Lebanon has a long history of tension between different religious and political groups. Sometimes this results in civil unrest and – at times – armed conflict.
One of Tearfund’s partners in Lebanon runs youth programmes designed to bring together young people from across religious and ethnic divides to learn more about one another, take part in activities alongside each other, and build relationships that start to bring understanding and healing.
Levon* is 16. He is from an Armenian Lebanese family and studies at a Christian school. Before he joined the youth centre he did not have any Arab or Muslim friends at all.
Levon says, ‘What changed most in me is how I see people who are different to me. Last year, I thought they were bad people. Today, however, I am much more open-minded than I used to be.