In Lebanon's Tripoli, culture defeats youth radicalization
The northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, known for its violent neighborhood clashes and terrorist attacks, is home to several civil and cultural initiatives that work with youth to eliminate radical thought.
In October 2016, the online initiative Ta3a Sob El Fan (Come to Art) began to highlight the creativity of Tripoli's youth by sharing poems, drawings, songs and video clips created by children and teenagers from the northern Lebanese city. It was an occasion to encourage the youth to spread their ideas, as well as to show the rest of Lebanon that Tripoli is not only about war.
Tripoli is often considered a dangerous and conservative city in Lebanon, due to the continuous clashes between rival neighborhoods since the Lebanese civil war and the outbreak of terrorist attacks since the Syrian civil war. “A lot of Lebanese people are afraid to go to Tripoli,” said Isabelle Wakim, the Saint Joseph University student who initiated Ta3a Sob El Fan.
