We all grew up hearing the childhood stories of our parents: how they would walk to school under the sound of airstrikes and flying bullets, how most of their education was gone, how they lived in fear of uncertainty, surrounded by death, and a childhood that was lost. We heard these stories as we lived our blessed childhoods all around the world. And they were just that — stories. Just as we heard about Hitler and the Nazis, the French Revolution, the Lebanese civil war, the World Wars … they were all tales of our history that we learned but never thought we would be part of. They were just notes of revision we would meaninglessly cite in our tests without fully grasping the severity behind them. 

Our world witnessed enough genocides that we never thought we’d live to see another one. All these courses on freedom and rights, on democratic values, on justice — all the lessons we thought we’d have learned. Lessons the world made us believe were our new and improved reality. 

And yet, we too will be telling war stories to our children one day. The many sleepless nights we spent in fear and uncertainty, waiting for Israel’s next strike. The endless messages we send to our loved ones to make sure they are still with us. The countless posts on Instagram desperately raise awareness, making sure the world sees us and sees our pain. 

As we go through this cycle of violence, I find it vital that our generation puts an end to it. We have the power to avoid repeating the mistakes the previous ones have made. 

Lebanon has seen it all: from corruption to a multidimensional crisis, to the port explosion, to the absence of a state and of one nation, and now a war.

We have been vulnerable and divided for too long. Overlooked internationally, our country has been undermined and manipulated by the power dynamics of our world. Why do we still let them?

It is in times like these that we should learn to unite. Private institutions should open their doors and help all students have access to an education — a fundamental weapon that we will need to make change one day. All parts of the country should help those being targeted regardless of our beliefs and differences. Because beneath it all, we all belong to the same nation: Lebanon. And when one suffers, we all suffer. 

Our country cannot survive another war, another crisis… Our population shouldn’t have to handle yet another traumatic experience. 

It is time for us to come together, hand in hand. And it is our generation’s responsibility to build this country from the ground up. We can create a country in which our children can be raised proudly and safely. Let us not become just another tale of our world’s tragedies, another page in our history books, another ‘lesson learned’. The cycle ends with us.