ST. BERNARD, Ohio — As the conflict between Israel and Lebanon intensifies, one Lebanese restaurant owner says he's grateful to be reunited with his family.
Ahmed Jheir is the owner and chef of 5 Star Mediterranean in St. Bernard. His life was turned upside down after recent bombings in South Lebanon.
"Before everything happened, we just enrolled our kids into school over there and in one moment everything changed upside down," said Jheir.
Jheir's wife, Miasam, and children, Reina and Hassan, spend the school year in their home city, Tyre. Four days after enrollment, South Lebanon was under attack and his family had to leave. He recently lost his father during the attacks. His father had surgery and was waiting for another but got an infection trying to escape.
After three weeks and traveling for 18 hours, Jheir finally reconnected with his family on Thursday, Oct. 3. Now the family faces new challenges as they enroll their children in school in the U.S. for the first time.
"It's the first time I'm here during school time, so I don't know everything. I don't know anything about school here. What's the system? How can I enroll them?" said Miasam Jheir.
In addition to needing resources and guidance for schooling, Jheir also faces challenges working with no staff and caring for his loved ones. He works with one other part-time employee and said it's become a challenge with the recent crowds he's received after his story caught attraction on social media.
"When I finish here I go home, I find them asleep, and I feel guilty more, so I have to wake up at 5 in the morning just to wake them up to spend at least a little time before I open," Jheir said.
He is open to more help running his restaurant. Anyone interested in helping is asked to contact him directly.
"The focus this week, at least for anything else except to hug my family, and give them more emotional moments, you know, but they need it," said Jheir.
As he continues to support his family and run his business, he says the community support has helped his family overcome the trauma they are still facing.
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