Beirut Notebook: An escape that brought me even closer to reality

BEIRUT: As a student, there is nothing more overbearing than the stress and pressure of finals week, thus eagerly dropping the last speck of ink on my last exam sheet pushed me to flee to the mountainous town of Baalbek as a getaway, while taking refuge in the cozy corridors of my cousin’s house.

Many could imagine the reason behind my flee from the nation’s capital: Beirut’s accumulated grind of traffic, coupled with the disheartening and overwhelmingly growing prevalence of Syrian beggars on the streets was a sight which was too heavy on the eyes.

Or so I thought.

In the beginning, the experience was indescribable; experiencing the different flavors of the town throughout, jumping from one ice cream shake to the next while enjoying sleepless nights filled with the wonders of cinema, be them at home or at the theater.

Personal satisfaction reached an all-time high, while the woes and conundrums of the big city looked small through my rear view mirror, as I drove along the classical monuments of my ancestors and the eons that came before.

Days passed, the excitement shrunk, the ice cream lost its flavor and my sleepless nights had become numbered. In a vague attempt of filling my time, my cousin stepped up a convincing argument to join her NGO called the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST).

An ordinary person my age wouldn’t be fascinated by my cousin’s request since they would be chasing after life’s delightful pleasures, rather than getting up at seven in the morning to hit the road and in a frail attempt to end poverty and injustice in which we, millennials, are known for.

But this has always triggered a sort of fancy.

LOST works with people, especially women and youth, to create a more evolved and equitable society by eradicating poverty and exclusion, while giving birth to a comforting culture of peace. In addition, Basic Literacy and Numeracy (BLN); a program that has been established in conjunction with LOST and UNICEF, seeks to instruct refugees particularly Syrians, Arabic, French and Math studies.

Encountering new places and events such as the work environment goose fleshed me, pushing me to visit the refugee center hosted by the NGO on the students’ final exam period. While the children seemed to be rather noisy, there can always be one that shines apart from the rest, and there was one that headed the class with his wit early sparks of intellect.

One might forget when looking to these refugees that regardless of walking barefoot with ripped clothes, coupled with being unhygienic, most of them don’t even know how to write or spell out their names.

When a sight such as this hits a person, it makes the day-to-day challenge we face to be very simplistic in comparison to what people not very far away are living under. Which in turn makes someone like me rewind and notice how the useless my costly requests to my parents were over the years.

Brokenhearted, reaching home and asking my cousin how she survives dealing and observing those poor people were of my major necessities “this is real life my dear,” she said.

On that occasion, I came to an understanding that seeking to find my peace and escaping from mendicants will not make me feel carefree and joyous knowing that my life and educational conditions were way superior than those refugees from my childhood on.

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Annahar’s "Beirut Notebook" is an ongoing series of personal essays, from our readers, citizen journalists, and our own correspondents, on their life experiences, ranging from work, travel, encounters, Lebanon living, solutions, fashion, cuisine, culture, family, tech, sport, study, and more. No politics, just Life. Send submissions to: [email protected]