Everyone has felt homesick at some point, whether or not they've ever permanently left the place closest to their heart. Maybe it’s that shared ache that drew so many people to Yasmin Yassine’s video about her family trip.
The influencer flew to Lebanon, where her father is from, to help him reconnect with the past he left behind as a 19-year-old. Footage of him stepping into his childhood home after 46 years, and what he finds there, is quickly going viral.
Highlights
- Influencer Yasmin Yassine takes her father back to his home country 46 years after he was forced to leave
- The family enters the childhood home and finds personal objects still in perfect condition
- The vlog is being highly praised, including for its portrayal of Lebanon
- Yasmin spoke to Bored Panda via email and reflected on the impact of the journey and the documentary
“I practically cried throughout the whole video!!! I could see and feel your father's gratitude for being back in his homeland. There's no amount of money in the world that can buy that. To remember is to live,” one user wrote.
Influencer Yasmin Yassine had never visited her paternal homeland because of financial barriers
Image credits: yasyassine / Instagram
Yasmin’s father, Ahmad Yassine, was forced to leave Lebanon as a teenager due to the civil war. He relocated to São Paulo with his parents and siblings, starting over in a small, single-bedroom apartment they all shared. Through door-to-door sales work, he learned Portuguese, eventually growing professionally and meeting Yasmin’s mother.
Known for her spot-on impressions and for hosting one of Brazil’s most successful podcasts, Venus, the 29-year-old had never visited her paternal homeland due to financial constraints. “I’m going to realize my dream of getting to know my origins”, she wrote in an Instagram post announcing the trip in July 2025.
Image credits: yasyassine / Instagram
Image credits: yasyassine / Instagram
Accompanied by close and extended family, including her brother, young niece, and cousins, she traveled to Lebanon. There, they made their way to Ghazze, a small city southeast of the capital, Beirut.
“We got to visit the house where my grandparents lived and raised all their children, through much hardship and struggle,” she shared. “They lived off farming until the 1970s, when a civil war forced them to leave the country and come to Brazil.”
She added that her grandparents, Ali and Khadige, briefly returned to Lebanon in 2005, when the house was last opened.
Her father, Ahmad, hadn’t returned since fleeing Lebanon in 1979
Image credits: Venus Podcast / YouTube
Image credits: Venus Podcast / YouTube
Visibly emotional, her father kneels and kisses the ground the moment he steps through the gate of his childhood home. He begins pointing out several fruit trees in the yard, ones he had planted so many years ago.
Inside, it’s clear that little has changed since he left. In the room where they once welcomed guests, his mother’s handmade duvets are still neatly folded in the cabinet, alongside some of her favorite china.
Image credits: Venus Podcast / YouTube
In the bedroom, the bed remains unmade, with a Quran resting on top. But the most heartbreaking discovery is in the wardrobe, where Yasmin’s grandfather’s clothes are still hanging, neatly ironed, forever waiting to be worn. “He thought he’d be back one day, but he passed away here in Brazil,” she noted in a post.
Her grandfather’s clothes remained hanging, as he passed away before making it back home
Image credits: Venus Podcast / YouTube
In an email to Bored Panda, Yasmin reflected on the moment they arrived at her grandparents’ house, where her father was born, calling it a “spine-tingling” moment.
“My grandmother Khadige’s cotton and skincare products were still on the dresser,” she recalled. “It felt as if they could walk through the door at any moment.”
Image credits: Venus Podcast / YouTube
Although they came across beloved items and family heirlooms, Yasmin shared that they didn’t take anything back to Brazil. Instead, they chose to leave everything untouched, as the family plans to restore the house and make returning an annual tradition.
She described the visit as a transformative experience for the entire family and pointed to the fruit-bearing trees as a symbol that, despite the family being forced to leave, the place had not lost its life.
Viewers praised Yasmin’s support and her father’s enduring love for his homeland
Image credits: yasyassine / Instagram
The public response to Yasmin’s vlog seems to have far exceeded anything she’s experienced with past projects. Across different social media platforms, viewers have praised the way she documented the journey and highlighted her father’s deep connection to his home country.
“I felt an overwhelming need to congratulate you for giving your family something so incredible,” one person commented on the YouTube video.
“I can only imagine what it must be like for your father to live so far from his homeland, thinking he might never return, and then, almost half a century later, to go back with a family of his own and be able to show them his country. Truly touching,” another added.
Image credits: yasyassine / Instagram
Yasmin acknowledged the outpouring of love she’s received and expressed her gratitude. “It has always been our dream to give my father the chance to return to Lebanon, and ever since I started working as a presenter and content creator seven years ago, I’ve dreamed of documenting that journey on video”, she told us.
“I’m very happy with the positive response. My greatest wish is that this inspires others to seek out their own roots and origins.”
Yasmin’s portrayal of Lebanon resonated deeply with viewers, too
Image credits: yasyassine / Instagram
Image credits: yasyassine / Instagram
“Thank you for showing a side of Lebanon the media doesn’t show. What a wonderful place and family you have there!!” someone commented.
When asked whether she feels pressure to portray a version of Lebanon that goes beyond the usual narratives of “violence, war, and danger,” Yasmin emphasized that she never intended to capture anything other than what unfolded “naturally” during the trip.
“Conflicts exist,” she acknowledged, “but Lebanon is such a culturally rich and diverse country that those issues fade into the background.”
You can watch the full visit to the family home below:
Here’s what else people had to say about Yasmin’s family journey
