Even though the civil war in Lebanon was over in 1990, its aftertaste lingered in the air for years, causing political turbulence and economic instability.
At the time, the economy was fragile, even though the Rafic Hariri government did try to implement a number of measures that aimed at boosting it.
Clashes, bombings and assassinations became a rather regular occurrence at the time, especially in the south of the country, where the Shiite militia group Hezbollah launched effective attacks on its rivals, the South Lebanon Army (SLA), comprised of local Christians, Druze and other minorities, who have also been known for their support of Israel.
No Regrets
Looking back at those events, Miriam Matar, a native of South Lebanon, who is now in her 80s, says she was concerned about the route her country was taking and she wanted to flee the area before it would be "too late".
In 1995, it finally happened.
"When my husband and son - a SLA officer and soldier - were killed in a battle, leaving me exposed to potential attacks by Hezbollah, that had been rapidly gaining strength, I decided to flee to Israel, where I took a number of odd jobs to make the ends meet."
In retrospect, she says, that was "the right decision," especially as five years down the line, the SLA was defeated and then dismantled. Its operatives were either killed, jailed or persecuted. Only 6,000 fighters and their families were given permission to relocate to Israel as a humanitarian gesture for their years of assistance to the Jewish state.
Several years down the line, most of them were granted citizenship and all the social benefits that entailed. Because Matar was not part of that wave of asylum seekers, her case has largely fallen through the cracks. She was allowed to be a temporary resident and was permitted to work, but that was restricted to a certain period of time.
In 2008, she got married a second time, to an Arab Israeli, and the two set up their home in the town of Fassouta, located in the north of Israel, next to its border with Lebanon.
Another Blow
Soon after the marriage, Matar started the process of obtaining Israeli citizenship, which takes five years, but it was interrupted four years later, when her husband passed away.
Since then, Matar has been having ongoing interactions with Israel's Ministry of the Interior as well as other governmental bodies, whom she tried to persuade that she had the right to stay in the country despite the fact that her husband was no longer alive.
For her, the link to the SLA, and the fact that she sacrificed her husband and son in the fight against Hezbollah was "a good enough" reason to obtain Israeli citizenship but the country's authorities, she says, thought otherwise.
"They refuse to tell me why they don't want to give me that paper. Apart from the link to the SLA, I am asking to stay in Israel because I survived my [second] husband, who didn't have any kids. I have a home here and all my life has been connected to Israel. I would love to stay here."
However, official documents seen by Sputnik show that governmental bodies deny her that right, citing that she no longer has a "patron", an Israeli citizen, who would vouch for her.
In the absence of such, her plight for citizenship is out of question and that means that the basic rights given to citizens are out of reach for her too.
"I need an Israeli citizenship to be able to move freely, to receive medical treatment, to be able to go to court and to have other basic rights. I cannot go back to Lebanon, and not only because of its economic and political woes. But also because my home is here in Israel and I would like to spend the rest of my life here."
