BY KEITH MCGHIE
ABBAS MISKI says it is “upsetting” to see scenes of conflict in Lebanon, the country he represents at international level.
Lebanese officials estimate that more than 2,500 people have been killed in the country over the past year amid ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
More than 1.2 million people have been displaced, most of them since a significant escalation in the conflict last month.
Wigan player Miski was born and raised in Australia to Lebanese immigrants and has family living in the Middle Eastern country.
“My parents were born in Lebanon so I’ve obviously still got a lot of contacts there,” said Miski.
“It’s very sad and my parents are quite upset to see what is going on there.
“We have some relatives there and from what I know they have fled, but I’ve been there twice. It is very upsetting still.
“Those people look like me and sound like me. I see videos and think that my parents walked those streets.
“I can’t really do much but hopefully it all ends soon.”
Miski is proud of his heritage and the opportunity to represent Lebanon, for whom he has scored 13 tries in 13 appearances and helped to reach the quarter-finals of the last two World Cups.
“It was through playing for them that I got my first full-time contract,” said the winger.
“We had a good campaign in 2017 and had made the quarter-finals where we lost to Tonga, and that put me on the map and got me noticed.”
Miski joined Manly in 2019, then moved to England with Championship side London Broncos two years later, where his form earned a move to Wigan after one season.
“I only played a handful of games in the NRL and didn’t really crack it, so I played the majority of the time in the New South Wales Cup,” he said.
“I signed a one-year contract at London and tried to play as well as I could to see what comes up.
“If it hadn’t then I’d probably have made my way back to Australia.
“But midway through the year I got an offer from Wigan and when you look for a club then Wigan is probably at the top of your list.
“It’s all gone the way I wanted it to and I’m very happy about that.”
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