...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers..., oftentimes praised and recognized internationally. With the decadence of the educational sector - among other sectors and industries - the youth are realizing that the degrees they hold have lost their original value. This class owns directly certain universities and controls others; they used these institutions as a platform to disseminate their ideas and for twisted forms of manipulation and brainwashing. Over time, this same political class who designed and implemented policies that nurtured needs among the youth, is now fulfilling those needs by taking advantage and creating dependencies through financial aids and employment often leading to distorted voting. At the present time, the youth can hardly pursue their studies abroad with de facto and discretionary capital controls disabling money transfers for education purposes and clipping students’ wings for a brighter future and international exposure. Students outside Lebanon were the only hope and catalyst for change away from nurturing the inbreeding system.By the same token, this wrecked country lost its competitive advantage and its Middle Eastern positioning in banking, hospitality, and healthcare. From a macro-economic standpoint, the gross domestic product could shrink by as much as 45 percent in 2020. As for unemployment, encompassing underemployment and discouraged workers, it is expected to surge beyond 60 percent.
The brand of Lebanon, its people, its youth, and forthcoming generations may not be restored. There is an imminent need to rebrand Lebanon. The youth — who are the present before the future - are left with a substantial weight: an identity that might be closer to a burden rather than an asset, a reputational issue hindering socio-professional advancement, and a collateral psychological damage for years and generations to come.
The youth and the Diaspora (estimated at more than three times the size of the population as per Rethinking Lebanon3) are witnessing diminishing bargaining power in various aspects of life: salary negotiations, access to rent, professional promotions, and more.
The world used to be fond of the Lebanese for their aura and its connotations to hard work, resilience, prosperity, creativity, refined taste, arts, and cultural wealth. Today, the world meets a young Lebanese person only to realize that this smashed nation still has significant value to offer.
The youth have been deprived for very long from accessing leadership and decision-making positions meritocratically because of wastacracy4. Despite every young man and woman’s hard work, wasta seems to secure the way up the social and professional ladder. Additionally, The Lebanese independent and qualified youth have been silenced by some incompetent gerontocrats who took the reins of the economy and politics towards utter breakdown.
The role of the Lebanese youth is of utmost importance. Despite being oppressed and taken hostage by their own decision makers, they strived to fulfill their duties and responsibilities.
The international community would be collaborating to the crime of the ruling class if supported by any means. This class isolated Lebanon from the world and can neither be nurtured nor be offered another opportunity to recreate itself out of the misery it has generated. Any individual or organization whether in Lebanon or abroad who gives power or defends the corrupt regime is either taking advantage of it or has already done so.
The prevalent political class requires a surgical oncologist who would not only remove the tumor but removes nearby tissues as well. The youth must lobby internationally leveraging the Diaspora, fellows from global university alumni, and other driving forces to take charge of politics and the economy. The lobbying must generate a completely new, decent, competent, and sovereign group to rethink Lebanon, rebrand it, and position it again competitively on the global and regional map.