NNA – Caretaker Minister of Culture, Judge Muhammad Wissam Al-Murtada, in partnership with ‘LeBAM’, the Lebanese Band Association for the Promotion of Music headed by former deputy, Attorney Ghassan Moukheiber, organized today a musical concert on the internal staircase of the National Museum in Beirut marking the occasion of Martyrs’ Day, which was attended by a group of officials, diplomats, social activists and cultural figures. In his word during the event, Minister Murtada said, ‘Perhaps our meeting today on the steps of time whose eras and monuments are composed here, to revive a great historical day, with a beautiful concert, is a practical response to all attempts that seek to distort the national present that is suffering from ailments…’ He added: ‘People need a glimmer of hope, if culture does not secure it for them, their tomorrow will fall on the rubble of the present. That is why we always insist on a positive outlook, confident that the difficult stages in the lives of peoples are nothing but a summer cloud that will quickly pass as much as the people cling to their faith in their homeland.’ Paying tribute to the memory of the fallen martyrs, Murtada considered that ‘the martyrs of the sixth of May and those who followed them were among the righteous who penetrated death into eternity in the memory of the nation,’ noting that they ‘call on us to preserve the truth for which they were martyred…to love Lebanon, live for it, die for its unity, and always work to save it from the clutches of traps and conspiracies…’ Appreciating the musical performance marking the occasion, the Culture Minister said: ‘As for LeBAM, how wonderful is this verbal and spiritual mixture between the homeland and music, which, through the symbolism of its name, and the energy of our dear friend Ghassan Moukheiber, constitutes one of the glimmers of hope that should overflow to fill the nights of the nation…I may not be exaggerating if I say that with the diversity of its musicians and their instruments and the consistency of their melodies and voices, they broadcast the true scenario of Lebanon, which is diverse in unity and one in diversity, as I have mentioned on several occasions.’ Murtada concluded by indicating that ‘LeBAM is a musical group that has the image of the homeland, so let us listen to it with contemplation and joy in the hope that the homeland will return to being a land that has the shape of music and its impact that revives souls.’ Moukheiber then presented Murtada with a shield in the name of the Association, “as a token of gratitude for his tireless activity for the development of culture in Lebanon and for his support of music through the Lebanese Association, LeBAM.” Finally, tre band, led by Maestro Serghei Bolum, played Lebanese, Arab and foreign folklore musical tunes and melodies to celebrate the occasion.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon