Risking my life to feed people displaced by Israel’s war on Lebanon

“Living in a war zone is a daily struggle, especially if you’re on the ground trying to help those displaced,” says Maya Terro, as she drives through central Beirut, distributing supplies with a group of volunteers. “Sometimes you just get in your car and you don’t know if you’ll come back,” she adds. As a co-founder of Foodblessed, a charity tackling food poverty for more than a decade, Maya and her team have ramped up food deliveries across Lebanon following Israel’s military assault and a year of cross-border attacks.

Lebanon is in crisis. A quarter of the country’s population is under evacuation orders, 1.2 million people have been displaced, and close to 900 shelters are nearing a breaking point. New arrivals are turned away every day. With the government bankrupt for years and unable to provide for its citizens, volunteers like Maya and her team – many of whom are displaced themselves – are stepping up to fill in the gaps.

As the charity leader drives around roads vulnerable to air strikes, she reflects on the risk she and her team face daily. “We don’t talk about it much,” she admits. “But it’s really not safe what we do. I don’t know if the road I take from here will be there when I leave.”

Credits:

Director/Producer: Nada Issa

Line Producer: Leena Saidi

Director of Photography: Ramzi Hibri

Writer: Nada Issa & Tierney Bonini

Editor: Adib Nessim

Additional editor: Antonia Perello

Sound Mixer: Linus Bergman

Executive Producer: Tierney Bonini

Senior Editor: Donald Cameron