How difficult is it to leave a war-torn country, searching for life, to find yourself in a land with a spirit, language and culture different than yours? Let’s imagine together the following scenario: a nineteen years old boy leaves his village, along with all the familial relationships and the love for the land and the country to immigrate to a large country on the other side of the globe. A country he knows nothing about except its name. What could his fate possibly be? Or what would his future be like? Isn’t it very difficult to imagine? Some people might even rush and say he will fail!
However, we will prove to you the complete opposite. We will tell you about the tough Lebanese spirit that blossoms wherever it goes. We will tell you the story of the Lebanese expatriate, the successful businessman, Joseph Kairouz, who carried his cedar with him to Australia and implanted it in every corner in the world through his meat company “Cedars Meats”.
The humble beginning
Joseph Kairouz, from Bsharri, immigrated to Australia with his family when he was nineteen years old, a very critical age when all future orientations, ambitions and dreams are determined. Kairouz was, as we say in Lebanon, “older than his age”, or in other words, a mature guy who knew exactly what he wanted…success, even if the aspects of this success weren’t clear at the beginning.
When his family, composed of a mother, father and six children, arrived in Melbourne in Australia, the younger ones went to school while Joseph and his brothers worked to help their parents provide for the family. Kairouz’s father worked as a butcher in Lebanon before emigrating, and Joseph decided to follow suit in Australia. The brothers worked in a company that exported meat. Their task was to chop the bones and with time a bigger ambition started to grow in Joseph. He started thinking: “if someone could succeed in this field, it means I, too, can succeed.”
The operation of search for a shop to open the butchery Kairouz aspired to own began, however, the success of this operation was obstructed by material details. In fact, it wasn’t easy for the young man to lend money from the bank nor was it easy for him to succeed in such a very competitive field. However, the one thousand mile journey started with a one mile and went on, until the success of Kairouz overpassed the local Australian community, reached America, Europe and arrived in China.
Joseph Kairouz proved that education wasn’t only limited to the school benches. The young man who was deprived from his scholar education due to the horrors of war in Lebanon succeeded with distinction in the school of life thanks to his insistence and perseverance to progress and improve. His business went from a small farm that was able to export meat in little quantities to the Middle East, to an empire of more than 400 employees dispersed in all the parts of the world. The big success witnessed by Cedars Meat encouraged Joseph Kairouz to expand his circle of production to include two new companies: Jimba Premium Quality Lamb and Southern Pride Premium Lamb.
From Lebanon to the world
Joseph Kairouz chose Cedars Meat as the name of his company because of his immense love for Lebanon. In fact, he wanted to transfer something from his culture and tradition to the world, and he found nothing more beautiful than the Cedars of Bsharri to feel proud about and to spread his name everywhere as a message from him, affirming the toughness of the Lebanese soul and the authenticity of its identity and culture.
Kairouz, his bothers and his family, live until now by the Lebanese values consisting of the united, strong and unified family in which the members work on supporting each other. Moreover, they live by the Lebanese authenticity, the coexistence spirit and the love of others. In spite of the increasing number of employees, Joseph and his brothers are ready to hold the hand of whomever needs them to earn their daily bread, and they are ready to train them and to improve their skills whatever efforts or resources it takes because they truly believe in the human being.
Humanitarian Work Of The Size Of The Successes
The name of the Lebanese expatriate Joseph Kairouz shined in the world of business and his companies became one of the most prominent companies in the market of meat exportation. The struggle story and the success of Kairouz were a motive for international and Lebanese media to talk about in order to unveil the beautiful and successful side of Lebanon through the Lebanese diaspora in emigration countries. Some of the most important programs that told the story of Kairouz were “Soufara El Arz”, hosted by the journalist Haifa Charbel who formed a positive link between Lebanon and the world through her perpetual effort to shed light on the successes of the Lebanese people, and “Saro Miyeh” program that nurtured hope back in the spirits of the Lebanese to remind them of Lebanon’s victories and golden age, both being broadcasted on MTV Channel.
The achievements of Kairouz weren’t only limited to the success in the world of business but extended to the humanitarian field. This man, from Bsharri, insisted on payback. In fact, he considered that Australia opened its arms and gave him priceless opportunities through which he was able to achieve his dream. Therefore, he had to pay it back, but how? The businesses of Joseph Kairouz come in support for Royale Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and support the Lebanese diaspora in Australia. In addition, he established the Bsharri Charitable Association in Australia and the Justice of Peace Association. These associations enabled Joseph to win many prizes, most importantly the Ethnic Business Award which means a lot for him. This is not the end of his journey, it is just the beginning!
