Lebanon

In the fall of 1966, Barbara and Samir packed their bags and headed for Beirut, intending to stay two years, before returning to the states. In reality, they stayed 14 years, with occasional sabbatical trips back to the US, two at the University of Washington, and one at University of Illinois.

In Lebanon, now with a second child, Sami, Barbara also wanted to work. Samir helped her to obtain citizenship in Lebanon, and from that point on she held dual citizenship. She busied herself with a variety of work activities. She taught in the high school, she taught in the Beirut College for Women, and she taught as a faculty member at American University of Beirut. She also taught in the medical school there, about the care of laboratory animals. After being granted citizenship, she began to practice veterinary medicine & was the only veterinarian in Beirut for the 14 years they lived there.She made house calls to care for animals that were sick or injured, in the homes of their owners. She was involved in helping a Beirut lady who rescued cats from around the city.

In 1983, as the war in Lebanon raged ever more and more fierce and dangerous, a mortar shell hit and destroyed Samir's laboratory. It was time to come back to the US.