Losing something is sometimes the only way to realize the value and the importance of that thing. The uniqueness of this new academic year lies in the fact that the clear majority of us were deeply skeptical about the possibility of reintegrating AUB on time.

We felt at some point that resuming courses normally in Lebanon without major delays was a dream that had minor if any chances of coming true. Many of us were abroad when our country was unwillingly plunged into a bloody ocean of darkness. Many others were obliged to leave their dear land of the cedars in order to avoid becoming the hostages of a sad war that they did not have a say in starting and over which their sincere voices had no control.

Huge amounts of money were paid and dangerous roads were used to escape from an intimidating reality that had little to do with Lebanon the, beautiful Middle Eastern Pearl, which we were eager to promote on the eve of a promising season of tourism.

Instead of describing the beauty of Jounieh, the majesty of Baalbeck and the greatness of Beirut, we were continuously pushed to discuss the news and the atrocious images that were massively feeding the media, in both foreign and Lebanese circles abroad.

It was impossible to plant inside the foreigners’ minds the Hong Kong version of Lebanon as what they were hearing and seeing could at its best be compared to a Hanoi, and it was illusory to try to revive patriotic feelings within the Lebanese communities abroad as the flow of new immigrants reached peaks this summer.

Every week, there were new faces broken-heartily telling the stories of their inhuman evacuation and declaring their determination to never come back to their homeland with the persistence of the current situation.

Fortunately though, Lebanon was pulled out from the dragon’s mouth and AUB survived, as usual. The day the war was stopped; we all forgot about the economical and materialistic losses, but our tears kept on flowing. Some have lost friends, family relatives; and we all lost a country. Many stayed abroad refusing to risk a new adventure between the Lebanese landmines, and few of us came back carrying the energy that has remained after more than a month of non-stop worries.

It feels good to attend classes in AUB again but it is sad to miss some professors and classmates who were permanently driven away by the war. It is nice to see houses being rebuilt but it hurts to see all hopes for a better future completely destroyed. It is great to try to gain the occupied Lebanese territories of Ghajar and Shebaa Farms back but it is crucial not to loose Beirut for that purpose. It is grand to believe in causes and to fight for ideologies but it is a must to reunite around the Lebanese emblem, the cedar, first. It is a good sign to cooperate with the international community, but it is way better to collaborate internally to avoid external interventions and pressures.

We all love our country, our roots are here and here we will stay. Let us study again, work again and send optimistic messages of hope from those 10452 km2 to the whole world.