Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry moves to correct the description of Mahjar writers on a New York monument and affirm their historic Lebanese identity

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants issued the following statement:

“Foreign Minister and Minister of Emigrants Youssef Rajji, in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, followed up on the issue of the explanatory plaque attached to the memorial in New York dedicated to commemorating the first Lebanese immigrants, after it included an ambiguous description of the identity of Lebanon’s most prominent Mahjar writers, foremost among them Gibran Khalil Gibran, Mikhail Naimy, Amin Rihani, and Elia Abu Madi.

Rajji immediately instructed Lebanon’s Ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, and Lebanon’s Consul General in New York, Talal Daher, to make the necessary contacts with the relevant authorities in order to correct the text in a manner consistent with the known historical, cultural, and geographical facts, and to affirm the original and authentic Lebanese belonging of these writers, who formed a fundamental pillar of Lebanon’s cultural legacy in the world.

Rajji stressed the importance of preserving accuracy in documenting the contributions of the pioneers of the Lebanese Mahjar, given the literary and civilizational value they represent in the national memory and in the distinctiveness of Lebanese identity.”