In the villages of southern Lebanon, a school principal prepares to welcome children back to classrooms that have, for months, served as the last shelter for families whose homes no longer exist. As Lebanon attempts to restart its school year on September 15, more than a million displaced people and over 340 damaged schools reveal the impossible arithmetic of a society trying to tend to both its wounded present and its imperiled future. The tension between providing refuge and restoring education is not merely logistical — it is a question of what a society owes its children when the structure
Lebanon's schools face dual crisis: reopening classrooms while sheltering displaced families
Over 1 million Lebanese displaced from homes; 4,381 killed since March 2026; recent strikes killed 12 including two children; students face seven consecutive years of educational disruption.