Rob Shehadie: ‘Beirut will rise from the rubble once again’
Actor and comedian Rob Shehadie — who was born in Australia to Lebanese parents who raised him to respect their home country and its values — says the Beirut explosions will redefine Lebanon and its people, who are now, more than ever, ready for change.
Opinion
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The Lebanon that I know, and love is suffering more than ever. It has seen better days, the days where it was the Paris of the Middle East and envy of most other countries, but it also bears the deep scars from previous conflicts, occupations and successive wars.
It must be stated that this suffering is what binds and defines the Lebanese people and what allows them to rise up time and time again.
If there was one word to describe the people of Lebanon that would be ‘resilience’, an abundance of resilience. They are constantly faced with overwhelming circumstances that they always overcome.
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”, a quote from the famous Lebanese writer Gibran Khalil Gibran who died in 1931 to describe the Lebanese people that still applies today.
Beirut has been rebuilt seven times in history and the recent 30-year civil war could not break its people’s spirit.
August 4 is the single biggest tragedy that will redefine Lebanon and hopefully pave the way for change.
Although Lebanon is not that big in size, only 10,452sq/km (roughly the size from Sydney to Wollongong to Blue Mountains up to Newcastle), it has the biggest heart.
The people have spoken, they’re ready for change and their patience might be running out with the way life is over there.
The Lebanese people have been part of the Australian way of life since the 1860s and many Lebanese migrated to Australia following the Australian military that were once stationed in Lebanon.
I’ve heard many stories where Australian soldiers sponsored entire families to come out here.
Australia is our home; I was born here, and I am blessed that my parents chose to move to the greatest country in the world.
However, I can’t turn my back on the country that shaped my parents who then passed their values onto me. Seeing my mum cry when the news broke was heartbreaking and seeing pictures of relatives and friends homes and offices blown out hit me hard.
Lebanon has a massive mountain to climb and needs every bit of help it can get.
I am confident that Beirut will rise from the rubble once again, better and stronger than before.
To donate to Red Cross Lebanon go to supportlrc.app/donate/donate_guest.html
* Rob Shehadie is an actor and comedian, and co-creator of The Habibs and Street Smart