion occurred in 2020, I was working with a local organization that combined my two fields of study. This crisis taught me the importance of connecting with people, helping them, and standing by them in the wake of a tragedy that changed the course of their lives forever. After that, I wanted to expand the horizons of my humanitarian experience and embark on international assignments, which led me to Ukraine in 2024, where I worked as a construction manager. A year later, I joined the international mobile staff of MSF, and that is where my new journey began. 

From Jdeidet Marjayoun to Port-à-Piment 

At the beginning of my journey with MSF, I set off from southern Lebanon to southern Haiti to support the organization’s teams there as a logistics manager in Port-à-Piment. My role was to support the maternity ward, which MSF had rebuilt and expanded in partnership with the Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population and local health actors, amid high maternal and infant mortality rates in the country. 

I was excited to leverage my expertise in architecture, construction, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and energy, and apply it to my logistics management duties; technical expertise enhances the management of humanitarian operations. However, I cannot deny my anxiety about the new context I found myself in: a new country, security challenges, a responsibility that included managing teams outside my field of expertise, such as biomedicine and information and communications technology, and exceptional weather conditions. 

Welcomed by a Hurricane! 

As soon as I arrived in Haiti, a tropical storm named Hurricane Melissa was announced! I did not expect my first weeks on the assignment to turn into joining an emergency response, but I was surrounded by an excellent team whose professionalism, experience, and cooperation eased the difficulties of this critical period. 

I was amazed by the dedication of the logistics team, who would venture beyond the boundaries of safe zones to secure blood bags – a major challenge given the absence of a blood bank in the region. Ultimately, and fortunately, Hurricane Melissa did not reach where we were, although it hit other southern regions and caused damage there. Our preparations were fully in place, and through this experience, I learned that emergency situations refined me and taught me a great deal, especially patience, avoiding impulsiveness, and anger management. 

During the seven months I spent in Haiti, the challenges were daily, as were the learning opportunities. It is true that I was not part of the medical team, but my work contributed to improving our patients’ ability to seek healthcare smoothly and safely. In the maternity ward where I worked, the sight of mothers and their children arriving was the most beautiful reminder of the importance of the work we do across all fields in MSF. 

A Seven-Hour Difference 

I was still on my assignment when the recent escalation of the Israeli war in Lebanon broke out. I was in southern Haiti, while my family and loved ones were in southern Lebanon where the war was raging; the long distance and time difference only heightened my distress and pain. I remember the long hours past midnight in Haiti, following the fast-paced news coming from Lebanon before noon there. I could not stay away any longer, so I returned to Lebanon mid-May and went straight from the airport to my hometown in the south. 

As we reached the Nabatieh road, the shock began. The roads I used to take, the places I visited with my family, and the landmarks that mapped out the way to our town had all been levelled to the ground by the Israeli army. Nothing but rubble. The shock settled into my body for the first three days, along with grief, loss, and emptiness. However, I was grateful that my family suffered no physical harm. And as if the initial shock weren’t enough, the roads were closed for two weeks shortly after my return to Jdeidet Marjayoun as Israeli bombardments intensified. 

Hope for the Next Assignment 

Today, I am setting off on my second assignment with MSF, returning to Haiti (to the capital, Port-au-Prince, this time) as a construction manager. I look forward to growing and expanding technically with MSF. I am happy to return to Haiti and its kind people, and excited to re-engage with the cultural scene there, especially the local music that left such a beautiful impression on me during my first assignment. 

There is no doubt that I am worried about my family and my country as uncertainty and Israeli strikes continue in the south, but I will carry this worry and channel it into dedication to my work, my team, and the people we will support in Haiti.