'Sitting and waiting to die': Australian teacher stranded in Lebanon

An Adelaide school teacher is stranded in Lebanon despite days of desperate attempts to make it onto a flight out of the escalating conflict zone.

Her worried husband says they’re struggling to get help from the Australian government and it’s rapidly becoming too dangerous for her to leave the home she’s staying in.

“We hear the planes flying in the sky and sometimes they are very very low and the sound is scary,” Josiane Vekas said from near the capital of Beirut. 

“Plus, when they are bombing or attacking we hear the explosions.”

The 49-year-old teacher from Klemzig, who travelled to Lebanon six weeks ago to visit family, now finds herself trapped in the dangerous conflict zone.

“There’s nothing left, no buildings, no cars, no home… nothing… kids are injured,” she said. 

“It’s like you can see the war in front of you and you can’t do anything.”

Vekas has had two flights cancelled, but even getting to the airport is a challenge. 

“Even the taxi is afraid to take me to the airport… no one will take me to the airport…but even if I go to the airport, there’s no flights,” she said

“You sit at home, and you wait. When will it be our turn? It’s so frustrating. Just sitting and waiting to die.”

Another option for Vekas is to take a boat from Beirut to Cyprus, but even that journey poses significant risks. 

“The captain told me if there’s waves, and high waves… it’s for the safety of everyone…we don’t take this trip, so it’s cancelled,” she said.

It’s left her waiting, holding onto hope for an end to the conflict and a safe return home. 

“We have hope. We have hope that they will finish this soon, please,” she said.