Fears about a possible expansion of the war between Hamas and the State of Israel have crossed borders. “Pray for us,” is the call of Rita Dieb, one of the many Portuguese women who live in Beirut, who tells us TSF that the moment we are living in is delicate. However, in Egypt the prevailing belief is that the conflict must be resolved “between Palestinians and Israelis”, which prevents the MET from knocking on the door.
“The Lebanese community, as well as the Portuguese-Lebanese community, views the development of events with some apprehension and concern. The main fears are that the war will reach greater dimensions and that Lebanon will also be involved in this war,” he explains.
Three years after the huge explosion in the port of Beirut, Rita, who has lived in Lebanon for several years, fears the worst.
“We have not yet managed to recover and we already fear another catastrophe”
The Lebanese Government has asked for caution, but this Portuguese woman, who was a lawyer, emphasizes that, like society, it is a divided Executive.
“Like the Lebanese people, some are in favor of Hezbollah’s intervention with Israeli forces and others are against it, but I think common sense indicates that at this moment – in fact, there is no moment that is convenient for a war – but, especially for Lebanon, at this moment I think it would be very complicated,” he says.
Asked about the possible reception of Palestinian refugees, since the State borders the Gaza Strip, Rita Dieb affirms that, also on these issues, feelings are once again divided.
“It is a topic to be discussed here and, once again, I emphasize again: some are in favor and others are against,” he reveals.
In a polarized country, Rita Dieb confirms the fear of war. In Lebanon we live one day at a time and this is what they can tell us for now.
“Basically, this is what’s happening now, today. Tomorrow, I don’t know,” he concludes.
“This is not an Egyptian problem. It is a problem that must be resolved between Israelis and Palestinians”
In Egypt, fear of an extension of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not yet a reality. Despite the border with Gaza, the Government has distanced itself from the problem.
“There are statements by the President about this conflict, in an interview he wrote to the German Chancellor in which he says that this is not an Egyptian problem. It is a problem that must be resolved between Israelis and Palestinians,” explains Luís Costa, a Portuguese photographer based in Cairo.
The photographer also points out that, although the Egyptian population is not insensitive to what happens to the Palestinians, they do not want to receive them either.
“Despite being in solidarity with what is happening in Gaza, in Egypt they are not receptive to receiving refugees from the Gaza Strip, neither at the level of political leaders nor at the level of the population in general,” he says, adding that the The Egyptian head of state has also hinted that if “the Israelis somehow think that, with this pressure, the Palestinians will have to go to the Sinai Peninsula,” then “they are wrong.”
“That is not going to happen and if they really want to move them, they should do it to the Negev desert,” he says.
Luís Costa also points out that this feeling has a reason: Egyptians fear that the Palestinians will bring problems, unlike what happened with the Sudanese, who were well received in the country.
“In relation to Sudan there was no problem. About a million Sudanese arrived here after the recent war, five million Sudanese already live here. There was no problem,” he assures, explaining that although these refugees “bring with them some poverty”. , the Egyptians do not fear other types of impasses.
“With respect to the Palestinians, it would not be like that and that is the general feeling,” he concludes.
Source: TSF
