Hagop Kasparian (Grade 12SE – AGBU Tarouhy-Hovagimian Sec. School)
Teacher: Mr. Avedis Tchakmakian
A beautiful and vibrant city that used to be characterized by its power and glory, Beirut has survived and remained resilient throughout many of the catastrophes that it has faced, and as a result is now undergoing a thorough, overhauling process of reconstruction. The question, however, that we need to ask ourselves is, “What is the missing factor, that is to say, the necessary piece of the puzzle that will for sure help Beirut move on from its horrific past, as it hopes as well as fights for a better future for itself?” Well, quite ironically, it is us, the residents of Beirut, who need to fight for it, having a mutual understanding between one another at all levels. We, as Thomas Edison did during the difficult climax of his life, must be grateful for the destruction of the past, and proceed in a positive manner to reconstruct what was once known as “The Queen of the World.”
To begin with, we must not fear the idea that our hopes and dreams for a future Beirut aren’t a real possibility, because they are. As Stephen Hawking once said, “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. While there is life, there is hope.” There certainly is life for Beirut, not to mention the catastrophes it has fought through and the obstacles it has overcome to make it this far and continue to remain immortal; hence, there is hope.
For those who do not consider an idea such as the reconstruction of Beirut back to its original state plausible, it’s important to remember the simple process of conquering the “impossible” that was once introduced to us by Saint Francis of Assisi, which states, “Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” The greatest mistake that we make when trying to accomplish something we’ve set our minds to is letting the smallest of our doubts get the very best of us. If we just believe that something is actually possible, eventually it may as well just be.
Nobel-prize-winning mathematician John Forbes Nash can become quite a helping hand regarding the situation that the people of Beirut are in at the moment, as we should look back to the past and remember the time that he informed us, “If things aren’t so good, you may want to imagine something better.” Then again, we never know what we’ll do under a certain circumstance until the moment will really arrive.
It is about time that we attempted to look at the city of Beirut through the eyes of those such as Ramzi Khalaf, noticing that it is not through individually executed acts that we are going to be able to bring Beirut back to the way it once used to be, but rather through national reconciliation. We must work together to reconstruct the city we so deeply love, returning to it its glorious buildings as well as improving its facilities and educational programs. Stephen Hawking, after overcoming his disabilities which he feared he probably never would, told us during his most difficult days, “There should be no boundaries to human endeavor; it matters that you don’t just give up.” There isn’t anything that mankind isn’t capable of as long as he is putting his blood, sweat and tears into the one thing he truly cares about. Well, we, being the people of Beirut, surely know what we’re proud of; all that awaits now is its reconstruction. So what are we waiting for? What has been our excuse this entire time that we’ve waited so long to act on the situation?
