President Michel Sleiman extended his greetings to mothers, saying: “Today… the mother, on her day, is in her worst state, and spring, on its first day, seems bloody—burdened with the unbearable. It is as if joy has shyly retreated, and delight has withdrawn behind thick clouds of fire’s smoke and the dust of destruction, where the worries and tragedies of war intertwine. Neither did the holiday shine as it should, nor did spring arrive proudly as we have known it, but both came weighed down with sorrow, as if mourning what remains of peace in this world.”
And he concluded, “But hope never dies… it remains nestled in hearts, stubborn as the pulse of life. And tomorrow, surely, the flowers will bloom again, and the mother, despite everything, will find yet another reason to smile.”