Beyrouth Living Canal

Laura Ghabris October 3, 2024

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Team

Name: Laura Ghabris

Instagram: lauraghabris

Nationality: Lebanese

Institution / Company: Junior architect

Beirut, the city where I grew up, is a bustling metropolis overpowering every hint of nature. Here, any fragment of greenery appears as a forgotten relic, discarded like a piece of litter. At times, the city feels like a quiet sorrow, a place where the mornings are silent because the birds no longer sing, where the trees do not reveal their colors in the light of day, and where the fields, now but a memory, no longer serenade us to sleep at night.

Yet, amidst this concrete maze, I dream of a different Beirut, a sanctuary far removed from urban clamor and pollution. In this dream, the canal running through Beirut becomes its heartbeat, a vibrant pulse of life. I imagine it as a green oasis, where plants flourish, stray animals find refuge, birds dance in the sky and people gather in harmony. A place where the water itself becomes a meeting point for all living beings. After all, isn’t this how cities were born, around a life-giving source, a river, or a spring? Why not strive to return to that original state, a time when birds roamed freely in Beirut’s sky, only to return home to their peaceful nests.