Migrant Odyssey: LEBANON LIVES – Mona’s Story
Host: Stephen Barden
Guest: Mona
Date: April 13, 2026
Location: Saida, Lebanon
Episode Overview
This moving episode of Migrant Odyssey follows Mona, a 27-year-old Palestinian-Ukrainian woman living in war-torn Saida, Lebanon. Through her voice, we experience the compounding realities of displacement, generational struggle, survival in conflict zones, relentless optimism, and self-empowered humanitarianism. Stephen Barden guides us through Mona’s family history, her pursuit of education and identity, her escape from two wars, and her deep involvement in mutual aid with the "Wolf's Team." The episode reframes migration and displacement as facets of ordinary humanity, asking listeners not just for empathy, but for action.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Lebanon’s Enduring Conflict and Ordinary Lives [00:06–04:43]
- Stephen contextualizes Lebanon’s decades of conflict, displacement, and destruction.
- The focus: how “ordinary people”—like Mona—bear the brunt of endless war.
- Quote:
“Ordinary people… it actually means that ordinary people are us. We are the ordinary people, wherever we are… Wars hurt people just like us. Wars hurt us.”
— Stephen Barden [02:41]
2. Mona’s Perspective: Daily Life in Conflict [04:43–08:19]
- Mona describes life as “unstable,” filled with “fear and worry” but still clinging to hope and faith.
- Faith in God is the core of Mona’s resilience.
- The bombings are closer than ever:
“There's airplane military going through Saida every night. So it's kind of stressful… Like, you don't know, are they gonna bomb or not… We have to be united at this time.”
— Mona [06:19–07:40] - Despite the normalization of bombings, Mona details the persistent collective anxiety and need for unity.
3. Family Ties and Professional Barriers [08:19–13:42]
- Mona’s parents are both doctors (her mother Ukrainian, her father Palestinian), restricted in Lebanon to working only in Palestinian hospitals.
- Ukrainian citizenship provides more rights for her mother, but still many limits, especially being married to a Palestinian.
- Mona reminisces about the closeness with her siblings, despite age gaps and upheavals:
“My older brother, he's like a safe place… he supports me no matter how far away he is.”
— Mona [13:00]
4. Education and Ambition Amid Systemic Exclusion [13:42–23:31]
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Mona’s rebellious determination led her to pursue banking and finance, defying Palestinian social norms and legal restrictions in Lebanon.
- Refused internships at every bank (even unpaid) in Lebanon due to her Palestinian identity.
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Story of rerouting her university registration and changing majors by persuading the dean—against her father’s wishes.
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Obtained internships in UAE through personal networks, critical for her graduation.
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Despite a master’s from the top Lebanese university, she remains unemployable in her chosen field due to her status.
Notable Quote:
“There are things you are not allowed to become, not because you are not capable, but because the system doesn’t see you the same way... I chose a path that wasn't fully open to me, but I chose it anyway.”
— Mona [14:14–14:30]
5. Double Displacement: War in Ukraine [23:31–40:23]
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Mona recounts moving to Ukraine (her mother’s country) seeking stability and belonging, only to face the outbreak of war for the first time in Kyiv.
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She describes the morning of the Russian invasion, waking to frantic calls, running panic-stricken supermarkets, and the sirens:
“The war doesn’t ask you if you are ready or not. It just comes… I remember breaking down at that point. I felt like, okay, this is real.”
— Mona [27:50–30:39] -
Her grandmother, seasoned by history, guides their preparations (packing a “war backpack,” taping windows).
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Evacuation by train: crammed in a four-person compartment with 17 people, darkness, silence, anxiety.
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Emotional moment as she helps an elderly friend onto the train, finally allowing herself to cry when realizing she’s out of immediate danger:
“At that moment, I had the chance to cry. Actually, it was the first time maybe I’d reached the safe zone where I can relax… I can process what I’m going through.”
— Mona [39:20]
6. Returning to Lebanon: Family and Rootedness [40:23–43:04]
- After reaching safety in Poland, Mona chooses to return to Lebanon—to be with her parents, valuing family over individual opportunity.
- Her grandmother spends winter with them in Lebanon but feels home is still Ukraine—a generational echo of displacement.
7. Mutual Aid and Resilience: The “Wolf’s Team” [43:04–49:07]
- Mona now works as a project coordinator in her father’s hospital and volunteers with Wolf’s Team, an extreme sports and humanitarian group.
- The group’s ethos: seeking aliveness and solidarity amid destruction.
“The thing that looks safe can break you, and the thing that looks dangerous can save you. So this is what saved me, actually.”
— Mona [44:00–44:10] - Wolf’s Team pivots to distributing meals, water, mattresses, and emotional support to those displaced by bombings—especially those overlooked by larger organizations.
8. The Struggle to Maintain Humanitarian Aid [49:07–53:33]
- All team funds have been exhausted; fundraising efforts like GoFundMe are impossible from Lebanon.
- Mona and her team self-fund donations, try local micro-businesses (selling juice, coffee) to keep their aid work alive:
“We took all this money and we donated them to the people… Now we come to the point that the box is empty, and one hand can't do a clap. Actually, like we say, one hand can't clap. You need two hands to clap together.”
— Mona [49:13–50:39] - She appeals for help from listeners/backers to set up international fundraising.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On Surviving War’s Unpredictability:
“We’re used to it. Like, it’s a survival mood where we live in right now… it’s getting exhausted, actually.”
— Mona [09:10] -
On Hope:
“No matter what happened, we knew like it could be worse. So having this, it’s a blessing at the end of day.”
— Mona [05:22] -
On Solidarity in Displacement:
“We all in this together, it’s not just me or them, we’re all in this together. So no matter what, we have to be united at this time.”
— Mona [07:30] -
On Refugees’ Needs:
“People actually on the street, there were times no one saw them, so we were trying to focus on that… they just expect us to come and say, hi, how are you?... being there emotionally and supporting them, it was very, very, very important for us.”
— Mona [48:10]
Important Timestamps
- 00:06–04:43: Lebanon’s conflict and introduction to Mona
- 04:43–08:19: Mona on faith, daily anxiety, and unifying through war
- 08:19–13:42: Family origins, parents’ restrictions, sibling dynamics
- 13:42–23:31: Mona’s battle for education and employment
- 23:31–40:23: Migration to Ukraine, experiencing war, evacuation to Poland
- 40:23–43:04: The decision to return to Lebanon for family
- 43:04–49:07: Wolf’s Team aid work and support for the displaced
- 49:07–53:33: Fundraising struggles, call for external help
- 53:33–54:49: Closing remarks, invitation for support
Conclusion & Tone
This episode is heartfelt, unsparing, and intimate. Mona’s story counterbalances trauma with laughter, struggle with stubborn hope, and the limitations of “safety” with the vitality of purpose. She ultimately issues a challenge—not just to survive but to care for others, and a call for support from the world beyond Lebanon’s besieged borders.
“You need two hands to clap together.”
— Mona [50:39]
For more about Wolf’s Team and how to help, see the program notes/in their Instagram link.