Malak and Mika  

“When the strike happened next to us, I couldn’t leave her behind. I couldn’t just abandon her.”  

— Malak, speaking about Mika  

Malak was displaced from southern Lebanon to Beirut. When she had to leave her home, Mika was the first thing she thought about. Since then, Mika has stayed beside her every day. From the entrance of their tent, curious Mika peeks playfully at passersby while Malak sits in the background. 

People told me to leave her somewhere safe where they would take care of her, but I couldn't do it. I want to be the one who gives her food and water, and I want her to sleep beside me. She doesn't sleep anywhere except next to me. They even suggested I leave her at a place and pay for her care, but I refused. At least when she's with me, I know she's okay. ©Maryam Srour/MSF
Hasna, Koko & Kouki  

“A soul is precious. Our souls are not more precious than the souls of those we lost.”  

— Hasna, speaking about her birds  

After fleeing Laylaki with her family, Hasna returned to bring back Koko and Kouki. Despite her own health challenges and displacement, she wanted to keep them safe. 

Just one week before the war, I had surgery because I have thyroid cancer. I was shocked when I found out I had cancer, but leaving my home suddenly was even harder. In the first night we left, I didn't know where we were going. So, I temporarily left them behind with a lot of food. I spent four days in the streets after being displaced, and then I came to this school. Every time there was a strike, I would think about them and wonder if they were scared. When I finally returned and they heard my voice, they started jumping. I felt so bad for them. ©Maryam Srour/MSF
Nisreen, Fouad & Loulou  

Fouad (10) and Loulou outside the makeshift abandoned building that became their home during Israeli escalation in Lebanon, taken by Maryam Srour (MSF Field Communication Manager)  

“We couldn’t leave her behind under the shelling. She left the house with us, just like the rest of the family.” — Nisreen, speaking about Loulou  

Loulou was only three and a half months old when the family was displaced. For Nisreen and her 10-year-old on Fouad, bringing LouLou with them was never a question.  

"We were displaced from the southern suburb of Beirut. When we left our home, we took our cat, Loulou, with us. She was only three and a half months old. We couldn't leave her behind under the shelling. She's a living soul, we couldn't just abandon her. Loulou left the house with us, just like the rest of the family, and stays next to Fouad all the time." ©Maryam Srour/MSF