Amid protests that have erupted across the world, and in almost every corner where there is a Lebanese, even Lebanese students in the Diaspora are getting in on the action, organizing peaceful protests on their campuses in support of the Lebanese people’s demands back home.
Students have historically always been at the heart of revolutions, and have always been the revolution’s lungs and biggest support systems. Young people have always been a driving force for change, and have been at the center of major political and cultural shifts in Lebanon and the world throughout history.
And in this spirit, one of the latest organized peaceful demonstrations in support of Lebanon was the one held at the University of California, Berkeley, by its Lebanese Students Association. The university, which is ranked fifth in the world as of 2019, hosted its very first Lebanese-student protest on its premises for an incredibly valuable cause.
Describing itself as a “moral duty towards its brothers and sisters back home,” the Lebanese Students Association at Berkeley carried on with their demonstration on October 22, 2019, at Upper Sprouse Plaza in Berkeley, California.
The event, which was launched on Facebook just a few days prior to the rally, was organized in parallel to the events in Lebanon as well as the events across the world for the same cause.
This event was done in joint efforts from the Lebanese Students Association, the Middle Eastern and North African Recruitment and Retention Center (MENA RRC) and the UC Berkeley Muslim Student Association (Cal MSA).
The event’s description read as follows: “The Lebanese citizens have been living with a corrupt government, billions of dollars in debt, and have had enough. Now is our time to stand with them for support. EVERYONE IS WELCOME! Let’s stand in solidarity with our friends, families, and the people back in Lebanon! Get your flags, make posters, and spread the word. We will be meeting on Upper Sproul to demonstrate that support. Yalla let’s do this!”
Lebanon is strong in the unity of the voices that its people are propagating from every corner of the world this week. As Lebanese students continue to form major parts of the demonstrations across Lebanon and continue to refuse to attend university in order to protest, their minds and hearts are most definitely in the right place.
