Displaced residents of south Lebanon’s Alma al-Shaab keep Easter traditions alive

 
There is nothing more beautiful than the sight of children happy on Easter, but in Alma al-Shaab, southern Lebanon, war is stealing every moment of joy.

Today, every drawing on a child’s face is a dream sweeter than reality, and every laugh and song is a defiance of pain.

They bear no responsibility for what is happening. Displaced by war, they have been forced from their homes and have become the hope in their parents’ eyes.

From this scene begins the story of Alma al-Shaab, a village whose residents were all forced to leave, yet carried it with them wherever they went.

On Holy Saturday, there was always a gathering in the village, now abandoned, and that tradition has endured. As in years past, residents came together in their churches to pray and remember those who are gone.

While the tradition remains unbroken, the setting has changed, with the Holy Saturday celebration now held in Beirut.

Though the church is far from the village, it remains close to the hearts of its people. It is not only a Mass being celebrated; it is an effort by the people of Alma al-Shaab to recreate a piece of their village, with all its small details, in a new place, so that everything remains as it was, even as everything has changed.