HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — About 500 people who trace their roots to the same small Lebanese village were gathered in Huntington for the 50th annual Kfeirian reunion. ‘This reunion is to bring our young together so they can respect their heritage,’ Sol Steffan, 80, of Williamson, said Saturday. Steffan, a retired shoe store owner, was a founder of the reunion of descendants of Kfeir Hasbaya, a village of about 1,000 people in the shadow of Mount Hermon.

He has missed only three of the events in 50 years. This year’s reunion began Friday and ends Monday. ‘I was 19 when I left Lebanon for this country,’ he said. ‘It was under Turkish rule then. Those who came to this country faced enormous hardships. But I can say that the Lebanese worked hard and became honorable citizens of this great democracy.’

‘History shows that the state of Lebanon has been conquered 68 different times and they have never lost their identity. Lebanon is an innocent state. But it is a crossroads between three continents — Asia, Africa and Europe. So it is overtaken again and again.’ Although the Kfeirian Foundation which hosts the annual event does not encourage political discussion, it is inevitable — particularly with the current crisis. Many reunion participants still have family members in Lebanon. Four Kfeirians were killed and 21 injured when the Israelis routed the Palestine Liberation Organization from an encampment behind Kfeir, six miles from the Israeli border.

Money raised at this year’s reunion will go toward relief in the war-torn village. The foundation has always contributed money to Kfeir and given scholarships to Lebanese youth in both countries. Steffan said his nephew, a doctor, was working at a Beirut hospital when it was bombed, but was not injured. ‘The family is well so far, thank the Lord,’ he said.