When the delegation from Qleiaat (Akkar) visited the Regie’s chairman and general manager, Eng. Nassif Saklaoui, in his office a few days ago, it did not present him with the traditional commemorative shield. Instead, it offered a far more meaningful gift: the graduation gown of the town’s mayor and member of the Order of Physicians’ council in Northern Lebanon, Dr. Abdul Razzaq Khashfa, carefully displayed in a glass frame.
Khashfa would never have worn this gown had his parents not spent years working in tobacco fields. Before sunrise each day, they donned heavy clothing, gloves and boots and headed to the vast fields of northern Lebanon to harvest tobacco crops.
Their efforts enabled their son to begin his educational journey in Akkar’s schools, to study at Kharkiv International Medical University in Ukraine and later specialize in pediatrics at the American University of Beirut.
The story behind this graduation gown is not merely that of one individual
It reflects the experience of thousands of families who found in tobacco cultivation, and in their partnership with the Regie, the stability needed to educate their children and secure a better future for them.
For decades, the Regie’s role has extended far beyond the purchase of crops. By helping sustain the tobacco sector, it has contributed to the social and economic development of Lebanese villages, particularly those along the border. Many parents worked the land so their children could reap new opportunities, handling tobacco leaves so their sons and daughters could one day earn a different kind of paper: a diploma.
The income generated from the sale of tobacco crops to the Regie has long provided families with a sense of financial stability, allowing them to invest in their children’s education and future.
Tobacco and tunbac cultivation has been passed down from generation to generation, but alongside the crops, the fields have yielded ambition, perseverance and the desire for a better life. For many tobacco-growing families, education has led to improved living and working conditions, while the fruits of their labor have opened the door to a brighter and more promising future.