From Raouche Shores in Beirut
Report and pictures by Elia Nasrallah
Translation by Mary Yahchouchy
From the wounded heart of Beirut, and from the shores of Raouche, they wanted change and insisted, even with small initiatives, to restore the beautiful face of Lebanon. The beating heart of society, young men and women keen, despite economic and social hardships, to work towards a better country. The type of change this time is different and forgotten in a country like Lebanon, just like in most of the Middle East, where deepening crises are raging and causing its residents to forget the need to care for their “common home,” but in a pained environment, is anyone listening?
On what was supposed to be just another day for Lebanese people immersed in daily worries, a group of young people wanted to simply assume their responsibility towards the environment and the duty to protect it from human aggression. They headed to Raouche shores in Beirut, defying the scorching sun and insisting on carrying out their rescue mission.
In details, the beach cleaning campaign was carried out last Saturday on September 18, 2021, under the auspices of the Middle East Council of Churches, the organization of the Youth and Students for Peace Organization, the Lebanese Scout Association, and the Jerusalem See, Lebanon and the Near East, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Our Lady and Saint Mark the Apostle in Lebanon. The main objective was to protect the environment and enhance environmental awareness among participants and perhaps everyone else in the region.
We stand among young participants, waiting for the whistle, to see their enthusiasm and drive to work together and achieve environmental change, positively affecting their lives in the long run.
It was half past eight in the morning, and everyone was ready for an adventure. First, the Middle East Regional President for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), the Youth and Students for Peace (YSP), Mr. Umberto Angelucci welcomed the participants, praising the importance of working together for peace and preserving the beauty of the environment.
Angelucci expressed how astonishing the Raouche Rock is, saying: “I have visited this unique place many times. It was supposed to be a symbol of peace and beauty, and today we work on saving it since it doesn’t look the same anymore. With initiatives like ours, we can spread hope throughout the country.”
First, participants headed to the beach, in front of the Raouche Rock. They were divided into different groups and started their program with an icebreaker game, important to help them get acquainted and motivate them to work as one to get the job done. But why are these activities important? How much is the environmental concept clear to the youth compared to their excitement?
Ms. Yolla Massaad and her husband Mr. Jongin Park
In an interview with Ms. Yolla Massaad and her husband, Mr. Jongin Park, both officials in the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, they stressed the importance of the campaign by saying: "We have to learn to love nature in order to unite with it. Lebanon lacks environmental education and habits and most citizens have not yet realized the value of the environment. We meet today, from different organizations to learn how to collect waste to preserve the environment and to revive environmental habits in our societies.”
They continued, hopeful: "This work is a symbol of Beirut's vitality. What distinguishes this initiative is that its main goal is to restore the beautiful face of this site. Therefore, we must make additional efforts to protect the environment, currently facing many crises, hoping societies would continue taking care of it."
What is the importance of youth participation in this campaign? Park and his wife answered: "Young people are the future of the country, and it is necessary for them to understand the seriousness of environmental pollution. Through such initiatives, they work to live in a clean environment, especially since the environmental concept has yet to be established in Eastern societies."
This environmental activity came within the framework of the "Season of Creation". Jongin and Yolla considered that the project "is very important, especially in the Middle East, where we lack the environmental education that exists in European countries and the United States, for example... So we must continue to work not only in Lebanon, but rather in the whole world, where the environment faces great danger.” They added: "Nature is a mother. It is an extension of us and we have to see it with a beautiful perspective. When we care for it, we can communicate with God the Creator and with ourselves."
We wander around the beach and contemplate the beauty of the Raouche Rock floating in the sea, feeling sorry for what some harmful human actions did. On the other hand, a glimmer of hope is embodied in the determination and dynamism of the youth. Gloves and bags were distributed to begin the cleaning process, and they spread all over the place, collecting discarded waste to be moved in the final stage to trash containers, with no complaints.
The campaign aimed not only to clean up the beach, as the Vice President of the Middle Eastern region of International Association of Youth and Students for Peace and Doctor Sarah Abdel Moumen pointed out: “Raising environmental awareness for us as participants but also for citizens who witnessed this initiative. The Middle East needs this initiative, especially at the level of families and schools.” She added: “The young people participating today are sharing a positive experience as they see what they’re doing as an achievement that may teach them many lessons for their future families." As part of the celebration of the "Season of Creation", she pointed out that "caring for the environment is part of our faith, especially since the environment is a gift from God to all of us, and our responsibility as people lies in taking care of it, but unfortunately the environmental concept is not clear today, especially among young people. I hope this campaign will pave the way for future activities.”
In turn, Mona Yammout, in charge of the Red Branch of Girls scout in the main center of the Lebanese Scout Association in Hamra, stressed the need to raise awareness in communities, especially in Lebanon, saying: "We work together as youth to protect Lebanon and face the wave of pollution that distorts its environmental wealth. While citizens worry about their daily problems, we, as young people, can take steps, no matter how small, to make a difference.”
“As Scouts, we carry out many environmental activities such as hiking in mountainous areas to get to know the sites and clean some of them in coordination with the municipalities, in addition to afforestation campaigns that take a long time and require greater organization..." Noting that the Scout is environmentally friendly and loves nature.
The campaign also carries spiritual meanings that may motivate believers to protect their "common home". From here, Maryam Chehadeh, a young woman from Egyptian origins in charge of youth groups in the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon, pointed out that this campaign “helps realize that God has given us many blessings, but we don’t take care of them. We must not forget the beautiful blessings He bestowed upon us, and therefore, it is our duty to preserve and protect it."
She added with grief: "We are partially the reason of environmental pollution because sometimes we act lazy in our dealings with the environment. This campaign pushes young people to take responsibility, for God has presented the homeland in a very beautiful way. We should not neglect it and its environment." "I thank the Middle East Council of Churches for launching the Season of Creation project in the East, because it has motivated us to carry out initiatives that contribute to reaping tangible results," she added.
The campaign program was not limited to cleaning the beach, it also included a boat cruise around the Raouche Rock, where we had the opportunity to enjoy the most beautiful views of Lebanon's water wealth. During the tour, the joy of the participants was apparent, their smiles never left their faces. They took a lot of pictures and learned about Lebanon's water treasures as part of the environmental culture that must be inculcated alongside the necessary awareness-raising.
With this cruise, the Raouche shores cleaning campaign program ended. Young participants took home valuable lessons they would pass on from one generation to the next, not to mention the beautiful memories they created.
At the end of the journey, participants indicated that the campaign program exceeded their expectations. They expressed their joy for the success of the project, especially since they contributed, no matter how small their contribution was, to restoring the beautiful face of Lebanon, stressing that change begins with each individual. They also expressed their desire to carry out other environmental activities, praising the importance of working together in teams and the new friendships that were born during the activity. They called on people not to throw waste in the streets, but instead sort it out in their homes for recycling.
Communication and Public Relations Department
