“As a young expat, you kind of hope that you can bring a solution to your country, to your family. You feel responsible.

I always wanted to leave Lebanon and not come back.The country is a bit like this friend who has a huge potential but who keeps making the wrong decisions. I always believed that it was not ready to get out of its contradictions : it’s stuck in the past, though it says it wants to move on. 

But things started to change, positive initiatives started to appear, new media outlets started showcasing our youth. When the Thawra started in October 2019, I felt that we were not alone in wanting change, and I felt the need to do something. After all, it’s important not to forget where you come from.

With my friends in Montreal, we gathered to protest in front of the Lebanese consulate, and we were wondering how we could help. 

We had the idea to organize a party after the protest, to experience together the atmosphere of the Thawra. At this party, we had a “contribution box” to help Arc en Ciel NGO which had just lost one of its locations because of the fires. It was a success!

 That’s how the idea of the 961 Collective emerged. 

With 8 friends of mine, we aim to help Lebanese NGOs by organizing cultural events where we promote Lebanese artists. We’re obviously apolitical and areligious! 

For our current event, we are raising funds for the Al Fanar Emergency Campaign, to fund the Lebanese Food Bank and FabricAid. The donations will help provide food and clothing to people in need. 

The Covid19 pandemic forced us to be creative, as we had to take the event online. For the past month, we released once a week music mixes on Soundcloud, and we collaborated with Dear Nostalgia artist, showcasing her oriental visuals on our platform. People who want to help can donate through SoundCloud or GoFundMe. We already raised 3,700 dollars, and we have till tomorrow to reach our objective of 5,000 dollars! 

These are hard times for everyone. I just lost my job (I used to work in the events industry) but I look at the bright side, it allowed me to focus full-time on the collective. In the long run, we want to expand to countries where the Lebanese diaspora lives, and experiment with formats : organize concerts, exhibitions. We want to showcase the beauty of our Lebanese culture, we want to show that we know how to live and party! “ 

Roger Gédéon, 23, lives in Montréal. He just started the 961 collective alongside 8 young expats :Nadim Zaroubi, Rebecca Kachmar, Karim Abou Nader, Nadim Fayad, Khalil Rebeiz, Marwan Sultani, Nadeem Tabsh, Georges Rafie.

To listen to their mixes and donate, check 961 Collective.org.