MARONITE MAGAZINE

CEDAR LEAF
by Ken Hanna
Eid Chedrawi wins Lebanese hearts and minds in South Africa
The President of the World Lebanese Cultural Union, Mr Eid Chedrawi continues to gain support in South Africa.
He was on a ten day visit to the heartland of the Lebanese on the African Continent.
A c c o m p a n i e d b y h i s w i f e , H a i f a a n d a d e l e g a t i o n o f 6 m e m b e r s f r o m B r a z i l , r e p r e s e n t i n g o v e r 8 m i l l i o n p e r s o n s o f
Lebanese descent.
E i d ’s t o u r o f S o u t h A f r i c a s t a r t e d i n t h e s m a l l t o w n o f K l e r k s d o r p s o m e 2 h o u r s d r i v e f r o m J o h a n n e s b u r g . T h i s i s
E i d ’s p o w e r b a s e i n S o u t h A f r i c a . I t i s t h e h o m e t o w n o f m a n y f r o m H a d d i t E l J o u b e , h i s a n c e s t r a l v i l l a g e i n t h e
north of Lebanon.
A c o n v o y o f s e v e r a l d o z e n a c c o m p a n i e d M r C h e d r a w i .
A G a l a B a n q u e t i n h i s h o n o u r d r e w L e b a n e s e f r o m a l l p a r t s o f t h a t a r e a , i n c l u d i n g L e b a n e s e f r o m B l o e m f o n t e i n
who travelled hundreds of miles to be with Eid.
E i d s t r e s s e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f L e b a n e s e C i t i z e n s h i p w h e n m e m b e r s w a n t e d t o k n o w h o w t h e y c a n l e g i t i m a t e l y
obtain their Lebanese passport.
This is very important to the Lebanese in the diaspora, including, Africa and particularly South African.