By Rana Zalghout | Staff Writer
Growing up and having Instagram, I barely cared about following pages that highlight the beautiful sceneries of Lebanon; however, when I went abroad on an exchange program, multiple people from different nationalities informed me that they’re always astonished by the content posted by LiveLoveBeirut as they would love to visit Lebanon one day. As a Lebanese who is struggling while living in Lebanon because of the economic and political instability, and as a person who has always wished to leave the country, I couldn’t resist feeling proud that non-Lebanese people are interested in exploring Lebanon. As soon as I went back to my dorm room, I checked LiveLoveBeirut on Instagram as I started feeling homesick.
With over 700 thousand followers, LiveLoveBeirut is one of the many Instagram pages that shares the beauty of Lebanon. It foreshadows the gorgeous sceneries from the south to the east of Lebanon and highlights videos and pictures of Beirut. The page doesn’t feature any posts related to the Lebanese economic and political situation, it only reposts content taken by photographers, travelers, and Lebanese bloggers. Besides, it helps Lebanese residents to discover new sites in Lebanon and enjoy the scenery. In the comments section of the different posts and Instagram reels, there are foreigners expressing their interest in visiting Lebanon and exploring the areas posted online. Indeed, one can say that LiveLoveBeirut is successfully doing the job of the Ministry of Tourism in Lebanon by attracting a good number of tourists to Lebanon.
On the contrary, however, many Lebanese people were commenting that the owners of the page are “hypocrites” because they are only posting the beautiful side of Lebanon without presenting the reality of Lebanon and the many people suffering and living in poverty because of the crisis. What’s more is that when some users expressed their wishes to travel to Lebanon, there were replies from people who deemed the country not worth visiting because of the lack of electricity, water and instability and that LiveLoveBeirut is “tricking” people living outside of Lebanon.
LiveLoveBeirut’s mission is to post the nature of Lebanon and break the false stereotypes about it, such as the ones that say Lebanon is a desert. If people wish to know more about the struggles that Lebanese people are facing, there are various Instagram pages that post about that. However, LiveLoveBeirut foreshadows the surreal views in Lebanon that actually exist. The Instagram page is not using photoshop or posting pictures outside Lebanon, but it features places in Lebanon that have amazing views. I believe that people should learn how to appreciate such pages that attract tourists in Lebanon and make people feel proud of belonging to the country instead of bashing the page and writing negative comments. Many Lebanese are struggling in the country, but the blame is not on LiveLoveBeirut, the real blame is on the politicians and the citizens who still vote for the same corrupt government!