We rarely remember entire stories. We remember the small moments that can feel complete in and of themselves.
Memories seem like short, scattered video clips, arriving without warning. They don’t need to connect or form a single story, but what matters most are the moments that make up these memories, and thus our identity.
It’s the small, fleeting moments that… Takes off To shape us and shape our countries. Moments we see online, on TV, or hear in passing, through conversations and headlines. The moments the world witnessed during the fall Berlin Wall In 1989, or the opening of the second Egypt Suez CanalWhich was marked by a ceremony that has become firmly established in the memory of every Egyptian.
Although these moments may never reveal the whole story, a single moment of witnessing war or violence can erase everything that came before it. It can erase everything that was once part of a person’s or nation’s identity.
The Arab world has been shaped in the past few years by these moments. Moments of violence, war, suffering and hardships are often spread across Internet spaces and through all media channels. Moments of hatred and moments of anger. And above all, moments of despair.
Ironically, the very moments of war that were supposed to define the identity of the Arab world became instead the moments that shaped its people. There have been moments of sadness I turned In moments of purpose and compassion, where the simple act of feeling each other, caring for each other, and embracing the depth of the human experience… becomes Our own weapons for survival.
They are the kind of weapons that are often invisible in the shadow of deadlier weapons, and yet they are the same weapons that leave a much deeper impact on people’s hearts. It only takes one lethal weapon to destroy lands and lives, and shatter economies and hopes. However, it only takes one weapon of compassion to bring people together, to lift each other up, and to break the very spirit that the other weapon sought to crush.
In just one week, there were far more moments of mutual support than war; Moments when solidarity groups flourished between people and their unity in support. from Lebanon Solidarity Association Distribution of mutual aid to to organize Community kitchens that feed families during Ramadan, these small acts of giving are the forces that, with incredible power, heal the hearts of people in the region.
And in the cracks between the war stories, there was, too stories To remember the beauty and culture of the region. Beauty emerges from those same cracks, reclaiming space through nostalgia, memory, and love, as people cherish the “brief” moments: a mother’s tender love for her children, the unbreakable familial bond, or the unexpected connection between two strangers that emerges in times of solidarity.
Even a single WhatsApp message to someone you haven’t spoken to in years becomes one of millions of fleeting moments of beauty, moments that may not make it to global news headlines, but they undoubtedly exist.
As one of the social media user She recently expressed it so beautifully on Instagram, saying: “I would choose nothing else but to be born Lebanese, over and over again, for the rest of my life.”
In the end, it is these moments, along with the moments of intensity, that hold together a complete true story; A story that understands the coexistence of two realities and how this duality enhances an individual’s identity and sense of belonging to the nation.
It is the realization that, at our core, we are also shaped by beauty, not just by war.
Any views expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author. To submit an opinion piece, please send an email [email protected].