‘I died here’: Lebanese join Mideast to migrate to Europe

By BASSEM MROUE
RELATED PRESSURE

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) – Lebanese have set off from their country’s Mediterranean coast attempting the perilous journey by boat to Cyprus and beyond in the hope of reaching Europe. They, along with other migrants – Iraqis, Afghans and Sudanese – left their homeland after Lebanon’s economy collapsed, plunging two-thirds of the population into poverty in just over a year. One of them, Ziad Hilweh, knew his family might die on the way. But he says the risk was worth it, to come to the shores of Europe alive to have a fresh start with his wife and three children, away from the humiliation of everyday life in Lebanon.