Danny returns to Beirut, the capital his native land, where he had some schooling before settling in the Netherlands. Lebanon is in many respects the most Western, open, emancipated and tolerant Arab country. However part of the legal enshrining of the official division of the population in churches and sects of Christianity and Islam, plus Druze, is their legal monopoly on performing marriages, rarely allowed inter-religious alliances. Many families are also conservative enough in this respect to repudiate 'faith traitors', while children can only change their legal religion form age 18. Especially among Syrian refugees, arranged child marriages are a desperate way out of the miserable camps. Proponents of civil marriage have a long way to go, despite support from celebrities and foreign brands.
