“Kulluna Lil-Watan” Initiative: Students Unite for Displaced People

In a remarkable show of solidarity, several student societies from the American University of Beirut (AUB) have come together to launch a humanitarian initiative called Kulluna Lil-Watan. These societies include the Faculty of Health Sciences Student Society, the Engineering Student Society, the Biology Student Society, the Chemistry Student Society, and the Pre-Medical Student Society. Their goal is to collect donations to buy medications, food, blankets, mattresses, and clothing to help displaced people in need or to gather direct in-kind donations.

With the support of the AUB’s Medical Humanism Fund, the students were able to link donations directly to a bank account, ensuring greater transparency and efficiency in managing the funds.

Centralizing Efforts for Maximum Impact

I had the chance to speak with Reine Abdo, a biology junior and pre-medical student, and one of the main organizers of this initiative: “It all started when students and friends from different AUB initiatives met while trying to help displaced people. We wanted to join forces, centralize our efforts, and take advantage of the connections we had, as well as the lists of shelters and people in need we had already compiled”, Abdo shared with me, reflecting on how the Kulluna lil-Watan initiative began.

Currently, around twenty students are leading the project, but Abdo is confident that the pool will grow and attract a larger number of volunteer students in the coming days.

Displaced Students Helping Displaced People

One of the most remarkable aspects of Kulluna lil-Watan is the involvement of displaced AUB students themselves. Many of them are actively participating in gathering donations and needed supplies for other displaced individuals. This proves how vulnerable groups, or those directly affected by displacement, are stepping up to create initiatives to support others in similar situations.

Abdo also mentioned that students are helping in the areas where they have been displaced, allowing the initiative to extend beyond Beirut and into various villages. The presence of displaced students in these areas simplifies the distribution process, ensuring that donations quickly reach those in need.

Balancing Studies and Relief Efforts

As the conversation came to an end, I found myself wondering how students, who are already experiencing displacement or are otherwise affected, are managing to find the time, bandwidth, and energy to organize and assist others in need. Furthermore, how are they balancing their studies, given that students are one of the groups most affected by the ongoing war, with their education at risk?

Abdo explained that many students are struggling to stay productive under these circumstances. Fortunately, with most courses now being held online, the situation is a bit better than what it was for example during COVID: “The hybrid mode that was used back then was a difficult  experience for many students,” Abdo shared. “Today, the context is different. Students are displaced or outside of Lebanon, and university classes cannot keep getting postponed.”

Reflections

It’s fascinating how the most vulnerable groups are the ones stepping up to take initiative, especially in the absence of an efficient and responsive government capable of coming up with an emergency relief plan. The more I speak to these frontliners, the more I realize that this instinctive solidarity is not just about providing aid — it is also a necessary response for society. It helps communities feel alive, effective, and perhaps offers a way to cope with the collective trauma society is experiencing.

But this is also a dilemma. One must be careful not to romanticize students, people with disabilities, migrant workers, and queer individuals who are organizing themselves. While the Stories Behind the Headlines initiative’s purpose is to document and visibilize these efforts, our aim is to advocate for state accountability and transitional justice.