Dianne has been faced with some difficult questions from her eight-year-old son and six-year-old daughter this past year.?
The Brisbane-based Lebanese Australian has been anxiously following the war in the Middle East, with family members in Lebanon located not far from the country's capital of Beirut.?
After months of stewing tensions, campaigns across the Israeli-Lebanese border by both Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have intensified.
As the conflict escalates, 1.2 million people in Lebanon have fled their homes.
It follows the eruption of the war in Gaza after a Hamas-led terror attack on Israel a year ago.?
"One [question] that stands out is when my son asked if war would happen in Australia," says 35-year-old Dianne, who asked we don't use her surname.?
"I reassured him that we're lucky to be in a safe and secure country, and he doesn't need to worry about that.?
"However, he struggled to understand why kids in Palestine and Lebanon don't have the same safety.?
"It was a difficult question to navigate."?
Lebanese Australian Michael Khouri is also facing these conversations with his three children aged 11 and under.?
"My dad is Palestinian, born in Lebanon, and my mum is Lebanese," Michael from Brisbane/Meanjin says.
"Some of my dad's side of the family is still in Palestine [in the West Bank], and on my mum's side, we have my grandma, a few aunties and an uncle, along with a lot of cousins in the south in Lebanon."
Michael's wife has family in Akkar in north Lebanon.
We spoke to Dianne and Michael about how they are balancing keeping their kids informed and protected.?
These are their words.
Dianne: 'I try to be as honest as possible'?
It's been an incredibly distressing time to see how severe the aggression has been in Gaza and south Lebanon.?
Now seeing that the conflict is escalating into wider Lebanon, it has been very traumatic for my family and friends in the Arab-Australian community.?
It's heartbreaking to feel helpless while watching them suffer.?
My kids have asked many difficult questions.?
I've tried to be as honest as possible, in an age-appropriate way, but it's definitely a balancing act.?
Explaining why we're so stressed without inducing fear in them is challenging.?
They've asked my mother many questions about why she left Lebanon and about the war, and she has shared what she could with them.?
We've taken the kids along to rallies, and it definitely helps them feel like they're doing something to make a difference.?
They asked why we attend rallies, which opened up conversations about democracy, protesting, and how communities push for change.?
This is their history too, and it's our responsibility to keep them connected to their culture and ancestral land.?
We share stories, food, cultural rituals, and teach them to be proud of their background and heritage.?
Michael: 'We're very careful with what we tell them'?
Just a few weeks ago my family in Lebanon had to leave their homes — some have stayed back.?
They are worried if they leave, squatters or settlers will take their homes.?
It's hard because we feel like we are helpless here. Just not really being able to do much, or not knowing what we can do.?
The kids have had lots of questions.
We're very careful with what we tell them.?
They understand a bit of it, but we don't want to traumatise them.?
With the younger children, no matter how we explain things — even if it's in a very peaceful way — if I say the word explosion or bomb, that is probably the only word they will remember.?
War has devastating consequences — physically and emotionally — even those not involved [directly], there can be long lasting effects.?
Anyone that cares about what is happening will get emotional, [but] we don't push that emotion onto the kids.
We just explain this has been happening for many years.?
My grandparents had their homes in Palestine taken.?
My family in Lebanon has always had war. My uncle was killed years ago as a result of an explosion in the village.?
We explain every country has good and bad people.?
Especially for us, being Christians as well, we have to make sure we don't judge.?
We don't want the children growing up hating.?
