Winning Lebanon

"Ma dama al-shabab m'ana fainana la shaka najihun With the youth at our side, there is no doubt we will succeed. This slogan from the Kata'ib, a Lebanese youth organization, reflects a sentiment shared across the globe in the twentieth century: youth, however defined-by age, class, gender- mattered. Kata'ib leadership knew this, and surely had the youth with them, whether measured by the tens of thousands of young Kata'ib members, their investment in the group's ideology, or their participation in Kata'ib rituals. In July 1958, for example, the Kata'ib held a ceremony for new members at its headquarters in Beirut, Bayt al-Kata'ib, or the "Kata'ib home." In the space that hosted many gatherings, ranging from lectures to sport tournaments, young men and women congregated alongside party officials and supporters to "perform the oath" (ta'diyya al-yamin). This included the routine dedication to party and nation, "in service of Lebanon," another Kata'ib slogan since the 1930s. Thereafter, recruits received their membership cards from the president of the party, Pierre Gemayel. He congratulated each individual on their "engagement in the new party life." The event then ended with the singing of the Kata'ib anthem, played by its very own band"--