In creating this most important garden in the heart of Beirut, we have wanted it as a space that symbolizes tolerance, understanding and reconciliation. The idea was powerful in its simplicity, novel and challenging, but at the beginning we were not sure of the public’s reaction. Some Lebanese had wished to retain in the city center a symbol of the horrors of the war, as a reminder for future generations. But to me, the garden seemed a much better response, more hopeful and far-reaching in scope and vision.
Among the 60 or so public open spaces and pedestrian areas being created by Solidere, Hadiqat As-Samah epitomizes our philosophy as not simply a real estate company, but as a city-making institution. We have understood, early on, the need to emphasize the human dimension in our endeavor and the need to revive the spirit of the city; to re-create life in the heart of Beirut, by making it, once again, the vibrant place where people from all walks of life come together, in a spontaneous and congenial way. Truly the city’s meeting point and common ground for all.
I believe the garden, with the ideas it embodies, the vision that it carries, its location among several places of worship, its design reflecting Lebanon’s varied landscape and numerous historical layers, will go further than any other public space in accomplishing these most important goals.
The project has caught the imagination of many in Lebanon and around the world; it also has had a very positive reception at international conferences and gatherings on the themes of peace, reconciliation, and post-disaster healing and renewal. This, it seems to me, sends the gratifying message that people join all friends of the garden in longing for these ideals.
To all the garden’s supporters, I hope that we have done it justice: in selecting the right site, with its layers of meanings, and in finding a visionary designer. And to all the people of Lebanon, I hope that the garden will help in the process of reconciliation; that it will deepen our awareness of our common heritage and identity, and strengthen our vision for the future.
My personal dream is that this powerful idea will have a wide resonance in our contemporary world of increasing intolerance and heightened tensions across cultures and beliefs. I hope that it will seem to many like a ‘still, small voice’ emanating from Lebanon, with a message of tolerance, understanding, forgiveness and hope.
(Extracts from Solidere chairman Nasser Chammaa’s speech at an event attended by HRH the Prince of Wales, where the Garden of Forgiveness model was displayed. London, March 3, 2004).