People from more than 20 countries live in Beirut, many of them from the East and South of the globe, most of which came to Lebanon to escape either poverty or war or both. These people work in every profession possible. These people did not come to Lebanon with an empty heart and mind, they came carrying their way of life, their languages and lifestyles, as well as their songs, their sad and happy stories, which have increased during their years living in Lebanon, where they gained new tales, songs, experiences and skills. The lives of expats in Beirut often intersects with that of its “natives”, those that are poor, those that were impoverished by the economic collapse, during each moment of each day, but it rarely makes words that make sense, just like when letters cross in a crosswords puzzle.

 “Beirut crosswords” tries to connect all the tales, songs, experiences and skills, in order to make words that we can all understand, such as “compassion”, “respect”, “teamwork”. During the three-year duration of the project, the Action for Hope team will work on exploring possible connections between those who live in Beirut, through creative work in music, storytelling, cinema and cooking. We hope we can get a lot of non-professional creative people from these fields involved, or those who would like to learn and practice them.