As I write this tension in
Lebanon is reaching boiling point. I spent the entire night reading tweets and
updates from various people in Lebanon about the situation and "what they
think".
I read a lot about peace and
restraint. I saw tweets about people who will not allow the situation to
deteriorate. However among the clatter I read some disturbing things from
influential bloggers/activists who are almost insulting some groups in Lebanon
be it March 8 or 14, politicians and people. I cannot understand why the
influencers are doing such tedious acts. Why are they not trying to calm
everything instead of mixing up with the clatter. I have read a lot since the
incident started on Sunday and although I do support some in Lebanon more than
others, I have decided not to write about who is right or wrong, who fucked up
or who did not.
I have decided to give you a
factual post about what is going on and why things have escalated so rapidly
and always seem to do in Lebanon.
Lets begin with the arrest of
Al-Mawlawi by internal security forces for alleged links to a
terrorist-organisation. Fair enough all seems well so far. They arrested him on
suspicion and the investigation is ongoing. However his friends reacted
differently and felt it was unjust, so they decided to ignite the situation and
fight with rivals. So this is basically what happened before the weekend.
Then on Sunday, Sheikh Ahmad
Abdel-Wahed who was in route to an anti-Syrian protest was killed at a Lebanese
checkpoint along with a bodyguard. This obviously fueled the fire even more and
the events on Sunday night were a result of this.
So I think I have summarized what
happened this week in Lebanon, now to analyze the situation. Keep in mind my
analysis has nothing to do with the events that transpired, Lebanon's problems
are not because of one or two sporadic events, rather a continuation effect.
What I mean here is that Lebanon has always had a 'laissez-faire" approach
when dealing with internal strife.
Lebanon has never recovered from
the Civil war and some might state, with just cause, that Lebanon is still in a
state of civil war. Granted it does not feel like an all out war however
neighborhoods are still clearly marked, political parties (who fought) still
can be seen legally participating. The root of all our problems is not because
of some incident or some murder, it is much larger than that. We as Lebanese,
taboo a topic instead of talking about it openly and getting over it
collectively. After the civil war, many parties and groups felt injustice
towards them; many who had served Lebanon in defense of the P.L.O. were thrown
in jail and chastised by society forcing them to immigrate elsewhere.
So what do we have here, we have
certain groups feeling injustice, others fleeing for their lives and to top it
all of, an unspoken civil war. Only a hand full was held accountable for murder
and other crimes. How can a 15-year war only wield a handful to blame? This is
mind boggles me however in the spirit of this post I must move on.
What happened this week in
Lebanon, and what happens every time there is an incident is that one
group or party was favored above another. A recipe for disaster if they’re
ever was one. And who is fueling all this, granted the politicians are not helping,
however the true fuel is coming from Lebanese people. Lebanese people who
directly jump to conclusions and attack the other party. Without the mere
knowledge that who you support, Aoun, Hizb, Amal, Kataeb, Future, LF and other
too many to name, or what religion you are from; Sunni, Shiah, Christian or
Druze, will not save you from the destruction that will befall all of us.
I have read tweets calling people
idiots, or shutting up others, I have seen discussions and comments get so out
of hand that if those arguing were in the same room a fight would break out.
The point here I am trying to make is that we need to get over this need to
blame the others, to look inwards first, ask yourself; what am I doing that his
harming Lebanon? And then a find a way to fix that.
Every party in Lebanon feels
injustice, if March 14 are in Gov then March 8 feel injustice, and vice versa.
Since the civil war, no one in Lebanon has felt equal to everyone else. And
this reader is the root of all-evil. As Lebanese we are all equal in Lebanon,
we should all have the same rights and security from the Government. How many
of you feel that security? How many of you feel equal to all Lebanese.
You see our problem is not our
government or our army or our politicians. This problem is deeply rooted within
ourselves. We all feel injustice at some point, some more than others yet we
all feel it. And who could blame us, no accountability, no one ever being
brought to justice and a "laissez-Passez" attitude when things happen
has burdened every Lebanese with a sense of Injustice.
The only remedy here is to hold
people (and I mean anyone) who breaks the law or causes
chaos accountable no matter what. But hold all accountable equally
with no preference to anyone. Once we can achieve that then our problems are
almost over.
Until then please I beg you to
stop attacking different parties or political figures online or
offline, call for calm instead and try to silence those around you who are
calling for arms and insulting others.
As for the influential people in
Lebanon, you above all have a duty to stop insulting one party or the other,
you are the intellectuals of Lebanon who with your words influence
people so start acting like it and stop insulting people.
This post is long but much had to
be said, I could not stand idle while an all out comment/tweet/arms is going
on.
