Mustapha Badran

Lebanon

The day we created our peace flag was also the day Israel began heavily bombing Lebanon, my home country. My parents live in the south. While working, I kept taking breaks to check whether my family and friends were still alive.

It felt deeply ironic to make a flag about peace while my country was under attack. Yet my teammates and I continued. We created a clear blue sky, an open hand symbolising help and unity, and a lotus flower as a symbol of peace.

To me, peace means freedom: the freedom to be who you are without persecution. It means people living together with nature and animals, in a world where terrorism no longer exists and wars belong to the past.

We were - and still are - very proud of the flag we made.