(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A Lebanese NGO gathered 200,000 Lebanese natives to create a virtual human chain and join “hand in hand, united for Lebanon” on Sunday.
People joined hands from Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli to the southern city of Tyre, passing through Beirut’s Raouche.
Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon joined the “United Hands” project, stressing that the state should believe in the civil society despite the ongoing paralysis at state institutions.
“The Lebanese should have faith in the civil society despite the deadlock in state institutions,” he said at the opening ceremony.
The event was held under the patronage of Pharaon and in cooperation with the Lebanese Army, the Municipality of Beirut, the Ministry of Interior, the Foreign Ministry, the Lebanese Red Cross and the Civil Defense.
“The aim is to break the boundaries between our divisions and show the world that we can unite, beyond religion, beyond politics and beyond the odds,” the project says on its website. “In creating this human chain, citizens will be able to stand side by side marking their place in history in a demonstration of pride that will potentially last forever.”
Sunday’s ceremony is the third in a series of initiatives organized by the “United Hands” project in commemoration with the 71st anniversary of Lebanon’s independence.
The first event, United Hands across the Web, took place in October, and used Google maps to join Lebanese from across the world.
In the second event, nearly 2,000 people gathered in Martyrs Square in Beirut on Nov. 22 to form a big letter “U” for united.
See photos below:
