DEMAC launches report on "Diaspora Humanitarian Engagement in Lebanon".

When the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in late September 2024, Lebanon was once again thrust into turmoil. The airstrikes that struck densely populated areas, along with ground incursions in the country’s south, left behind a devastating toll: over 4,000 lives lost, more than 16,000 injured, and 1.5 million people displaced within weeks. In a country already grappling with a prolonged economic crisis, the humanitarian needs quickly became overwhelming.

By the time the ceasefire came into effect on November 27, 2024, the situation had already spiraled into one of the largest internal displacements in Lebanon’s recent history. Yet the end of active fighting did not mark the end of suffering. As nearly 800,000 people began returning to their communities, they found homes uninhabitable and essential services out of reach.

As the dust settled and a fragile ceasefire took hold in late November, another force quietly began to rise again: the Lebanese diaspora.

 

Real-Time Study in 2024 and 2025: Understanding the Response of the Lebanese Diaspora

This Real-Time Review (RTR), covering the period from September 2024 to February 2025, offers a window into how the Lebanese diaspora mobilised rapidly to deliver aid and support recovery efforts. Through extensive research and interviews, it tells the story of a community scattered across the globe but united by deep ties to home - and a profound sense of responsibility.

To capture this effort, the RTR followed a two-step approach: first, mapping 140 diaspora-led initiatives identified through global desk research; and second, conducting in-depth interviews with 21 organisations, both in the diaspora and inside Lebanon, to understand how they operated, collaborated, and adapted.

A global network awakens

The Lebanese diaspora is one of the largest in the world. An estimated 15.4 million people of Lebanese descent live outside the country - more than double the population within its borders. For decades, the diaspora has played a pivotal role in Lebanon’s survival, from sending remittances that comprised over half the country’s GDP in 2021, to stepping in during crises such as the 2020 Beirut port explosion and the COVID-19 pandemic.

But this time, the mobilisation was both immediate and widespread. Hundreds of small fundraising campaigns sprang up online. Volunteer networks began collecting food, medical supplies, and blankets.

 Organisations that had emerged during Lebanon’s post-2019 crises shifted focus and scaled up. Older, more established diaspora NGOs activated their response protocols and started coordinating with local partners.

Grassroots Power: Passion and Fragmentation

One of the study’s most striking findings was the sheer energy and responsiveness of the diaspora - but also the high degree of fragmentation.

Most initiatives were grassroots in nature - volunteer-driven, informally structured, and short-term. Based largely in Europe and North America, these groups focused on delivering immediate relief: food parcels, hygiene kits, and cash assistance. Many campaigns were launched within tight-knit communities - friends, families, diaspora student groups - and often operated in isolation, unaware of parallel efforts.

Despite their passion, these groups faced real challenges: limited capacity, lack of coordination, and difficulties navigating the bureaucratic and logistical landscape of aid delivery in Lebanon.

Old Hands and New Players: Evolving Diaspora Ecosystems

Alongside these emerging volunteer networks were longer-standing diaspora organisations - NGOs and professional associations that had weathered past crises and built more robust structures.

The RTR observed a growing distinction between these two types of diaspora actors. The newer organisations brought energy, innovation, and direct engagement with communities. The older ones offered experience, established donor relationships, and broader development mandates.

What was clear across both types was a shared drive to “do something” - to not wait for formal mechanisms to catch up but to act, swiftly and directly.

Working across worlds: Diaspora and local civil society

The study also revealed how diaspora groups were collaborating - or in some cases, struggling to collaborate - with Lebanese civil society organisations (CSOs) on the ground.

Some Lebanese CSOs, particularly those that formed after the 2006–07 conflict, were highly professionalised and integrated into national coordination systems. However, they often lacked meaningful relationships with diaspora actors.

Conversely, older CSOs had long-standing diaspora ties but were less visible in current humanitarian coordination forums and sometimes struggled to adapt to the fast-evolving needs of the current crisis.

Bridging this gap remains one of the most important opportunities for future response.

Tapping into untapped potential

The Real-Time Review underscores what many in the humanitarian sector have long suspected: the diaspora is not only a financial lifeline for Lebanon - it is a reservoir of knowledge, skills, and solidarity.

Yet, to harness this potential more effectively, there needs to be greater investment in coordination platforms, capacity building for new actors, and spaces that allow diaspora organisations and Lebanese CSOs to meet, plan, and co-create sustainable responses.

DEMAC and the Danish Refugee Council give their thanks to the members of Lebanese diaspora communities across the world, together with the representatives of donors, NGOs, and all other actors who supported this Real-Time Review (RTR), providing information and sharing their valuable knowledge and experiences.

This Real-Time Review is made possible by the generous support of The H2H Network, funded by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom. The contents and opinions expressed in this report should not be attributed to and do not represent the views of DEMAC, H2H Network, or FCDO.

 

Photo Credits: DRC Lebanon, Shutterstock