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I was born in Beirut, Lebanon. As a war child, I learned to carry a gun by the age of 11. I didn’t have a choice.
I didn’t kill anyone, thank God! But I saw people being killed and executed; death was a daily thing around us.
A war begins with the idea of us versus them. The guns and the bombs come later.
Humans are currently not civilized.
We are keen on destruction. The trillions of dollars spent on war are unforgivable.
Kidnapping is scary.
My schoolmates and I were kidnapped once. I was with my brother and everyone was so scared. The bus driver pleaded with the kidnappers to let the younger boys go and we got off the bus.
I never saw the heroic bus driver or the schoolmates again.
My destiny brought me to Hong Kong 15 years ago...having a British passport helped a little.
It was 1989 and The Berlin Wall had just gone down thanks to people power, and all these wars were suddenly ending, apartheid ended, the cold war was over, the modern environmental movement was spreading and there was a gigantic wave of optimism spreading all over the world...
My consciousness just shifted at that very moment, watching these global events unfold on the television at night.  I wanted to be part of the new movement.
Once you are aware of something, there is no way to become unaware of it. This is how we grow.
There are a lot of stereotypes surrounding the hippie – long hair, drugs, sex and all that. But put these together and that’s just a longhaired druggie who happens to have sex a lot. That’s not a hippie.
I don’t know what people mean by “hippie” exactly but I know that the word comes from hip and happy. A hippie is someone who adopts a lifestyle that is very gentle towards others and the world.
No, I don’t find myself hypocritical being a businessman and environmentalist at the same time.
I am more of an “ecopreneur” than an entrepreneur. Our business adopts ecological measures, we use recycled materials and try our best to be conscious of our impact on our surroundings.
Wanting to make a difference is important, but money is necessary for change to happen. Cleaning up the sea needs money; forest restoration needs money. But above all it needs people to be willing to do it.
The era of charity checks is over. There is no shortage of money in Hong Kong but there is a shortage of people devoting their time and energy toward creating a better world.
We are not ripping people off by selling expensive organic food. The cost is higher right now because the supply is limited. When demand goes up, prices will go down, as always.
Positivism is like a virus. It is all about getting over human inertia and being pro-active. It's contagious and spreads very quickly: try it!
Changes start in the mind.  Once your realize the planet is your only home, your whole mentality changes. We are all responsible for the state of our world. There is no one else to blame but ourselves.
There are a lot of rumors about me being a New Age freak, but people who know me know most of the gossip is unfounded. I hope.
I took care of a clinically depressed friend for a long time. Many people avoided him because they didn’t know how to handle him – not because they were cold-hearted people.
You are only doing someone a favor if you say “yes” before knowing what that favor is. If you have to ask before saying yes, that’s not a favor.
Life doesn’t end with death. It is a beginning of something else.
I am a romantic at heart. I am constantly in love with women. On the flip side, I have never been able to be with the same person for very long. That has been my downfall.
I lost the woman I loved the most. I was unable to give her what she wanted, so I failed. That’s the biggest regret of my life.
What’s in the past is in the past. The future will take care of itself. I am only concerned with the present.
Stopping yourself from doing something is more difficult than doing something. Try not to think of something for one second. It’s not easy.
Humans are obsessed with thinking. We think too much and we don’t feel enough.
My proudest project so far is the Lamma Forest. It is my greatest achievement in life to date and it is amazing to see barren hills return to life within only 10 years.


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Ecopreneur Bobsy

Magazines

The one-named “Bobsy” is cofounder of Life Café, an organic vegetarian restaurant in SoHo, and perhaps one of Hong Kong’s first “ecopreneurs.” He tells Jan Leung how being a child of war led to his journey toward peace.
