Under the umbrella of a mounting garbage crisis, this much-needed initiative served as a reminder for the Lebanese not to wait for politicians and to start taking action.
Over 25 locations in Lebanon joined World Cleanup Day, a global positive civic action taking place on Saturday for the first time who welcomed energetic volunteers joining forces to clean up public areas and beaches.
Around 350 volunteers showed up in Ramlet El Bayda to collect and organize waste from public beaches. More than 400 volunteers were present in Ain Mraisseh including many others around the country – Zgharta, Kfaraabida, Koura, Saida, Tyre and many more – In Raoucheh, an underwater cleanup took place.
Under the scorching sun, volunteers started showing up at 10:00 a.m. at the locations and began working tirelessly, picking up and sorting out plastic, glass, cigarette buds and non-recyclables. The volunteers came from different backgrounds and ethnicities; there were Japanese, Russians, Germans and citizens from the United Kingdom, along with a majority of Lebanese volunteers.
One volunteer, Dalia Baghdadi, expressed her personal satisfaction, noting to Annahar: “I’m very proud to be part of this global initiative, and I’m grateful that the Lebanese people are willing to be part of it, removing all their differences for once and coming together to help make their country better.”
Another volunteer, Liliane Hawi, said: “It is a huge event and it’s heartwarming to see this. I wish there were more events like this, not just this one day.”
Taking place in approximately 156 countries, World Cleanup Day started at 10:00 a.m. in each time zone, spreading the hope of a cleaner, more sustainable future under the motto: “Because I want to live in a clean world.”
Aimed at empowering young citizens to create positive change in their communities, the Junior Chamber International (JCI) is a 103-year-old organization present in 125 countries around the world including Lebanon. In collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Beirut, both the JCI and the UN were the main organizers of the initiative in Lebanon, in partnership with local recycling NGOs.
Aline Chirinian, president of JCI Beirut and country leader of World Cleanup Day Lebanon, told Annahar: “In Lebanon, it’s not that we lack the infrastructure or facilities, it’s that we lack awareness. People think that the government should miraculously do everything. Of course, things should be facilitated for the citizens, but the citizens also need to do some research. They need to be aware of how much garbage they are generating from something as simple as a meal.”
JCI is delivering the bags of waste to the nearest recycling partners in each area. Some of the partners in Lebanon include Arc-En-Ciel, Recycle Beirut, Dropoff Tabarja, and other centers allocated for specific villages. “Some villages already have their own recycling centers for their citizens, we are doing this project for such people to get them excited and encourage them,” Chirinian told Annahar.
Under the umbrella of a mounting garbage crisis, this much-needed initiative served as a reminder for Lebanese to start taking action instead of waiting for solutions from politicians, organizers noted.
According to Mohammad Hijazi, the president of JCI Lebanon, the Estonian branch of his organization created this campaign to clean up their country in one day, engaging five percent of their population and saving the government’s money. JCI also worked in collaboration with Live Love Beirut.
Hijazi urges people to take action, “The government is responsible for implementing recycling, but it's also the people's responsibility because, in the end, this garbage is our garbage and not only the government’s garbage." he told Annahar.
