"A Hashtag for a Better Lebanon" by Houda Hard, Sydney, Australia
Hashtags are an effective means to drive organic traffic to content and have it pushed out to a wider remit through categorization on social media. The power of the almighty hashtag has been discussed on many a forum. Let’s take a moment however to look beyond growing followers and building a brand and reflect instead on what else the hashtag stands for today.
Many of us could easily name a few hashtags that have gone global in the last few years as social media has become increasingly embedded in our lives in the many formats and flavors available at our fingertips and as people look to increasingly harnessing the power of the hashtag. Importantly for Lebanon, there are some new hashtags that have come to life recently which we should shine the light on. They are the brainchild of popular two-time World Blogger Awards winner (2019 Best Street Food Blogger and 2020 Best Expert Food Blogger) and long time advocate for a better Lebanon,
Dr. Anthony Rahayel:
The YouTube links below provide more information on these vital new initiatives and the very worthy cause they support.
These new hashtags and before them Anthony’s hashtags of #MenKelLebnen and #KolwTa3me, are proving a vital, on-going means of support for Lebanon from the Lebanese Diaspora. Few causes for the Lebanese have been more compelling than the cause to support struggling Lebanese families as the country continues to grapple with multiple crises, most recently the COVID crisis which has seen Lebanon top the list for the highest number of virus cases globally compared to population size, and the horrific Beirut blast last year. If we were to look at tackling all the country’s problems by harnessing the power of the hashtag, then we would require an incredibly long list of hashtags indeed!
All that said, and as powerful as the almighty hashtag is as a driving force for positive change in our world, my belief is that Lebanon has in its tool kit, something even more powerful. It has phenomenal people behind the hashtags - people like Anthony Rahayel and his NoGarlicNoOnions team whose sheer determination not to give up in the face of the mounting challenges the country’s people face, is awe-inspiring. As important as it is to open people’s eyes to these issues, it’s the people behind the hashtags we really ought to get behind to ensure they can continue to be that powerful driving force.
Lebanese everywhere are encouraged to get behind Anthony and get behind #BreadForLebanon and #OneItemForLebanon because together, we can make a real difference. To donate to these initiatives, you can do so via PayPal [email protected] or Western Union. The hope is that the positive changes we all desire and envision will become reality in the not too distant future, that we’ll have fewer problems and that we won’t need to harness the power of hashtags as much to tackle those problems.
In the meantime, let’s do everything we can to support and harness the power of positive influencers like Anthony Rahayel - hashtag “AnthonyRahayelisTheLebanonofTomorrow”.
