Some of them grew up on opposite sides of a demarcation line. Some come from families that lost members to the conflict. Today, they collaborate with the Lebanese Armed Forces, run community initiatives in their neighborhoods, and sat across the table from the French Ambassador to Lebanon and spoke first. Rebuilding Trust Between the Youth and the State  The visit centered on MARCH’s United Under One Anthem project, which brings together youth from Tripoli’s most conflict-affected neighborhoods through community service, humanitarian action, and direct engagement with state institutions. United Under One Anthem — The Room That Day  Youth participants present 30  French Embassy representatives 5 + Ambassador Magro  Military generals attending 3 Tripoli Municipality representatives 1  School representatives 2 📍 Neighborhoods represented Jabal Mohsen, Beb El Tebbeneh, Wadi Nahle, Mankoubin, Mallouleh Those youth come from Tripoli’s most marginalized and conflict-affected areas, including Jabal Mohsen, Beb El Tebbeneh, Wadi Nahle, Mankoubin, and Mallouleh, have long experienced a sense of alienation from the state due to years of state neglect and limited public services. Following the government-imposed security plan in the area in 2014, which left the city in a void and its youth with limited socioeconomic opportunities, this distance widened further, drawing many of them into cycles of violence and conflict. However, through community service, humanitarian action, and joint initiatives, MARCH worked on bridging the gap between these youth and state institutions which they have often viewed as enemies or distant from their everyday realities. Some of the participants come from communities previously divided by conflict, including former fighters who have since taken a different path. Today, these young people work together across neighborhood and communal lines while engaging directly with institutions such as the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Tripoli Municipality. In response, it created spaces for these youth not only to learn how these institutions function, but also to build relationships based on dialogue, cooperation, and shared responsibility and become community leaders. Hearing Directly from Tripoli’s Youth 30 young people from Tripoli’s most divided neighborhoods met Ambassador Magro face to face. They spoke about the realities of growing up in areas affected by marginalization, limited opportunities, and weak trust in the state. They also presented the Ambassador with a handmade gift they had created themselves — a gesture that reflected their creativity, involvement, and appreciation for his visit. The Ambassador also watched a documentary highlighting the initiatives implemented by the youth across Tripoli and heard directly from them about the challenges facing their neighborhoods and the actions they have taken to respond to local needs. The discussion offered the Ambassador a direct view of how sustained engagement can help young people develop a stronger sense of agency and belonging while changing how they perceive their relationship with the state and its institutions. For one participant, the moment carried a weight that went beyond the agenda: “I never imagined that I would be sitting at the same table, here in Tripoli, with important people like the French Ambassador.” Building Peace Through Partnership The presence of 3 generals from the Lebanese Armed Forces and 1 representatives from the Tripoli Municipality gave the visit particular significance — alongside the 2 school representatives whose institutions the youth have been working with directly. All of these institutions have collaborated with MARCH throughout the project, engaging with youth and participating in activities that create direct channels of communication between communities and public institutions. For young people who have often experienced the state mainly through absence or distance, these interactions provide an opportunity to better understand institutional roles while allowing institutions themselves to engage more closely with the realities and needs of Tripoli’s neighborhoods. This kind of cooperation is essential to rebuilding trust. Peacebuilding is not only about reconciling communities with one another; it is also about rebuilding the relationship between citizens and the institutions meant to serve them. Changing the Story of Tripoli Visits like this carry significance beyond diplomatic protocol. When the French Ambassador, 5 embassy representatives, 3 military generals, 2 school leaders, and municipal officials all come to Tripoli — not to deliver a program, but to listen to 30 young people — it signals something. It signals that locally driven peacebuilding in Tripoli’s most marginalized neighborhoods is no longer invisible. It signals that the youth doing this work are being taken seriously at the highest levels. And it signals that the story of Tripoli is being rewritten — by the people who grew up inside it. MARCH extends its appreciation to H.E. Hervé Magro and the French Embassy in Lebanon, represented by CDCS, for supporting the project and the youth continuing to drive this process forward.   MARCH’s community center in Tripoli →

Years of conflict, neglect, and political marginalization have left deep scars on Tripoli’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, particularly in areas like Beb El Tebbeneh and Jabal Mohsen, where state institutions have long been viewed with suspicion or outright hostility. For many young people growing up between the frontlines of former clashes, public officials existed only on television or in the context of security operations. This disconnect didn’t just breed mistrust, it created space for radical ideologies to take hold, offering identity where the state offered none. In response, MARCH has committed to a long-term approach that redefines the relationship between marginalized communities and the state, not through policy, but through presence. One of the clearest examples of this took place on August 21, 2025, when Tripoli’s newly elected mayor, Mr. Abdel Hamid Karimeh, visited Kahwetna, MARCH’s cultural café during one of the inter-communal engagement activities that are continuously conducted by MARCH to bring the pre-conflicting communities of Jabal Mohsen, Beb El Tebbeneh, Mallouleh, Mankoubin and others together. The mayor showed his presence as a recognition of MARCH’s youths’ efforts in the area. The mayor was welcomed by MARCH’s team and the café’s youth beneficiaries, many of whom are former fighters & ex-convicts. During his visit, Mayor Karimeh took time to listen to the life testimonies of at-risk young men and women who had once been caught in cycles of violence and radicalization. He also watched a short documentary that chronicled their journey from conflict to civic engagement. Following the screening, the mayor addressed the group, underscoring the importance of hope, accountability, and youth leadership in rebuilding Tripoli. He committed to supporting Kahwetna as a vital civic space, pledging logistical and municipal coordination to ensure that the center and the youth continue to thrive. The visit continued with a guided tour of Kahwetna’s vocational hub, where young people acquire practical skills in fields ranging from woodworking and digital embroidery to dental assistance. The communal lunch was even prepared by the youth themselves, bringing together community members from both sides of Syria Street around one table. Once a symbolic dividing line, the space now hosts conversations, friendships, and shared experiences. This kind of trust-building is not abstract. When young people believe in the responsiveness of institutions, they are more likely to turn to them in moments of difficulty rather than disengaging or retreating into alternative, sometimes radical, forms of belonging. What began as a visit became a signal, a small but powerful disruption of the cycle of absence and resentment that has long shaped Tripoli’s civic reality. This visit was a shift in narrative. For youth who have long felt neglected or misjudged by those in power, seeing the mayor walk through their space, listen to their stories, and speak directly to their experiences offered more than recognition. It offered a different kind of engagement, one where presence replaces distance, and dialogue begins to undo years of silence. These are the moments where institutional trust begins to take root not in promises, but in action. And when that trust starts to grow, so does the hope that future problems will be met not with withdrawal or resentment, but with connection, accountability, and shared responsibility.