Sarkis, a carpenter living in the former Zgharta, will vote for Michel Moawad on May 15. Tempted by civil society, he prefers to give his voice "to a heavyweight rather than to another team which risks not passing." (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Samer Karam does not have a minute for himself. Here, in his print shop nestled in the main road in downtown Zgharta, he is multitasking.“My father is a Karam. My mother is a Dweihi. I am 100 percent Zghartawi,” he proudly said, as he placed portraits of the Holy Mary on his table, freshly pulled out from the printer.The 20-year-old boasts about his direct line of descent with the district’s hero Youssef Bey Karam, a Maronite leader who became a symbol of the fight for Lebanon’s independence from the Ottomans in the 19th century. “Without him, there would be no Christians, no churches, [Lebanon] would have been a Muslim country,” he said.In the main square where his store is located, portraits of incumbent Member of Parliament Tony Frangieh are posted on the palm trees that separate the two lanes. “Zgharta needs its own men,” reads the...
Samer Karam does not have a minute for himself. Here, in his print shop nestled in the main road in downtown Zgharta, he is multitasking.“My father is a Karam. My mother is a Dweihi. I am 100 percent Zghartawi,” he proudly said, as he placed portraits of the Holy Mary on his table, freshly pulled out from the printer.The 20-year-old boasts about his direct line of descent with the district’s hero Youssef Bey Karam, a Maronite leader who became a symbol of the fight for Lebanon’s independence from the Ottomans in the 19th century. “Without him, there would be no Christians, no churches, [Lebanon] would have been a Muslim country,” he said.In the main square where his store is located, portraits of incumbent Member of Parliament Tony Frangieh are posted on the palm trees that separate the two lanes. “Zgharta needs its own...