Shocking testimonies of Lebanese in Cyprus: "I do not look back…" (pics)

"I do not look back. "I know I exhausted every choice in Lebanon," said Pierre Sarkis, 35, who moved to Cyprus after the Beirut bombings and the financial crisis that followed.

According to an Al Jazeera report, Sarkis is among 77,000 Lebanese who fled the country last year. About 12,000 moved to Cyprus, with 70% of them being between the ages of 25 and 40.

Some chose to make the perilous voyage by sea to Cyprus and other European countries. A Lebanese refugee in Cyprus, who asked not to be named, told Al Jazeera that he and his family took the risk because he could no longer afford the basic expenses for his children.

Sarkis, who worked for a sales company in his home country before losing his job, was the last of his friends to leave Lebanon. It survived even after a catastrophic explosion in the port of Beirut that killed more than 200 people, injured another 6.500 and destroyed many neighborhoods in the Lebanese capital.

But Sarkis said the electricity and fuel crisis last year was the last straw.

"When I could not even do a job interview because of all the power outages or go to a meeting because of the petrol crisis, I knew this door was locked. And when we did not have electricity for a whole 24 hours and I had to throw everything that thawed in my freezer, I said to myself "that was it".

The 35-year-old had to sell his car and other belongings to move to Cyprus. He managed to come easily because one of his grandparents had a Cypriot passport.

While many young Lebanese living in Cyprus visit their families for the holidays, they do so with mixed feelings.

Among them is 22-year-old Karim Abou Jamra, who left Lebanon four years ago to study in Cyprus. He always expected to return home and work in the family business, but now he has second thoughts due to the financial crisis.

"I was depressed when it all happened as if I had lost someone," said Abou Jamra. "Maybe in the future, if things improve, I will try again, but at the moment there is nothing."

The 22-year-old grabs his bag and walks to the terminal. He misses his family, but "this time is different," he said. He shows a tattoo of the map of Cyprus on his hand as he stands up. "I wish I could live a life in Lebanon, I really liked this place."

As for Sarkis, he is expecting his older brother and their mother in Cyprus in January. He is also waiting for his fiancée and commits to start a new chapter with her on the island. "I am 35 years old and I think I will live to be 70," he said with a laugh. "I lived half my life in Lebanon, but after all that, I think I have the right to live the other half somewhere better."