I grew up idolizing my aunt, a fierce journalist with an unyielding pen at L’Orient-Le-Jour, one of the few surviving newspapers in Lebanon that still commands respect and influence. When cancer claimed her life, it struck a devastating blow.
My aunt died.
Though it was not the same cancer ravaging my beloved country, both are merciless, both steal lives. But this time, I refuse to lose. We refuse to lose. The Lebanese people will not let our cherished homeland perish. We have faced many threats before, 16 times, in fact, and emerged victorious and free. My country has fought for freedom time and again, and we will rise from the ashes once more. We will overcome this challenge, just as we have always done. The spirit of Lebanon is unyielding and resilient. It thrives within its people, their extraordinary talents, and the rich tapestry of its culture, its food, its stories, its artists and filmmakers, its historians. Just like my aunt, who wielded her pen with unwavering strength and inspired me in so many different ways, we refuse to let adversity define us. This spirit will endure, an indomitable force that cannot be extinguished, we will fight off this cancer.
ACTOR, COMEDIAN, WRITER, MUSICIAN AND PRODUCER GEORGES KHABBAZ.
FILM DIRECTOR ELIE FAHED.
WRITER RAJA FARAH, KNOWN AS ‘OH MY HAPPINESS’.
FASHION HISTORIAN AND WRITER JOE CHALLITA.
FOUNDER OF THE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION ‘THE SLOW FACTORY’, CELINE SEMAAN.
VISUAL ARTIST CHEB GADO.
LAW PROFESSOR AND AUTHOR KHALED BEYDOUN.
PHOTOGRAPHER & VISUAL ARTIST RAGHED WAKED.
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