Lebanon, USA
Kerning Cultures
Kerning Cultures Network
4.9 • 529 Ratings
🗓️ 16 February 2019
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 2016, Fadi Boukaram planned to visit 47 American towns named Lebanon by road. Then, in Lebanon South Dakota, he discovered that all these other Lebanons have more in common with the country than anybody realised. This week on Kerning Cultures, a story about the surprising history that connects Lebanon, with a string of small towns in the USA.
Special Thanks to Fadi Boukaram, Bass Samaan from Trees of Joy, Linda, and Hazel McRoberts from the Long Branch, and Robert Auld for reading Mayor Jared Carr's proclamation.
Produced by Alex Atack. With editorial support by Bella Ibrahim, Hebah Fisher, and Dana Ballout. Sound design by Alex Atack. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In 2005, a Lebanese man named Feddi Bukharam was studying for his graduate degree in California. |
| 0:08.1 | So he was at home one day, clicking around on the computer, when he noticed something interesting. |
| 0:14.0 | I was Googling Lebanon on Google Maps, and it didn't show me Lebanon. |
| 0:18.9 | It showed me Lebanon, Oregon. |
| 0:21.9 | So I had no idea. |
| 0:23.0 | It's like, why would there be a Lebanon outside my Lebanon? |
| 0:26.2 | So I found a database of all the names of towns in the U.S. |
| 0:31.4 | I downloaded it, and then there was over 40 of them. |
| 0:34.4 | It was like, geez. |
| 0:38.4 | As Feddy learned, the reason there are so many Lebanon's in the United States is because Lebanon |
| 0:43.6 | is mentioned quite a lot in the Bible. And when Christian missionaries began settling in the |
| 0:49.1 | U.S., they started naming their towns after places they knew from the Bible, names like Lebanon, |
| 0:55.2 | Bethlehem, or Nezreth. |
| 0:57.3 | So Fezzi was like, hmm, hitting up all the Lebanon's in the U.S., that could make a |
| 1:01.3 | cool road trip one day. |
| 1:03.2 | But, you know, life happened. |
| 1:05.2 | I mean, after that, I finished my MBA, came back to Lebanon, worked in investment banking, |
| 1:10.1 | then in tax law, consulting, |
| 1:12.0 | etc. |
| 1:12.4 | It wasn't until 2016, where I was like, you know what, life's too short. |
| 1:16.5 | I want to do it. |
| 1:22.2 | Today on Kernan Cultures come with us on a journey to the 47 Lebanon's, thousands of miles away from Lebanon |
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