Editor’s Letter: Spirit And Strength | Harper’s Bazaar Arabia November 2024
The Lebanese are known for facing adversity and heartbreak with nothing but resilience, love and light. Bazaar Arabia’s Editor in Chief, Olivia Phillips shares her admiration for a people that refuse to be broken
According to legend, the Lebanese capital of Beirut has been destroyed and rebuilt from the ashes seven times. Think about that in the context of current horrors; a city whose phoenix-like resilience runs so deep that it is even woven into myth. It’s an astonishing legacy on which the Lebanese stand, and one that colours the entire nation’s outlook on life. And it really does. For our Lebanon issue last year, I wrote that if you’ve ever partied with the Lebanese, shared a meal with them, or even bought a dress made by one of them, you’ll know that in the face of hardship after hardship, their love for life – and beauty – remains formidably unchanged. Not only do they grab life with both hands, they have turned being bruised but not broken into a bittersweet art.
Even Lebanon’s beloved national poet, Kahlil Gibran’s most famous quotes overwhelmingly share the same thread; that of strength and splendour amid struggle. And not just amid; despite. Because of. When Gibran wrote, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls,” and “March on, and fear not the thorns, nor the sharp stones on life’s path,” he penned not only poetry but a philosophy to live by. In current climes, it’s a manifesto many of us should hold dear – Lebanese or not.
Growing up, my Cypriot mum always told me that the Lebanese were cousins she would wave at across the sea (quite literally – on a clear day you can see the coast from Cyprus). Then, during the Turkish invasion of 1974, she was forced to flee her homeland for Lebanon before heading to Greece. Since moving to Dubai 11 years ago, I’ve found myself surrounded by these cousins that my mum always talked about so fondly, witnessing their warmth, zest and generosity of spirit first-hand. It’s been nothing but a privilege. Long may they continue sharing their light with us all.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s November 2024 Issue
