Beirut school report

American University of Beirut is like an ivy league oasis in the middle of the city, with heavily guarded walls. The students at AUB are considered the elite of Lebanese society but still are part of Lebanese society and cannot escape the sectarian violence. This student says he willingly followed orders from his party leader to fight for his rights, as he puts it. He says everyone in Lebanon has a gun. He says we went to fight not to kill but that we have the power to defend ourselves and our opinions and we did. Another student says during war people are blinded. A female student says we’re educated but what can we do besides be patient? Another student says people are quiet today and they’re avoiding the subject. A female student says I know it’s strange but it becomes your reality so you don’t recognize it as strange anymore. This professor says that students are honest and Sunnis and Shias and Christians do become friendly, but that friendliness doesn’t spread beyond the academic world. The paradox of Lebanon is that all sects say they wish it wasn’t this way, but they still fight to protect their own.