DUBAI: Amid the ongoing Israeli assault on Lebanon, Lebanese celebrities and entrepreneurs including Razane Jammal, Karen Wazen and Jessica Kahawaty have taken to social media to raise awareness and express their concerns.
British Lebanese actress Jammal, who played Lyta Hall in the 2022 Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman,” took to Instagram to share a piece of art that depicted a bleeding heart on a stamp of Lebanon, captioning the post, “No words. Just bleeding.”
She also posted a video from an earlier interview with Elle Arabia where she talks about the resilience of Lebanese people. She captioned the post with a quote from her interview, “I really have hope for us. I know it’s very dark, but I have hope for my people, and I have hope for my country. There is no other way… life is hope.”
Dubai-based Lebanese influencer and entrepreneur Karen Wazen also took to Instagram to share a lengthy statement.
“From the moment we were born, war has been a reality,” she wrote. “Being Lebanese means distinguishing the sounds of an explosion, from the roar of fighter jets, the crackle of fireworks, and the breaking of sound barriers.
“Do not normalize Lebanese’ suffering. Despite our strength, we are not okay, and should not be okay,” she continued. “Do not normalize forced displacement, war crimes and human rights violations.
“Today we are all Lebanese, we are all victims of injustice, dirty politics, terrorism, racism and impunity… until when?”
Australian Lebanese model and entrepreneur Kahawaty took to Instagram to address her more than 1.5 million followers.
“For my non-Lebanese friends, I want to tell you a little story about Lebanon. It is a small country, only 10,452 km squared which is roughly the size of New York or Tokyo. A whole country, the size of one of these popular cities. For as long as I can remember and for many years before my arrival to this world, Lebanon has been a pawn in a greater fight. My country hasn’t known peace… ever,” she began.
“I ask you all to pray for Lebanon. Our people are suffering immensely, and our hearts are broken,” she added, as she requested readers to listen to her all-time favourite excerpts of a speech by American political scientist, Michael Parenti, which she posted on social media. “This is relevant to not just Lebanon but so many countries in the world subject to the evils of… you know who.”
The speech slammed former colonial powers, saying “poor countries are not ‘under-developed,’ they are over-exploited.”
