What’s wrong with the world, Mama?

Dear alumni and friends,

On September 11, 2001, two planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. At the time, I had just finished giving internal medicine grand rounds at the American University of Beirut for the second time in four years. After I finished taking questions, my friend Ali Taher informed us that a passenger plane had just struck the Twin Towers, where Lamya and I had celebrated many occasions over the years. I instantly assumed there had been a mistake, that it must be misinformation. As we scanned the TV screens, the second plane hit. The world has never been the same since.

THE WORLD HAS NEVER BEEN THE SAME SINCE

Different people and different societies deal with trauma and attempt healing in their own unique ways. Physical, psychological, and other types of trauma inflict different kinds and depths of wounds. Recovery is also individual. Our minds and bodies process the blows or losses differently. How we heal is ultimately the most critical part of the equation. AUB and Lebanon have been recovering from a series of blows, and we are indeed healing in different ways, at different paces. But new wounds keep opening.

AUB AND LEBANON HAVE BEEN RECOVERING FROM A SERIES OF BLOWS, AND WE ARE INDEED HEALING IN DIFFERENT WAYS, AT DIFFERENT PACES. BUT NEW WOUNDS KEEP OPENING

The AUB community has been coping with the collective trauma we have faced and continue to face through persistence, perseverance, and adaptation. We completed exams administered in nine countries on December 22, 2024, then launched our spring term on January 16, 2025, as planned, albeit with some 1,500 incomplete grades for students across their courses and exams, due to persistent fallout from the recent war. With systematic organization led by the faculties and schools, the Office of the Registrar, and faculty members, this number is happily declining, and students are getting back on track. We fully anticipate resolving the remaining incompletes by mid-March, prior to our next Board of Trustees meeting in NYC. We are also hopeful that we will be able to rebound from recent funding uncertainties with some of our US partners.

WE COMPLETED EXAMS ADMINISTERED IN NINE COUNTRIES ON DECEMBER 22, 2024, THEN LAUNCHED OUR SPRING TERM ON JANUARY 16, 2025, AS PLANNED

Thinking of the suffering we in Lebanon have faced, particularly over the last few years, I am reminded of a poignant song that tried to provoke deep inward reflection after a major trauma. Twenty months after what came to be known as 9/11, the American band, the Black Eyed Peas, responded to the fallout of that day with their haunting, melodic song Where is the Love:

“What’s wrong with the world, Mama?
People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas
I think the whole world’s addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that’ll bring you trauma
…But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate, then you’re bound to get irate, yeah”

The chorus doubled down, universalizing suffering, something we can relate to while watching scenes of devastation from our region.

“People killin’, people dyin’
Children hurtin’, hear them cryin’
Can you practice what you preach?
And would you turn the other cheek?
Father, father, father, help us
Send some guidance from above
‘Cause people got me, got me questioning
Where is the love?”

The song struck a chord with many and even angered some; not only for the universality of suffering and blame, but for the very question we rhetorically ask ourselves in hard times, individually and collectively: where is the love?

As I reflect on this question, I believe the answer must start with loving thyself. Triggered by alterations in the regional political order, as well as increased engagement by Arab, American, and European countries in Lebanon’s recovery, the country is facing a moment of truth. Lebanon’s heritage of persistence and aspiration received a boost when the widely respected Lebanese Armed Forces Commander in Chief Joseph Aoun was elected to the presidency of the republic. Shortly afterwards, our former faculty member, Nawaf Salam, became prime minister-elect of Lebanon. Within 26 pressure-packed days, Prime Minister Salam managed to assemble and gain support for a government made up of individuals whose personal and career trajectories are impressive. There now exists a collective determination to restore Lebanon to the rule of law, to build a nation which treats all its residents–citizens and otherwise–with respect and dignity.

THERE NOW EXISTS A COLLECTIVE DETERMINATION TO RESTORE LEBANON TO THE RULE OF LAW, TO BUILD A NATION WHICH TREATS ALL ITS RESIDENTS–CITIZENS AND OTHERWISE–WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY

While many have high hopes for this government, we have even greater ones for the country and region, based on what we see from our community of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni. It is they, after all, who rally to support their compatriots and citizens of the region and the world, time and again, crisis after crisis. They have not only taken up the causes of the unfinished national projects of the Levant but have repeatedly prioritized championing the rights of those less fortunate.

We continue to intensify efforts to substantively improve the student experience at AUB. Incoming student applications this year at AUB, AUB Mediterraneo, and AUB Online indicate that year on year, interest in attending AUB continues its healthy trajectory of growth. We also remain committed to enhancements at our medical center and will endeavor to continue with major projects including upgrading our equipment and recruiting new personnel to ensure that our patient-centric care remains among the best in the world.

That ethos is strikingly similar to the message of hope heard at the end of Where is the Love:

“Now sing with me, y’all (One world, one world)
We only got (One world, one world)
That’s all we got (One world, one world)
And something’s wrong with it (Yeah)
Something’s wrong with it (Yeah)
Something’s wrong with the w-world, world, yeah
We only got (One world, one world)
That’s all we got (One world, one world)”

Indeed, there has been something wrong with the state of our world. We have not cared for it, or each other, well enough. Now, we are more determined than ever to push forward, to make a difference, to speak out and stand up for what is right. As we promised General Joseph Aoun, the newly elected president of the Lebanese Republic, AUB will continue to place its considerable resources at the disposal of the nation and people of Lebanon, as we do for the peoples and nations of the region and the world.

AUB WILL CONTINUE TO PLACE ITS CONSIDERABLE RESOURCES AT THE DISPOSAL OF THE NATION AND PEOPLE OF LEBANON, AS WE DO FOR THE PEOPLES AND NATIONS OF THE REGION AND THE WORLD 

In answer to the question of “where is the love,” it is right here at the American University of Beirut, whose citizen leaders continue to strive for and to live life more abundantly, secure in the knowledge that while we only have “one world,” it can and must be a better world for all.

WHILE WE ONLY HAVE “ONE WORLD,” IT CAN AND MUST BE A BETTER WORLD FOR ALL