Dream or Reality?

“Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to

rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial

justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice

to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all

of God's children”. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream” speech is one of the

most famous speeches of all time. His speech was about racism, but if you think

about us Lebanese people, we need this kind of speech for our poor country. I am

a citizen of Lebanon, I am a student, looking for a job, willing to build a life here

with my family and friends by my side. But could we actually live in this country?

Do we have a future here? I hope by the end of my talk you will agree that we

need to change as soon as possible. I believe that every year is getting worse than

the other for three main reasons; pollution, unemployment and poor economy.

We all heard about the pollution crisis that happened couple years ago. This

problem is getting out of hand, and yet no one is acting or trying to find a long

term solution. Lebanon’s waste crisis began in 2015 when an enormous landfill

location closed and government specialists fizzled (failed) to implement a

possible arrangement in time to replace it. The campaign group Human Rights

Watch calls it “a national health crisis”. The NGO transparency International

ranked Lebanon as the 143rd “least corrupt nation” out of 175 countries. In other

word, there are only 32 countries where corruption is worse. That was the 2017

corruptions perceptions index. You still don’t believe me that it’s an emergency?
Here are some statistics made on December 2019 of the pollution in Lebanon: Air

pollution 77.21 (high), Drinking water pollution and inaccessibility 71.22(high),

Dissatisfaction with garbage disposal 84.56(very high), Dirty and untidy 71.03

(high), Noise and light pollution 63.97 (high), Water pollution 79.02 (high),

Dissatisfaction to spend time in the city 70.74 (high) and Dissatisfaction with

green parks in the city 81.40 (very high). Meanwhile, the purity and cleanliness of

our country is very bad: Air quality 22.70 (low), Drinking water quality and

accessibility 28.78 (low), Garbage Disposal satisfaction 15.44 (very low), clean

and tidy 28.97 (low), Quiet and no problem with night lights 36.03 (low), Water

quality 20.98 (low), comfortable to spend time in the city 29.26 (low) and finally

the quality of green and parks 18.60 (very low). We live in a country where our

water, our basic need, is dangerous for our wellbeing and every year it’s getting

worse.

Since we were kids, our parents, teachers and friends would ask us the same

question over and over again. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Some of us said doctors, some wanted to become lawyers, businessmen/women,

painters, musicians…. They used to tell us to do something that we love so we

won’t regret it later. But can we actually think this way? How many of you really

love their major? Nowadays, the fist thought that comes to our mind when we talk

about our careers is if we can find a job in Lebanon, or if we will work in our

major or we will end up in a different place. The unemployment in Lebanon

started a long time ago, way before the number of refugees increased.

“Unemployment is a problem itself that affects the society, economy and even the
psychological side of the unemployed people.” said Nancy BouDiab. The

previous Labor Minister, Mohammad Kabbara stated in august 2019 that the

overall unemployment rate in Lebanon stands at 25%. “We have approximately

30,000-35,000 young people who graduate from university every year and only

5,000 jobs are offered annually, which leaves some 30,000 without jobs,” he said.

We are struggling with no hope of a better tomorrow, we are losing our self-

esteem in the process. How are we supposed to live in a country where no decent

jobs are offered to us? Even if we do find a job our salary won’t exceed 900$.

Unemployment plays a huge role in the economic field.

Lebanon trades small and imports intensely, whereas its economy is choked

by one of the world's biggest obligation burdens as a result of a long time of

wastefulness, squander and corruption. “Economic growth, which has been stuck

between 1-2 percent for several years, has fallen to zero this year. Yet, the

government continues to borrow. While GDP stands at $55 billion, the national

debt is around 150 percent of GDP, or $85 billion.” Lebanon had been a mess for

more than we can remember, but on the 17th of October 2019, we saw a one of a

kind revolution. Lebanese people were done with the corrupted country. Business

owners had to close their businesses and companies, restaurants hotels and stores

were closed because of the financial problems. The employee started getting half

salaries or they had to remove them. People can’t access their own money in the

banks, they are scared of losing their savings. We need at least 3 to 5 years to get

back to our normal lives if the politicians acted on this crisis as soon as possible.
 “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today

and tomorrow, I still have a dream.” I have a dream that Lebanon is going to get

better. I have a dream that I will be successful in my country. I have a dream that I

will raise my kids here. But that dream will only be a dream if we keep on trusting

the same people, we will not get rid of the pollution if no one is doing anything to

stop it. Lebanon, my poor country, I am sorry we destroyed you, I hope in a

couple of years some things will change. Do you think our dream will become a

reality one day?

References:
 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180328-lebanon-is-drowning-in-its-own-waste
 https://www.numbeo.com/pollution/country_result.jsp?country=Lebanon
 http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1951-/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-
august-28-1963.php
 https://nancyboudiab.wordpress.com/2017/04/23/facts-about-unemployment-in-lebanon/
 https://en.annahar.com/article/1004952-unemployment-the-paralysis-of-lebanese-youth
 https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2019/Nov-06/495099-explainer-why-is-
lebanon-in-an-economic-and-political-mess.ashx
 COM 204
Dream or Reality?

Sara Krikorian
Dr Alia AL Khatib