I attended Beirut University majoring in English Literature and Radio/TV. I took Drama and found my way onto the stage, and loved it.

Lebanon welcomed Palestinian refugees years before when they were ousted from what is now Israel, and a large number lived in a camp in the Beirut. The Israeli attack on that camp in 1975 set off a Civil War.

In the fall 1975, my parents, sister and I flew to the U.S. to visit my four siblings who married and lived here. During his visit, the situation in Lebanon escalated and universities shut down. I was compelled to enroll in college here, until things settled down.

And so I was involuntarily parted from my homeland, my sweet relatives, my dear 2nd sister and her family, and all things familiar… not to return for 25+ years.