From Beirut to America

By Edward Challita

From Beirut to America is Part 1 of Edward Challita's true-life story: a twenty-six-year journey from a life in Lebanon during the civil war, to France, and then the USA. His experience is a unique one, marked by peril and strife, but then also by hope and redemption in the end.

 

Edward was born in Beirut, from Christian French/Lebanese parents who lived in West Beirut as French citizens during the devastating civil war in the 1970s. This is the story of Edward's survival and escape from certain disaster. His life story carries a message of hope, showing that people, no matter what dire circumstances they find themselves in, can succeed despite overwhelming odds.

 

Edward now works in cyber security and has lived in the USA for most of his life, with two lovely kids, Angelina 13, and Leo 7. In his spare time, he is also an actor and producer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edward Challita
• Release date: Jul 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223258940

Edward Challita

From Beirut to America is Part 1 of Edward Challita’s true-life story: a twenty-six-year journey from a life in Lebanon during the civil war, to France, and then the USA. His experience is a unique one, marked by peril and strife, but then also by hope and redemption in the end. Edward was born in Beirut, from Christian French/Lebanese parents who lived in West Beirut as French citizens during the devastating civil war in the 1970s. This is the story of Edward’s survival and escape from certain disaster. His life story carries a message of hope, showing that people, no matter what dire circumstances they find themselves in, can succeed despite overwhelming odds. Edward now works in cyber security and has lived in the USA for most of his life, with two lovely kids, Angelina 13, and Leo 7. In his spare time, he is also an actor and producer.

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Copyright © 2023 Edward Challita

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

Contents

Copyright

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1. LEBANON

2. LITTLE BOY IN BEIRUT

3. HOLYDAYS IN KARTABA

4. THE SCHOOL YEARS

5. THINGS GETTING WORSE

6. THE TRIP TO CYPRUS

7. RETURN TO BEIRUT

8. ESCAPE TO HELSINKI

9. MY LIFE IN FINLAND

10. MOVING TO FRANCE

11. MY FIRST DAYS IN FRANCE

12. MILITARY SERVICE

13. COLLEGE

14. MY ATTEMPT TO LIVE IN THE USA

15. CRISIS

16. HELP, I WANT TO WORK TO WORK!

17. WORSE THAN WAR

EPILOGUE/CONCLUSION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BIBLIOGRAPHY/CREDITS

DEDICATION

From Beirut to America is Part 1 of Edward Challita’s true-life story: a twenty-six-year journey from a life in Lebanon during the civil war, to France, and then the USA. His experience is a unique one, marked by peril and strife, but then also by hope and redemption in the end.

Edward was born in Beirut, from Christian French/Lebanese parents who lived in West Beirut as French citizens during the devastating civil war in the 1970s. This is the story of Edward’s survival and escape from certain disaster. His life story carries a message of hope, showing that people, no matter what dire circumstances they find themselves in, can succeed despite overwhelming odds.

Edward now works in cyber security and has lived in the USA for most of his life, with two lovely kids, Angelina 13, and Leo 7. In his spare time, he is also an actor and producer.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To all my friends and family that inspired me in my life’s journey to get to a better place to live, prosper, and achieve my dreams. Thanks especially to my mom who was always there to help in my life struggles.

To the French lady that helped me write the French version of this book over twenty-seven years ago, I thank you! While I can’t find her details, she helped without asking for any compensation; she knew of the difficulties the Lebanese people faced during the war and wanted my inspiring story to be shared with other people in the world who are currently suffering.

1. LEBANON

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Loud explosions shook our glass windows on a Saturday night: such a nice weekend, wasn’t it? While most

kids in the West were having sleepovers, we were hiding in our bathroom trying to dodge the next bomb dropped on our neighborhood. This is what I remember most from Beirut and my childhood. I wished that I could have experienced myself the nice things my parents told me about Lebanon before the war.

Lebanon used to be known as the Switzerland of the Middle East. Tourists from all over the world flocked there for the beaches, skiing, and nightlife.

The map shows Lebanon, officially the Lebanese Republic, which is a mountainous country in the Levant with a coastline on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon borders Israel in the south, Syria in the north, and the long stretches of Anti-Lebanon mountains form the border between Lebanon and Syria in the east. The country also shares maritime borders with Cyprus.

The smallest nation on the Asian mainland covers an area of 10,400 km²: it is about one-third the size of Belgium and about one-third the size of the US state of Maryland.

Lebanon had a population of about 6.1 million people (in 2019) including approximately 1.5 million refugees from Syria and Palestine. Most of the Lebanese people live on or near the Mediterranean coast.

The country's national capital and largest city is Beirut. Spoken languages are Lebanese Arabic, French, and English. Lebanon has the most religiously diverse society in the Middle East: main religions are Islam (58%), followed by Christianity (36%), and Lebanese Druze faith (5%).

Lebanon has a narrow coastal strip along the Mediterranean Sea. The coast is home to most of the larger cities and towns. Agriculture in the region produces fruits and vegetables.

The Lebanese Civil War was both an internal Lebanese affair and a regional conflict involving a host of regional and international actors. It revolved around some of the issues that dominated regional politics in the Middle East in the latter part of the twentieth century, including the Palestine-Israel conflict, Cold War competition, Arab nationalism, and political Islam.

Conflicts over these issues intersected with longstanding disagreements in the Lebanese political elite, and in parts of the population, over the sectarian division of power, national identity, social justice, and Lebanon’s strategic alliances.

During 15 years of fighting, around 90,000 people lost their lives, according to the most reliable data. However, it is possible that the real number exceeds 100,000.

Of the 90,000 killed, close to 20,000 were kidnapped or disappeared, and must be assumed dead as they have not been accounted for. Nearly 100,000 were badly injured, and close to a million people, or two-thirds of the Lebanese population, experienced displacement.

In addition to the many dead, much of Lebanon’s infrastructure was shattered, as was Lebanon’s reputation as an example of cross-sectarian coexistence in the Arab Middle East. The Switzerland of the Middle East, once known for the beauty of its beaches and amazing mountains, was now know for massacres, bombings, and kidnappings.

The Lebanese Civil War was one of the most devastating conflicts of the late twentieth century. It left several political and social legacies that are important for understanding why it involved so many instances of mass violence.

The establishment of the state of Israel and the displacement of a hundred thousand Palestinian refugees to Lebanon during the 1948 and 1967 exoduses contributed to shifting the demographic balance in favor of the Muslim population.

The Cold War had a powerful disintegrative effect on Lebanon, which was closely linked to the polarization that preceded the 1958 political crisis since Maronites sided with the West while leftist and pan-Arab groups sided with Soviet-aligned Arab countries.

Fighting between Maronite[1]and Palestinian forces (mainly from the Palestine Liberation Organization) began in 1975, then Leftist, pan-Arabist and Muslim Lebanese groups formed an alliance with the Palestinians.

During the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. Furthermore, foreign powers, such as Israel and Syria, became involved in the war and fought alongside different factions. Peacekeeping forces, such as the Multinational Force and the United Nations Interim Force, were also stationed in Lebanon.

The question of Civil War memory is acute for many Lebanese, who have come together in the postwar period to debate the war and create public commemorations of it. In their view, the war has continued via other means in the postwar period, and the periodic rounds of the violent conflict plaguing Lebanon since 1990 are directly related to the Civil War.

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/lebanese-civil-war-photos/

Lebanon had some of the first Christians residing there after Palestine. Jesus is said to have performed one of his miracles in south Lebanon. Even some Christian priests still pray in Aramaic, the language of Christ.

All this is to say that most of the population were Christian before the arrival of Islam in 610AD and its rapid spread in the Middle East.

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