Lebanon was again in the limelight only because of Israeli attack. Bloggers and others who wrote a great deal then are now not even concerned as to what is going on in Lebanon. Why is Lebanon important?
This and other thoughts were sent to me by a friend in New York. He shares some interesting information too.
1. Lebanon has 18 religious communities.
2. It has 40 daily newspapers.
3. It has 42 universities.
4. It has over 100 banks (that is banks and not branches of a bank).
5. 70 per cent of the students are in private schools.
6. 40 per cent of the Lebanese people are Christians (this is the highest percentage of all the Arab countries).
7. There’s 1 doctor per 10 people in Lebanon (In Europe & America,
there’s 1 doctor per 100 people).
8. The name LEBANON appears 75 times in the Old Testament.
9. The name CEDAR (Lebanon’s tree) appears 75 times too in the Old
Testament!!
10. Beirut was destroyed and rebuilt 7 times (this is why it’s
compared to The Phoenix).
11. There are 3.5 Million Lebanese in Lebanon.
12. There are around 10 million Lebanese outside Lebanon!
OTHER INTERESTING FACTS
1. Lebanon – the country at different times in history has so far been occupied by over 15 countries:-
Egyptians, Hittites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Alexander the
Great’s Army, the Roman Empire, Byzantine, the Arabian Peninsula, The
Crusaders, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, France, Israel, Syria.
2. Byblos (city in Lebanon) is the oldest, continuously living city
in the world.
3. Lebanon’s name has been around for 4,000 years non-stop (it’s the
oldest country/nation’s name in the world!)
4. Lebanon is the only Asian/African country that doesn’t have a
desert.
5. There are 15 rivers in Lebanon (all of them coming from its own
mountains).
6. Lebanon is one of the most populated countries in its
archeological sites, in the world!!!
7. The first alphabet was created in Byblos (city in Lebanon).
8. The only remaining temple of Jupiter (the main Roman god) is in
Baalbeck, Lebanon (The City of the Sun).
9. The name of BYBLOS comes from the BIBLE!!!
10. Lebanon is the country that has the most books written about it.
11. Lebanon is the only non-dictatorial country in the Arab world (it
has a President!)
12. According to Christianity Jesus Christ made his 1st miracle in
Lebanon, in Sidon (The miracle of turning water into wine).
13. The Phoenicians (Original People of Lebanon) built the 1st boat,
and they were the first to sail ever.
14. Phoenicians also reached America long before Christopher Columbus
did.
15. The 1st law school in the world was built in Lebanon, in Downtown
Beirut.
(A 2000-year-old Cedar of Lebanon. The grove in Becharri, Northern Lebanon, has some of the oldert trees on earth.)
16. People say that the cedars were planted by God’s own hands.
This is why they’re called “The Cedars of God”, and this is why
Lebanon is called “God’s Country on Earth.”
My friend concludes: “Is it not a real Crime against Humanity to destroy a country with such a history? Whatever be the reason.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.