spring 2012
Editorial
No.32
The Newsletter of Ibsar, the Nature Conservation Center for Sustainable Futures
An Exceptional Experience At Batloun I do not belong to the young generation who was brought up ‘puffing out candles and cutting delicious cakes’ on their birthdays with family members and friends. Our parents had neither the time nor the money to throw a birthday party during war; and it made no difference to us. But the 28th of April last spring was an exceptional and rich experience for me, as well as for my kids. It was the first time I celebrate my birthday in a different and genius way. I felt I was born again and that the ‘wall of ice’ that stood between me and the people of the mountain was broken. Thanks to Ibsar, Dar Nelson, the Municipality of Batloun, and the kind-hearted and welcoming villagers who stood in line under the hot sun to welcome us, I had the opportunity, along with a big group of well-known writers, poets, painters, novelists and media people, to come from Beirut to the village of Batloun to plant trees and offer books to young students from the Batloun Secondary School. Under the banner ‘Writers’ Forest’, I, with many others, had the chance to discover one of the beautiful and still unspoiled Shouf villages. I had the impression that its people live in harmony with unpolluted nature, air and water. They befriend the greenery of their village: really, you can easily breathe up there! For the first time in my life, I planted a small tree with the help of a young girl to whom I later offered one of my books. The student -her name is Malak Rashid- will take care and water the tree that will bear my name. After two years, we will revisit the forest, and I will be eager to meet Malak again and hear her comment on my book. I was so excited to see Malak smile as she started reading my book during the generous lunch that was offered by the Batloun Cultural Club. Ibsar gave me the chance, not only to witness and experience the first ‘marriage’ between a book and a tree, but also to meet key figures in the world of art and writing. These were: Emily Nasrallah, Wassim Kays, Hassan Daoud, Sleiman Bakhti (owner and director of Dar Nelson), Sabah Zouein, painter Amin Al Basha, Cesar Nammour, Wadeh Saadeh, Michel Saadeh, Sonia Beiruti, Ismail Fakeh, Mangana El Hajj, and others. I really hope that Ibsar will transfer the idea of ‘Writers’ Forest’ to other villages in Lebanon, for this genuine project is the first of its kind ever made, and it enhances relations between ‘people of the pen’ and ‘people of the tree’ who are almost identical with one exception: the first uses ink, the second toils in soil. Thank you Ibsar for making my birthday an exceptional experience. Ziad Kaj