Lebanon, a country in continual reconstructionMy grandparents emigrated from Kfour El Arabi in Lebanon to Colombia at the beginning of the twentieth century. My parents taught us to love their former homeland, and I decided to return to the country of my forefathers in 1997.I studied architecture in Bogota, Colombia, and so when I learned that Opus Dei was going to start up in Lebanon I was thrilled to be going not just to a country that I considered to be my own, but to one that was also in reconstruction. I started working in the American University of Beirut as assistant to the Professor of History, while I took an M.A. in town planning. Then I got a job with a major reconstruction firm, and at the same time worked with an NGO on a development project. Right now I spend all my time and energy on the Al Tilal Institute of Rural Development and on the projects they run for the betterment of women. Al Tilal is situated in Byblos, 40 kilometers north of Beirut, and it includes a training school to provide education for local girls and women. Only recently established, it is a bold project given the circumstances, but its promoters are notably optimistic and confident about the future. Meditating on the writings of St Josemaria Escriva has taught me to see things from the viewpoint of eternity. This country has had so many martyrs, so many saints, so many people who might seem unimportant but who have kept up Christian traditions and Christian culture down through the ages. Now it’s our turn to take up the relay, and not let ourselves be defeated by pessimism or fear. Nobody wants war – I know this, because I’ve lived and worked with people of every religious persuasion, and I still meet them in my daily work. What there really is in Lebanon is generous people who are supported by what they believe, and who want to learn to respect others to live as our Christian faith teaches. What’s more, I think that one of the best ways to bring stability to the country is to encourage people’s sense of personal responsibility and their capacity to work well, to work in God’s sight and out of a desire to serve everyone. And that obviously doesn’t mean they shouldn’t work to earn a good wage and get job-satisfaction – that is or should be part of the meaning of work for everyone. On October 11, 2006, just after the most recent period of fighting in this country, the present Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarria, came to Lebanon to give some encouragement to the faithful of Opus Dei, Cooperators and friends, and everyone he met during his brief four-day visit. His visit was a renewed stimulus for us to keep working serenely, to spread peace in our ordinary lives, and try to be, as St Josemaria, the founder of Opus Dei always said, “sowers of peace and joy”. http://www.josemariaescriva.info/article/lebanon2c-a-country-in-continual-reconstruction |