What do you like about Lebanon? I love the diversity of Lebanon at all levels and I like the food of course! We have different faiths, different political affiliations, and a mixture of traditions (ancient and modern) in our society. I like our languages, our different social classes who find themselves in the most unlikely places in the country. What do you hate about Lebanon? Pollution, especially the loss of forests and pollution of the sea; and the highway code. In Lebanon, the forests have less than 13% of the surface area of the country versus 35% in 1965. The country is slowly being transformed into concrete forest; there is no planning so we are losing the green areas. Moreover, much of the waste is dumped at sea so that it becomes increasingly inaccessible in summer. With regards to the traffic, nothing has changed despite promises of successive governments over the past decade. The road accidents remain the leading cause of death in Lebanon! Are you involved in an association or a movement? I helped (for a short period of time) an NGO, Donner Sang Compter, that aims to raise awareness about the importance of blood donations and which has established a large database to facilitate donations to hospitals. Now I work with the Association of French-speaking journalists and help organize debates and the lauching of their website. I think it's important, nowadays, to be active in society and involved in the work of associations and movements. How do you see the future of your country? Lebanon is in the midst of a region in turmoil and it has always been a victim of circumstances whether they are political or geographical circumstances. But despite the civil wars and instability in recent years, I am optimistic and I think that Lebanon's future is bright given the will and aspirations of new generations of Lebanese youth in general. If you had to leave Lebanon, where would you want to live? If I had to leave my country, I would like to live in Jordan because it is a country that reminds me of Lebanon. There are many similarities between the two, especially with regards to values and traditions and modernity. A dream? With the approach of legislative elections in Lebanon, I dream of a "revolution" of the new generations and surprise through the ballots. I dream of elections that will lead to results based on the candidates' programs and not on their allegiances. And I dream of a televised debate between two candidates similar to Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy!
What do you think about Lebanon? Share your ideas! Designed for Mozilla Firefox, compatible Chrome and Opera. Webmaster: Trochu Jordan