Photos Nada Merhi.
On Monday night, Martyrs Square donned its festive attire. For a few hours, this hub of the protest movement was turned into a haven of peace, conviviality and solidarity. Close to a thousand guests -people from underprivileged backgrounds-, were expected to attend this festive and merry Christmas dinner.
From 3 p.m., some 400 volunteers from all ages, were busy setting up and decorating wooden tables. The latter were set close to hte Christmas tree, the decoration of which brings to mind the highlights as well as the key initiatives of the popular protest movement that started on October 17. On one of the tables, volunteers sorted flowers before putting them into glass bottles in place of vases. Others are placing candles in glass jars. Further away, in a tent-kitchen, a group of volunteers is pouring water and jellab (a traditional Lebanese syrup) into jugs which then make their way to the tables. Next to them, a group of young people are unpacking stainless steel plates and removing their labels before handing them to the team taking care of washing the dishes.
"I would like some volunteers to carry the chairs”, shouts one of the people in charge. In less than a quarter of an hour, a thousand chairs were aligned around the tables. Nour and Sarah, both 13 years old, are cleaning the chairs. They came with their mothers. "I am proud to be taking part in this event, because we are doing some good to people who live differently than we do”, says Nour. "It's very joyful”, added Sarah. “And it's also beautiful, because we can see that so many people have come to help.”
Giving joy to others
Asma Andraos, an event specialist, is the person behind this inspiring initiative. She explains that the idea itself is the embodiment of what Christmas is all about: sharing. "But the idea was mainly born from statistics that show that half of the Lebanese people are no longer getting enough to eat”, she said. Andraos, along with her family and friends came together in order to organize this event. They call themselves "the aunts from Lebanon". They created a communal fund using donated money that was "initially intended to buy gifts and prepare Christmas meals". “This year, our families have decided to limit the amount of gifts we would give our children, and to enjoy a simpler meal. We have the luxury of being able to live well. We have decided to use this money to make other people happy. People who do not have the same advantages that we have", said Andraos. Part of this communal money was also used to distribute 250 food parcels to the most underprivileged regions of Tripoli: Bab el-Tebbaneh, hay el-Tanak (the tin district), and hay el-Mankoubine (the victims’ district). Each box contained enough to feed a family of five or six people for one month, says Asma Andraos. “We bought the provisions from suppliers in North Lebanon. In addition, we also wanted to organize a full-fledged diner in Beirut, where people could sit and be served.”
The call was made via WhatsApp and the response from people was "extraordinary". "We needed 150 volunteers, we ended up getting 400”, says Asma Andraos. The preparations took almost a month, and many people offered to supply vital components such as flowers, tables, chairs, and more. "With the help of the NGO Regenerate Lebanon, we provided funding for stainless steel plates, glasses and cutlery that can be reused for other events at Martyrs Square”, Andraos says. The dessert plates are biodegradable. The Christmas logs were ordered from Acsauvel, and the dishes were prepared by Tawlet.
"We have decided to use individual plates that the volunteers would then serve up”, said Kamal Muzawak, founder of Souk el-Tayeb and Tawlet. "Because it is not only a matter of only offering food, but also of taking care of these people”, he continues. “We had to also be realistic, because we don't have a real kitchen onsite. Therefore, it was decided to serve the guests chicken frikeh, accompanied by vegetables, and for dessert, a Christmas log and clementines, and for drinks, we opted for jellab.”
The dishes were prepared on Monday by four women from Tawlet Ammiq. A total of 110 kilos of frikeh were cooked, along with 70 kilos of chestnuts, 50 kilos of potatoes, 50 more of carrots and onions, and 1,050 chicken thighs.
Social unity
Shortly before 6 p.m., the guests, who had heard about the event from social networks or NGOs, began to flock to the Square, where Christmas carols were being played. Humbly and respectfully, the guests never stopped praising the organizers. On the kitchen side, the women opened-up the celebration with a concert of pots and pans before starting to fill up the plates. "The only way we can help is to bring joy to the poorest people", says Claude, one of the volunteers. "The atmosphere tonight is different from that of the previous days", she adds. “These are small gestures which when multiplied can move mountains”.
For Shirine, this "generous initiative is part of the creative and altruistic spirit of the Lebanese people that we have seemingly overlooked until now". Davina, who came from Madrid to spend her vacation in Lebanon, is delighted: "It is so beautiful and very well organized. The Lebanese are fantastic people."
Celine, who has not left the protest square since October 17, says that in this area, "we are experiencing the true Christmas spirit". "If this revolution has taught us only one thing, it is that in Lebanon, there are many more needy people than we could have imagined”, says Nicole. The revolution also brought us together so that we can help one another”. Finally, Roula stressed that: "This revolution is a great lesson in social unity."
(This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 24th of December)
