A Window of Hope for Peace

To build peace inside chronic discord, Rabih Omar created a space in which to rediscover the ties that bind. Motivated by the violence afflicting Tripoli’s suburbs, Omar recalls, “I realized that the majority of their people do not accept the situation and that they actually have so many good things in common.” So with fellow activist Bilal Ayoubi, he sought a framework in which to give youth the tools to enable them to increase the peace: “to push them towards educating themselves to create their own way to stand up against violence in an unusual, peaceful and artistic way.”

The result was “Celebrating Together”, a three-day getaway that brought 34 girls and boys from Tebbeneh and Jebel Mohsen, communities long uneasy with one another, “far away from the negative vibes of their own neighbors”, to discover and share Lebanon’s richness. Along the way, participants completed workshops in “Peace Building”, “Social Media” and “Artistic Bodily Expression“–and as they shared their fears, “a window of hope and respect” opened among them.