- Laura Jardine Paterson began running a tech company in Lebanon full-time in 2021.
- But she left on October 2 amid the escalating airstrikes heeding the UK government's calls for nationals to leave.
- She said tech workers there want to keep working to distract themselves.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Laura Jardine Paterson, CEO of a web development company operating in Lebanon. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I first went to Lebanon in 2017 on a holiday with my best mate.
I vividly remember lying in bed on the first night and thinking, "This is the best place in the world." I'd never been to a place where everyone was so generous, especially compared to London, where people are super cold.
I returned to Lebanon in 2019 to volunteer in a refugee camp as a 26-year-old. I then got a job for an NGO that taught programming to marginalized youth. It exposed me to the amount of tech talent in the region.
I met two refugees in Lebanon, a Palestinian girl and a Syrian guy, and together, we started a company called CONCAT. The aim was to connect the two of them with friends back in Europe and the UK who needed web developers.
Very quickly, it became a bigger project, bringing work to developers in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, with a focus on female and refugee developers. I've worked as the CEO full-time since 2021, spending roughly nine or 10 months a year in Lebanon.
But on October 2, I left Lebanon on a chartered flight for British nationals to escape the escalating violence.
I felt guilty about leaving my team behind, but I'm determined to keep platforming tech talent in Lebanon and support the people who want to keep working.
I hope to return to Lebanon as soon as it's safe, but I don't know when that will be.
Many people don't know Lebanon has a vibrant tech scene
In recent years, the tech sector in Lebanon has been booming.
Tech workers in Lebanon are often employed remotely for companies in the UAE, where there is a demand for Arabic speakers, or in Europe. There's so much talent. Pretty much all the university students I meet are studying computer science or engineering, and many are women.
There's an incredible community. So many people have helped me build CONCAT and welcomed me into the industry.
There have been some difficulties with running a business here.
Instability in Lebanon, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the Beirut fertilizer plant explosion, has taken a toll on our team's mental health. In the past, we've also had problems with accessing electricity and 3G.
CONCAT has a team of 10 full-timers, and we've worked with around 150 clients from across the globe. Earlier this year, we launched a recruitment arm that vets talent and has matched around 20 workers to companies.
Israeli attacks in Lebanon spiraled at a terrifying rate
In Lebanon, there was a lot of solidarity with Palestinians after the October 7 attack. Several people I spoke to at that time were referencing the 2006 war, where Israel invaded Lebanon. But I don't think people generally expected them to come for us this time — until the pager attack on September 17.
I was at the gym in downtown Beirut when I heard sirens everywhere. At the end of my gym session, I looked at my phone and realized there'd been an attack.
During my time in Lebanon, the country has been through multiple crises. There's always subconscious suspense because of these events.
I cycled home and there were ambulances everywhere. When I got home, I had missed calls from my team and others, wondering if I was OK. I instantly checked in with my whole team.
After that, everything spiraled at a super terrifying rate. Airstrikes in southern Lebanon became more intense and eventually made their way to Beirut, where I stayed throughout my time in Lebanon. Now, there's been a ground offensive.
The airstrikes were traumatizing, but I didn't feel like my life was in danger. My No. 1 worry each evening, as airstrikes would begin, was for the team, their families, and their safety.
On multiple occasions, I'd leave Beirut to stay with friends in the mountains during the night. I still could hear the bombing all night long. The first thing I'd do was check where they'd hit and see if everyone on my team and my friends were OK.
I'm yet to receive bad news about any of my friends, but I'm very worried.
I decided to leave Lebanon but feel guilty about leaving my team behind
Managing my team during this time has probably been the hardest thing I've had to do in my career. I don't think any of us in the team expected things to escalate this quickly.
Our team has always worked remotely, some from refugee camps or poor towns, and we're still functioning remotely now.
In a team call, one of our developers said her best friend was under the rubble with her family after an airstrike in Southern Lebanon. She was waiting to see if they were alive or not.
My eyes filled with tears, and I had no idea what to say.
I've been trying to maintain a strong sense of humanity, telling my team to take time off whenever they want, but everyone said, "No. we've got to keep working. We can't let them win or stop our lives."
I didn't want to leave Lebanon and my team, but the UK government were urging British nationals to leave. My parents were also worried, they said if the UK sent an evacuation plane, I should get on it.
On October 2, I got on a chartered flight back to the UK.
The people of Lebanon are determined to keep living their lives
Now I'm back in the UK, I'm still checking the news every five minutes, but I can think more clearly and continue promoting the talent that exists in Lebanon.
I've been touching base with business leaders and activists and thinking about how to bring in more projects.
The whole company is working as hard as ever. We have plans in place for paying team members in the event that the banks shut down and have made sure everyone on the team has backup power sources.
I've had to make these kinds of plans since day one of being a CEO in Lebanon. The country has been struggling with electricity and banking for years, so I'm used to it.
I want to return to Lebanon as soon as it's safe. I hope this conflict won't affect Lebanon's tech scene too much and that countries will continue to hire from Lebanon, and not be put off by the media.
One of our main developers has been asking for more work to have something to distract her. Those who have been displaced are now looking for new opportunities, and people who are still in their homes or have moved to safer areas want to keep working.
They've been forced to be resilient, and they want to move forward no matter what.
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