“Arztak Hawytak” : An Initiative to Save Lebanese Cedars

With the aim to save the Lebanese cedars and live in a greener country, Rotary Club Beirut Cadmos launched a one-of-a-kind initiative “Arztak Hawytak”, addressing every Lebanese person all over the world.

 In cooperation with Banque Bemo, Jouzour Loubnan, and many more partners, “Arztak Hawytak”, a name reflecting the core mission of taking pride in Lebanese roots, will be securing, with its fundraising campaign secure the cost of afforesting, irrigating, protecting, and nurturing 10,452 cedar trees that will form a cedar reserve in Ehden, which will be open to the public.

Each contribution will directly impact Lebanon’s ecosystem, which in turn will improve the quality of life of all humans and wildlife in the surrounding areas in addition to reducing the effects of climate change.

Lebanese actor and long-time environmental activist Georges Khabbaz has been named as the ambassador of this project. Mr. Khabbaz will be representing the “Arztak Hawytak” initiative and helping us support Lebanon’s environmental sustainability and cultivate national pride.

Mr. Georges Khabbaz

As a strategic partner of the “Arztak Hawytak”, Banque BEMO is proudly supporting this initiative, which is a continuity to its last year’s ‘Back to our Cedar Roots’ – an initiative aiming at restoring pride in what Lebanon stands for, reinforcing the sense of belonging of people of Lebanese origin, and casting attention on the unfairness suffered by Lebanese women who are unable to pass the Lebanese nationality to their children.

“Who among us would accept to deprive his or her mother from the right to give the identity (Hawytak)? This is why “Back to our Cedar Roots” will randomly attribute 200 Baby Cedars to 200 persons of Lebanese origin whose father is not Lebanese and are therefore unable to get the Lebanese nationality,” declared Dr. Riad Obégi, Chairman and General Manager of Banque BEMO.

“We should be proud of being Lebanese, we should be proud of all people of Lebanese origin and we should be ashamed in refusing to Lebanese mothers the right to give the Lebanese nationality. It is through loving our roots that we can truly live our identity and exist in the future,” he added.

Dr. Riad Obégi

You can check the official social media channels of the initiative on the following links:

• Instagram
• Facebook