As part of the Independence Day celebrations, the Rene Moawad Technical Institute in Mejdlaya (Zgharta) organized an event in the presence of faculty members, teachers, students and administrators from the Institute, during which the Lebanese National flag was hoisted.

The event started with the Lebanese National Anthem, followed by a speech by the Institute’s director Mr. Tony Al Aam in which he focused on the meaning of the Independence Day:
“Like each year, here we are celebrating Independence with a faith which the difficult times will always fail to eradicate from our hearts and consciences.
Like each year, we celebrate, showing our full respect for a nation we believed and still believe in. A free, sovereign and independent nation; unique with the variety of its citizens who are all united by their coming together, their cooperation and their common commitments. We celebrate the Independence of our Nation which we will always protect and for which we are ready to sacrifice the most precious. Our Independence was born from the sacrifices we offered for our dream-Nation, the motherland that martyr-President Rene Moawad believed in and which he nourished with his pure blood and the blood of his martyr-companions.”

He added: “We hold a great responsibility to preserve and protect this Independence, the Independence of a Nation that our elders believed in, and from whom we inherited faith, determination and perseverance. We are aware of the weight of this responsibility, and we are ready to bear it and carry it with determination and a strong resolve. We pledge to carry on with this responsibility and raise the young generations to respect our country’s Independence, and to always offer the best for its growth, prosperity, uniqueness and excellence.”

He concluded: “Dear ones, we have chosen to defend our Independence and our dream-Nation through science, knowledge and education. Our pens will be our swords that we raise throughout time. Our knowledge will be a strong defense-wall protecting our Lebanon from any harm that would come from ignorance and indifference.
With the dawn of the new presidential mandate, we maintain a strongly rooted faith that our country will rise up from darkness, and be always victorious as we ever wanted.
Long live Lebanon!
Long live you present here!
And, with your good intentions and faith: Long live our Independence!”

After the speech a cake in the colors of the Lebanese flag was cut for the occasion.