Lebanese worldwide fear for their homeland, people as violence intensifies

It was a year ago when Jomana Siddiqui visited Lebanon, where her father was born and is now buried. She planned to return there soon; this time, she thought, she would take her two teenage daughters.

Instead, Siddiqui, who lives in California, now worries about relatives there. As she watches from afar the violence and the recent escalation in Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Siddiqui thinks about the people she met during her visit, the kindness and generosity she encountered.

She thinks about her father's grave when, or if, she will get to visit it again. Her voice cracks with emotions. It's been gut-wrenching, she said.

It's like the universal story of the Lebanese people, she said. They have to keep leaving and not knowing when they can come back.

From the United States to South Africa, Cyprus, Brazil and beyond, many members of Lebanon's far-flung and large diaspora are contending with the ripples of the violence grieving, gripped by fear for loved