BEIRUT: Miss Lebanon 2011 Yara Khoury sparked controversy this week after she made comments which critics said showed she preferred the Republic of Congo to her home country.
The 19-year-old, who won the coveted crown on Jul. 10, posted an open letter on her Facebook page in response, saying her statements were not intended to offend anyone.
In an interview with Miss World 2011 judges posted on the competition’s official YouTube page, Khoury, who said she traveled to the Republic of Congo to visit her father, described the African country as calm and peaceful relative to the hustle and bustle of Lebanon.
“I think it's [the Republic of Congo] kind of relaxing for me because Lebanon is kind of noisy so people ... [inaudible comment] yes, it’s very busy and the traffic is crazy there so I think when I go to Congo, it is kind of calm, peace and people over there they appreciate small things. I kind of enjoy it: I feel more at ease. It’s like relaxation time,” Khoury said in the interview.
Khoury’s official Facebook was bombarded over the week by critical comments of her statement, many saying Miss Lebanon 2011 had voiced a preference of the Republic of Congo to Lebanon.
“Is it true what u said about Lebanon in Miss World 2011 London [?] ... if it’s true then u should be ashamed,” one recent post Thursday said.
Others described Khoury’s comments as shocking, particularly that her duty as Miss Lebanon was to represent her country.
However, many of Khoury’s fans defended her actions, saying the issue had been blown out of proportions.
Thursday’s youth supplement of An-Nahar newspaper led Thursday with an article asking whether Khoury deserved to keep her crown over the affair. The edited photograph that accompanied the article showed a hand clasping the tiara on Khoury’s head.
Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud told The Daily Star that the fuss over her comments had been exaggerated; criticizing the media which he said had blown the issue out of proportion.
"It is the Lebanese way of exaggeration," Abboud said, adding that Khoury’s comments did not contain anything derogatory about Lebanon.
“All she said is that she would go to Congo to relax because the people are nice there … and that Lebanon is hectic. There is no offense in what she said,” he said.
Asked whether Khoury deserved to have her title taken away, Abboud said: “There was nothing malicious about her comments that require action.”
In response to the outrage by some Lebanese and the media, Khoury had posted “an open letter to all the Lebanese people” on her Facebook page Tuesday.
“The adjectives I used are not said in a pejorative tone and usually describe the best cities in the world such as New York, Barcelona, London and Paris. There is no comparison made between Congo and Lebanon,” Khoury said in her letter.
She also added that her comments about the Republic of Congo, where she said “people appreciate small things,” had been misunderstood and that her statement contained no evidence of a comparison with Lebanese.
“It is normal for such underprivileged countries to appreciate small things since opportunities are scarce due to poor human and economical developments which are incomparable to the levels of education, to the financial success and to the cultural wealth that the Lebanese have achieved throughout the years,” Khoury said.
She also said that her answers were in response to a question on whether she liked visiting the Republic of Congo.
“Criticism is the price you pay with this title and you learn that no matter what you do, some people will try to rephrase your words to make it sound more like a scandal,” Khoury said.
When contacted by The Daily Star, Antoinette Ziade, Miss Lebanon's agent, declined to comment.