Youth

That I will end my high school education and not be accepted by any university, and even if I were accepted, that I would not be treated as a student of science; rather, as a student of some form of employment.

Hussein Ayoub is a law student at the Lebanese University’s fourth branch, and a young person living in Lebanese society. Interview by Roger Outa, translated by Ali Hamdan.

Roger: What can you tell us about your needs in this environment?

Held by Roger Outa (ASO)

Translated by Ali Hamdan

Rana Farhat: A young writer, with articles published in a number of newspapers and magazines. She participated in the Bridge Builders project run by the Alternative Society Organization.

Could you possibly tell us about what motivated you to join this project?

Watch the short movie "Baby Bag" by Alternative Society.Baby Bag is a short movie created by Alternative Society which depicts the grim future facing the next generation of Lebanese youth.

"I've never enjoyed summer time as much as this summer,” said Assil Raad, an eight-year-old girl in the kids’ summer camp that the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST) is organizing this year."I've never enjoyed summer time as much as this summer,” said Assil Raad, an eight-year-old girl in the kids’ summer camp that the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST) is organizing this year. Said her mother: "This camp is a good opportunity for my daughter to discover her abilities and talents.

The Lebanese youth of today are being hit from all sides by their lack of options in life. It can feel like they are in a siphon, unable to escape.

Video produced by the Alternative Society Organization in Lebanon.

At 2:45 we left for Baalbek. I had been to Baalbek as a tourist before (a year ago) to see the magnificent temple complex, known in these parts as the qal3a (“fortress”) because of its role in the turbulent Middle Ages. Without a doubt I had loved the visit, but I well knew that viewing the ruins of centuries did not entitle me to much experience with the modern city. Today, Baalbek is a mixed card – on the surface a flourishing Lebanese provincial capital, but digging below the brochures and tourist booklets unearths a series of deep, widening divides.

At almost every busy intersection or crowded street of Lebanon, children scatter around cars, pedestrians, universities and restaurants to beg. These are the children beggars of Lebanon who are forced to work on the streets to earn their living.

“Give us, and God will give you more,” “Please I am hungry,” “Only 500 L.L,” are all begging expressions we almost hear every day.