Yasmina Zaitoun's First Comment: The People of Lebanon are Unique

The Lebanese runner-up of Miss World, Yasmina Zaitoun (22 years old), expressed her pride in representing Lebanon "beautifully" and receiving the title of runner-up in a statement to AFP from India. She noted that this is "the first time Lebanon has reached this stage in the Miss World competition." Zaitoun, who hails from the town of Kfarshouba in the south of the country, said, "I did everything in my power to convey our voice as Lebanese, spoke about everything happening in Lebanon, and tried to show the world how strong and unique its people are." Zaitoun, who has studied journalism and is 167 centimeters tall, responded to a question posed to the contestants: "I learned from my upbringing in Lebanon how to spread love wherever I go, how to gain respect, and how to stand on my own two feet whenever I fall." Referring to the Beirut port explosion that resulted in over 220 deaths and 6,000 injuries, demolishing large areas of the Lebanese capital in August 2020, she emphasized that "even the largest non-nuclear explosion in history could not make us stop dreaming and achieving."