BEIRUT — My fellow Lebanese, come pick up your Medals of Immunity, since nothing seems to shake you anymore. There was a bomb, you say? We still don’t have a president? Another leader just got assassinated? There are clashes in parts of Beirut? Gunshots were heard? So then, what’s the safest route to go to the bar tonight?

Considering the turmoil we have seen and the conflicts we have endured, I’m surprised we are still standing — and even able to smile about it all.

Perhaps the Darwinian notion of “survival of the fittest” was conceptualized particularly for Lebanon and its inhabitants. If someone is wondering why, my response would be to look at the past four years of events in the country.

Our problem-solving skills, though requiring major retouching, are among the most advanced in the world. We have a new crisis to attend to almost every week. And look — there go the politicians yet again trying to resolve a new issue at hand. Yet here we are, a few months of peace have been secured, it seems.

However, our leaders cannot be entirely credited for the adept problem-solving skills of the Lebanese people. Their expeditious methods of restoring peace on the streets are not entirely effective. In fact, although we may have the most reputable risk management skills in our leaders, they are always seated around their table battling away crisis after crisis, so their timing is unfortunately way off.

We Lebanese youth find ourselves unable to plan ahead. From education to work, our lives are repeatedly put on hold, and we silently pray for a brighter future. Lebanon in general is not the best of places to establish oneself career-wise, as the opportunities here are limited. Since enrolling in my university, I have spent more time at home due to the crises than I have in the classroom, and the same applies to those who work. I speak for all our youth when I say that in order to fully apply ourselves and give back to our country, we need to experience what it’s like to be free from strife.

However, after this most recent conflict that resulted in the Doha Accords, all Lebanese are asking: “Did the politicians really have to put us through all this just to reach an inevitable compromise?”

So why don’t we call on the leaders and tell them to leave their bickering to themselves, to not burden us with their political differences, and to simply allow us to go through at least one day without having to hear them squabbling over power instead of dealing with more normal political issues. In the end, after all, it all comes down to the race for power.

But then again, Darwin kicks in and the fittest seem to survive.

Our will to live is stronger than ever. We have endured events far beyond our limits, yet have overcome them. The ability to adapt graciously to situations seems to be innate, whether becoming accustomed to times of war, turmoil, or even familiarizing ourselves with peace. We find ourselves yearning for what Westerners talk about, namely safety, security and stability.

So what can we, as the youth of Lebanon, do about all of this? Our options may be limited, but we want to voice our concerns — whether in editorials or by staging protests. After all, this is our homeland, and it is based on democratic principles — and no longer should our voices go unnoticed. Our sheer determination will keep driving us until we are heard, though.

There is not one event that we have not been witness to, not one dilemma at hand that we have not scratched our brains to try and find a solution to. The Lebanese are, each in their own way, self-trained political analysts. No one else in the world can give you the history of their country, updates of the current state of emergency, and what the leaders are trying to do to help, in less than five minutes, under machine-gun fire and RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) blasts.

But we can. It’s in our nature. It’s how we survive.

Ceem Haidar majored in journalism at the Lebanese American University and is a graduate of the class of 2008. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).