Dear friends of Lebanon,

I write to you from an apartment in Beirut, with a direct view of the port; our new ground zero. We are on our fourth day of a symphony that was never meant to be composed: glass continues to break and be swept, cries continue to scream, yells continue to echo our streets, bullets continue to riddle the air with funerals of our loved ones. Amidst this harmony, silence is our melody.

Let me tell you how to read and understand the musical score of this breaking point in our history.

Do you hear and feel the fast-paced arpeggios? They are tremors of activism. The citizens of this country are in 24/7 emergency response mode, making sure that not one of us is left behind. They are a national demonstration of collective swiftness, agility, and incredible readiness for this war against humanity. Our people are working tirelessly with their bare hands and exposed hearts. Non-for-profits, civil movements, youth groups, and grassroots initiatives have all taken charge. Families are helping loved ones and strangers safely leave their homes, bolting the doors for a clean-up post a forced displacement with a schedule unknown. Their names are ferociousness, love, anger, commitment, and empathy; all musical notes of a national decision to create value when all has been destroyed.

Volunteerism has become the centerpiece of our new pledge to citizenship. Kuluna lil watan begins with kelna ya’ani kelna. That is your center of gravity for your investments and aid into this country. What you are witnessing are the incredible skills, capabilities, and capacities of what it means to be Lebanese. This generous talent and generosity are unequivocal. They are the youth, the women, the men, who without them, there could be no pride and hope in being Lebanese today. Every single citizen of this mighty army must be accounted for and must receive monthly salaries, endowments, and seed capital so that they can move from being short-term emergency respondents to sustainable nation-builders. They are the keys for real positive impact to also become a multiplied return on investment.