Sam Salamey (left), 19th District Court judge; Council members Leslie Herrick and Michael Sareini; Lebanese Consul General Suzan Mouzi-Yassine; Council President Susan Dabaja; and Police Chief Ronald Haddad dedicate a cedar tree planted in front of the Dearborn police station during a ceremony Aug. 23.
By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — A cedar tree now grows outside the Dearborn Police Department, 16099 Michigan Ave., for the current and future Lebanese generations residing here.
The tree was formally dedicated Aug. 23 after it was gifted by the Consulate General of Lebanon – Detroit and Lebanese Consul General Suzan Mouzi-Yassine.
“The cedar tree has been a totem for many cultures,” Mouzi-Yassine said. “It was mentioned in the Bible and by many classical writers who were impressed by the tree’s size and longevity.”
Mouzi-Yassine said the tree is a significant symbol of Lebanese culture and identity.
“In Lebanon, the cedar tree not only marks the flag, it serves also as a sign of the country’s perseverance and determination,” she said. “In addition to being an emblem of openness and building bridges among nations, its sturdy and durable wood was once used in trade between our ancestors, the Phoenicians and the rest of the world.”
She went on to compare Lebanese immigrants to the cedar tree.
“The Lebanese immigrants do resemble the tree,” Mouzi-Yassine said. “Their roots were plucked from the hills of Lebanon upon which God laid his gracious hand and raised his messengers, yet we are deeply and fruitfully rooted here. They have nurtured the land onto which they have settled.
“I hope with the planting of this tree, the Lebanese Americans will recall their heritage with pride and will cherish the strength of our Lebanese Americans’ bones that can find no greater symbol than the enduring legacy of Lebanese cedar.”
Along with Mouzi-Yassine, there was elected officials, judges, community members and representatives of the Lebanese and Arab American organizations. Police Chief Ronald Haddad, Council President Susan Dabaja, council members Michael Sareini and Leslie Herrick, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Helal Farhat, 19th District Court Judges Sam Salamey and Mark Somers and Islamic House of Wisdom Message of Hope Chief Hussein Elhaf celebrated the new cedar tree.
“Through the history of time, the cedar tree has been viewed as something holy, rich in culture, dignified and it served as an example of how human life should be conducted,” Police Chief Ronald Haddad said at the ceremony. “We’re very honored to have this tree, and although it’s a long way from home, seeing how we have such a strong and large Lebanese community here, we welcome this tree being here. And we’re sure we’ll treat it as it would be treated back home in Lebanon.”
City Council President Susan Dabaja thanked the city’s senior planner, Jeffery Polkowski; Mouzi-Yassine; and her staff for making the effort of planting something so close to home overseas in Dearborn.
“As a fellow Lebanese American, I know there’s quite a few of you here today,” Dabaja said. “As someone who was born and raised in America but has had the honor and pleasure to visit back home and see where my family is from, I think is such a sweet token to be able to plant it here in our city and allow my generation, the next generation and generations to come — of Lebanese Americans — to come here and hopefully watch this beautiful tree grow. I think it’s a beautiful symbol.”
Dabaja said Dearborn hopefully will plant a cedar tree in Ford Woods Park next year.
Sam Salamey, 19th District Court judge, said the ceremony and dedication of the tree would end that day, but the tree is for generations to come and for the ages.
“Today we dedicate this tree, a tree that is a symbol of Lebanon,” he said. “It’s part of its heritage and culture and it is planted in the soil of the country that we love, cherish, adore and proudly call home.
“This is a manifestation of the intertwining of the people of Lebanon and the people of the United States, and as you see around you, there are a lot of Lebanese Americans and Americans from Lebanese decent who hold positions of responsibility in the great town of ours, the hometown of Henry Ford.”
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])