Beirut
Sewing factories in Beirut have been working round-the-clock for the past two months to meet a soaring demand for the Lebanese flag, The New York Times reported this week. Patriotic sentiment exploded after the February assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri triggered popular demonstrations against the Syrian occupation. Since then, nearly three-quarters of a million cedar-tree flags have been sold, in a nation of 4 million people. One distributor said he sold every one of his 10,000 flags the night before a big Beirut demonstration last week. “We’re barely sleeping,” said Mona Nashar, a flag maker. “But we don’t mind, because it is our country’s flag.”
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