Conflict in Lebanon has spiraled at a terrifying pace. I’m a tech founder who’s had to leave the country, but I’m determined to go back. [Video]

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 Tech. The aim was to connect the two of them with friends back in Europe and …