For expatriates, returning home is bittersweet

Four missed calls are displayed on Leila’s* phone screen. She is in her 50s and well-dressed for the occasion. Her mother, impatient, keeps bombarding her with phone calls.“The plane hasn’t landed yet, mama,” Leila tells her on the phone, while her husband, next to her, laughs at the situation.It has been more than 20 years since Leila’s son — now a resident of Canada — packed his bags and left the country.After an absence of four years, he is visiting. But he is not coming back alone.“This is the first time we are going to meet his girlfriend,” Leila says laughing.“We talk to her through Zoom, I have already taught her how to make Lebanese dishes.’Leila’s daughter, who is used to visiting Lebanon every year, is also back for the holidays.For the winter season, Lebanon expects 600,000 holidaymakers, 25 percent of whom are expected to be...