Speak Out (send postings to mosaad@mac.com)

Hanady

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:51:00 GMT

Beirut | August 10

Hell started early toady.

It seems it will be hell all over. They bombed inside Beirut some half an hour ago. They bombed an old light house, so old no one ever remembers it exists. It's some seven buildings away from my house. But it is also some 4 buildings away from Hariri's house.

There's a small army unit based under that light house which also had transmission aerials that belong to the Lebanese Public Radio.(LPR)

They hit another transmission aerial, in Amshit, to the north from Beirut. It was on top of an old building that LPR have not used in years. There's a small army unit based there too.

They're bombing Baalback in the East, Beddawi in the North and they're hitting every single village from Tyre to Naqoura in the South.

Most hospitals announced they finished their fuel reserves. There's a ship loaded with fuel that came all the way from Algeria and has been waiting in the Lebanese (poisoned) waters for days for an Israeli OK to come in. In the newspaper, the two generators we have are out of order and they're cutting the electricity in some 15 minutes. So, I'm writing this in a hurry.

I feel so angry for what happened in London's airport this morning. No words can describe my fury. I wish I could undo it all. I just can't.

All I can do is sit here, write my messages, try to get them through for those who care to read them, and pray I would still have an internet connection to do so for as long as possible.

Last night I had a terrible thought: YOU ARE THE ONLY FRIENDS I HAVE LEFT. EVERYONE ELSE LEFT THE COUNTRY, EXCEPT FOR RULA.

I feel we're falling apart, one town after the other, one house after the other, one person after the other.

But I know that deep inside, none of us lost faith : we know who our enemy is, we know what it's capable of, and we know that this enemy knows that no matter what it does we will prevail.

Hanady

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 21:01:00 GMT

Beirut | August 6

I need to share a secret.

I know why I took half a day off yesterday.

Friday night, I went home at 11:00 pm. They were watching the news there. They keep the TV on all the time. I don't know when they're watching and when they're not.

There was the usual footage of villages with heavy smoke in the background; the usual figures: the number of dead, the number of rockets; the usual blah blah blah from DC (or wherever he's on vacation now), London, Paris and Beirut..

And then, suddenly, there she was. She was 80? 75? She was wearing a black and white dress, a scarf hardly covering her white hair. The most striking thing about her were her eyes. They were wide opened, as if they were screaming. They were so opened. Terrified, she looked terrified. I'm sorry, her eyes looked terrified. There were Red Cross rescuers helping her out of her house.

Someone was talking to me in the room, but I had my eyes glued on that lady's eyes, and I was trying to hear what the correspondent in the south was saying about her. SHE WAS BLIND, he said. The poor lady was blind, stuck in her house, alone, for ten days, not knowing what was going on, not knowing what she should do.

Were her eyes were open like this because she's blind, or because they were reflecting her feelings? THE POOR LADY WAS THERE, ALONE, BLIND, FOR TEN DAYS, UNDER THE SHELLING, NOT KNOWING WHAT TO DO, NOR WHERE TO GO.

I did not sleep that night.

And every time I remember this lady I feel I'm suffocating.

Today, there was a lady, same age, talking to TV reporters from her hospital bed. She had a "rural" accent, and when she spoke you could tell she was old because of the sound her denture made.

The reporter, who used to have her own games show, asked her with her very "Beiruti" , I'm-a- beautiful –spoiled- yet –compassionate- girl- accent " and how did you get here"?

"Ya binti (my child) "the old lady said, "When you get hit how do you get anywhere? What can you do? You go out, try to escape the shelling, but I don't have a car, and you can't leave while they're hitting, and what do you do when you're my age? I can't run, and there is no one in the streets to help you, and if a car happens to be passing by you can not stop it, who would stop under the shelling?" And cut.

There was a question haunting me, for the last few days. Two or three days after Qana, with the flow of pictures of the same nature coming from every region in the country, I kept wondering about the real effect of these pictures.

Ever since this started, my departement here decided we were only going to tell the stories of the people. The survivors, those in hospitals, those in shelters, in refugee centers, anywhere: our job is to tell there stories. Each story if we could. And to publish their pictures. Each one of them if we could.

But then , I thought , this was intended to show what it meant to be injured, to loose a child, a house , a village .. but what if this will only make people get used to the new situation. Would people get bored from these stories?

And most important, would the pictures of civilians killed in shelters, on roads, in house, become "normal" when you publish them everyday? Is this why they're bombing civilians all the time: so we get used to that fact, so we get sick of seeing more if the same , so that pictures of bleeding kids loose their meaning…

The stories of the two old ladies offered me a partial answer: no , no one can get used to this. And even if you do , there will always be "new" stories, stories none of us could dream they might happen.

Eric Kennedy

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 18:54:00 GMT

Atlanta | Georgia | USA | August 7

Where’s the Rage?

We are now in the 26th day of the Israel onslaught against Lebanon and today, as it was in ’82, there is little being done to stop it. There are protests throughout the world and government ministers condemning the attacks on civilian targets but little to nothing is being done to stop it. Why is it that Lebanon is allowed to be pillaged and burned with no one coming to her rescue? What happened to the support and solidarity touted by Western powers following 14 March 2005? Where’s the rage?

For the people, taking to the streets, blogging, emailing, writing government officials and so forth is sadly the most we can do but what of our governments? Certainly our governments could do a great deal more than repeat the same, canned message of a “disproportionate” response to the kidnapping of two soldiers. Disproportionate? That’s what this is? Are we really at the point where a nation can openly and indiscriminately ravage civilian targets and aid organizations without some type of consequence? What happened to “never again”? Wasn’t the UN established precisely for the purpose of preventing events like this, Darfur, Srebrenica, and Rwanda? Where’s the rage?

How is it that we allow a single nation to wield enough power that world events happen or are prevented merely because they wish them to? Time and time again, we see wars or terrorism committed in the name of freedom or democracy and we know well that these actions will continuously be repeated yet they are allowed to occur? It is amazing that certain countries are permitted to demand that a state fulfill its obligations to a UN resolution its people created yet that same demanding state has over 50 outstanding UN resolutions it has ignored, some for over 40 years? Where’s the rage?

For those who fail to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. We’ve seen Lebanese history played out thirty years after it originally took place. We know well what Israel did and is capable of doing. We know the United States is anything but a “fair broker” in any situation in the Middle East yet, despite all of this, the world turns to the United States for a resolution to the situation. We know the US will not provide a resolution to this situation and will not stop the Israeli assault against the people of Lebanon. Why, then, do we insist on wasting our time and efforts trying to convince them to do otherwise? Why is it that people taking to the streets or to cyberspace are the only ones pushing for any real movement in this current disaster? Aren’t governments supposed to do this? Why are there no official state boycotts of Israeli products? Why are we held captive in the UN Security Council by only one state? Why do we not rise up and demand action be taken? Why do we not ignore the Security Council and enforce a peace in this catastrophe? If the US could blatantly ignore the Security Council to invade and destroy Iraq, certainly we have the authority/responsibility to bypass them to save Lebanon and her people. but there’s not sufficient action on the part of our governments which begs the question; where’s the rage?

Katelyn Best

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 22:43:00 GMT

Eugene, Orgeon | USA | August 6

As much as racism, Zionism (or anti-Zionism), terrorism (both
state-sponsored and otherwise), and simple hatred bleed the Middle
East, this new war is not about any of those issues. I believe that it
is due, in large part, to that magic three-letter word we've all come
to know and love: oil. Yes. Oil.

As far as we are being told, Israel originally attacked Lebanon
because Hezbollah had captured two soldiers. On the very first day of
fighting, three Lebanese and eight Israeli soldiers were killed, yet
Israel continued the attack in what was, as others have pointed out, a
completely out-of-proportion reaction. Frankly, nothing Hezbollah has
done justifies a full-scale attack of southern Lebanon, especially
when you consider that it's not only Hezbollah, but the entire
Lebanese population that's paying the price.

      Here is what we are not being told: July 13, 2006 marked not only the
start of the Israel-Lebanon conflict, but the inauguration of the new
Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku pipeline (BTC). The BTC pipeline runs through
Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, linking oil fields in the Caspian Sea
to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. The chief
shareholder is British Petroleum.
      Israeli control of the entire eastern Mediterranean coastline,
including Lebanon, would protect the security of Western oil interests
in the area. It would also allow an already-envisioned underwater
pipeline to be built linking Ceyhan, and the end of the BTC pipeline,
directly to Israel, along the coast of Lebanon. A US invasion of
Syria, Iran, or both, doesn't seem unlikely following this either, as
that would further ensure the security of the BTC (the pipeline runs
very close to the Turkey-Syria border at one point). If Syria were
Western-controlled, another pipeline could be built through Syria and
Iraq, branching off of the main BTC trunk. The more of the region the
US, or its allies, controls, the higher the security of its economic
interests.

If all this isn't completely disturbing to begin with, let's remember
that this is where third-world countries come from. Western countries
force the export of their natural resources tariff-free and at low
cost, effectively destroying any opportunity for the victim countries
to become economically stable. These countries could be very wealthy,
but as long as they are not allowed to process their natural resources
on their own terms, that will never happen. The rich get richer, the
poor get poorer, and the bombs continue to drop...
      Perhaps the most shocking part of all is that we are being told
absolutely nothing about it, at least here in the US. My hat goes off
to anyone who's even heard of the BTC pipeline, and it's been in the
works for several years. Here is a well-defined, seemingly obvious
explanation for an otherwise pointless conflict, and the mainstream
news media hasn't said a word.

Samer Chami

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 03:10:00 GMT

Lebanon | July 24

Dear Shahar since you understand what its like to be prosecuted, which you made so very clear in your comment then i guess your the most hypocrite person in the world.
Excuse my reaction, but may i remind you that Israel (the country you have devoted your life in supposedly "defending") and therefore YOU, have been prosecuting Palestinians for the past 58 years. Prosecuting Palestinians and kicking them out from their own land to make way to poor jews who have been prosecuted too. So thats your solution? you want shelter from prosecution, by prosecuting other people? that's just dandy. And then you claim you have every right to be on this land, a land that is not yours. The land of Palestine which Millions of Palestinians where displaced from including my grandmother. Another 2 millions butchered by Ariel Sharon and your murderous Zionist army.
Anyway why need a zionist state? WAKE UP hitler is dead; jews are not prosecuted anymore (but anyway there is no need to linger on that subject since Israel exist and we cannot change that). WAKE UP you are killing Millions of people everyday; i'm sure god will let that pass since you were prosecuted too right? You wanna send this comment and act like you know shit about the world i thought you were a 12 year old at first (not to mention the spelling) and almost got a heart attack when i found out you were in fact 35; supposedly mature, able to make good logical judgement.
So here is my advice to you: Grow up, read and don't believe everything people tell you; Israel should not be a state; You are a murderer for believing in it and if you truly feel what we feel then how bout you go and do something about it.
You say that Hammas and Hezbollah are terrorist and they are the reason why peace does not exist. Dear Neighbor and fellow friend, the reason that hammas exists in the first place is because of YOU and ISRAEL; because You and ISRAEL have prosecuted the Palestinians (and still are) and made their lives a living hell so their only hope is hammas a group who is trying to stop the prosecution and reclaim their rights. The reason Hezbollah exists is the same. Thus, you are responsible for these "terrorists" that you blame for not having peace.
Do not think that your dad being Iraqi or your mom having the number burnt on her arm justifies anything. I know they have suffered and i really do feel their pain, but what you are doing now only shows and proves that you are a hypocrite because you do not want to be prosecuted yet you prosecute. I do not know anything about you but from what i have read this is what i can deduce: You might be a pleasant person but your judgement makes me think you are brainwashed and spoonfed by your very narrow minded media which is controlled by your government who wants you to know only what they want you to know. 372 lebanese killed so far; 368 civilians killed so far. About 30 israelis of which 20 are soldiers have been killed. Who is the terrorist here? You tell me, and i plead you to read and understand what is really goin on before posting comments about you and your family. Go to www.naharnet.com and read the news. WAKE UP and make a change.

Nihad Akkad

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 03:09:00 GMT

Virginia, USA | July 24

Shahar,
You are trying to justify the carnage that the cowards Israeli are creating from the sky as a cleansing job for the people that don' share your value (disco, pubs...). Those people happen to be Lebanese citizens who love their land and sacrificing their life to defend your savage aggression. You don't love Lebanese, and don't try to bridge the relationships with Falafel and Labaneh. If you really care for humanity and understand suffering then you should call on your government to stop bombing innocent civilians. Your leaders were on television expressing that they have the capacity to reduce Lebanon to the stone ages (Bebe Natenyahu aka Joey Isuzu). Language like that doesn't reveal that Israel does give a flip about peace with their neighbors.
Furthermore, you cannot bring life to all the dead and disfigured people that your government inflicted the past few days, and I hope that you stop weaving Syria as the enemy of Lebanon, The Syrian and Lebanese have their differences but we have deeper roots than your mentioned common factors.
Finally I feel sorry for your level of understanding about the conflict in the middle-east, all the resisting groups, are a -bi-products of your prosecution of the Palestinians and your occupation of Lebanon in 1982. Before the catastrophe of last week there were many Arabs have come to the conclusion that we need to live in peace and accepted the creation of Israel, now your intentions are cleared, destroying a whole country is truly a necessary deed for your existence. Now go back to your wonderful life, you will need plenty of explanation to your conscience if you have one.

Ghassan Haddad

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 03:08:00 GMT

Lebanon (ran away to Dubai) | July 24

I have read most of the comments on here , took me some time i'll just be brief:

1) what is happening is unacceptable for any human being with reason, governments are acting like spoiled children who do not have the guts or the will to take action.

2) hizbullah and israel are both equally guilty and responsible for the crisis in the middle east, particularly israel for its harsh attack on lebanon that goes against all logic. i know israelis want to save those two soldiers but in times of war losing 2 soldiers is an acceptable loss not worth risking more lives ( 372 dead lebanese side and alot more then 2 people on the israeli side) this all for saving two soldiers...i do not understand how can governments be so illogical.

3) beleive it or not am sorry to say but the creation of the state of israel was the trigger to decades of bloodshed in the middle east....creating israel simply rid a whole people from a nation and a home....jews were persecuted? jews needed a state? tough luck ...you didnt have one...you could ve ran away to a neutral country like switzerland and stayed their safely...or went and build a new city in the desert or something were you will not bother or disturb or steal other people's country.

4) i urge people , particularly israelis and americans, to think more critically of all that goes around. i need to put this in caps because its important I KNOW SO MANY AMERICANS THAT DO NOT LIKE THEIR GOVERMENT, WHY DONT YOU REBEL? WHY DONT U SHOW UR ANGER? WHY DONT U EDUCATED PEOPLE? OPEN THEIR EYES ON THE CHAOS? ...am sorry but watchin the G8 sumit persidents eatin and getting spoiled while i was trying to run away from bombs to get to safety was not pleasant at all and only made the anger grow in my heart

5) this situation is like "an eye for an eye"....israel fighting "terrorism" with?...psychic warfare? bombs? blockades?...are those legal?...they been accused of using weapons that are banned by international laws but israel denied it. its like israelis are saying "we are LEGALLY massacring you and this is NOT terrorism"........one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

6) WAR and FORCE DO NOT HELP and i repeat DO NOT HELP to solve problems, only unsecure people resolve to force when they dont have the power to talk. I dont understand why we still have wars. People should have learned from the past and become more mature. why are france germany now best of allies when they were Worse of enemies just a few years ago? they learned from their mistakes and become more mature. we need to promote EDUCATION , CRITICAL THINKING , COMMUNITY SERVICE , TOLERANCE , BROTHERHOOD , HUMAN RIGHTS ABOVE ALL

7) solution to lebanon's internal problems are quite simple, we just need people with the will to do the job. one thing lebanese should do in lebanon is STOP identifying themselves to their religion, or region and start saying we are LEBANESE. KEEP RELIGIONS AT HOME! People should follow Civic LAWs in society to run a country, the bible and the holy coran and other religious books are to be used at home for personal use.

I could go on forever, I apologize for any inaccurate information or misspellings or offensive content but i have alot on my chest i needed to let go part of it. I warmly welcome any replies, i would like to know what all think ,mostly our israeli neighbors.

Rony Mecattaf

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 18:03:00 GMT

August 2

To the child of Qana, trapped inside a bomb shelter, obliterated before ever having had the chance to enjoy Life, a victim of one of the most hideous of war crimes, and of the barbarism of this day, I say :

I AM THE ISRAELI PILOT THAT WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE MURDER OF THE INNOCENT ON HIS CONSCIENCE

I AM THE HEZBOLLAH FIGHTER WHO FIRES MISSILES ON CIVILIANS FROM WITHIN VILLAGES AND URBAN CENTERS

I AM THE WESTERN LEADER WHO HAS MISSED OUT ON AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW REAL STATESMANSHIP

I AM THIS BYSTANDER WHO COULD NOT - WOULD NOT - STOP THE HORROR

I AM GUILTY OF YOUR SUFFERING. NO REGRETS, NO EXCUSES CAN ERASE THAT.

Claudia Matta

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 00:56:00 GMT

Lebanon | August 1

TRIBUTE TO LEBANON

Time moves on…
Everything else stands still…
Lebanon, Life, and Luxury
Is swathed in evil

The brightly colored lights of a Lebanese night,
Are now replaced by darkness in shelters alight,
And the euphoric beat in fancy clubs aglow,
Is substituted with the heartbeat of a refugee in sorrow,
And the delicacy of bouchées in restaurants,
Are swapped with meager food portions for citizens,
And the sandcastles my cousin built by the beach
is now a pile of rubble on once-existing streets,
And the ticking of the clock as I wait to go out
is now the ticking of a bomb, a ruthless clout
But the dreams we built for Lebanon's sake
are still standing there, they're never at stake…

Time moves on…
Everything else stands still…
But we surprisingly always defy
As we survive against their will

Enrique Julian Gasteazoro

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:52:00 GMT

Managua | Nicaragua | July 29

La duración de la agresión por parte de Israel hacia la República del Líbano se aproxima catastróficamente a los quince días. En el tiempo transcurrido más de trescientos-setenta hermanos libaneses han muerto, victimas de la avaricia, la intolerancia y por sobre todas las cosas el odio del estado y el gobierno de Israel. Es verdaderamente inconcebible que todavía, a estas alturas del desarrollo y progreso de la humanidad, se le permita a un grupo de individuos poderosos causar tanto daño, tanto dolor y tanta injusticia a otros seres humanos—nuestros hermanos y hermanas del Líbano—inocentes e indefensos. Cada uno de nosotros que tiene conocimiento de la atrocidad que esta siendo cometida por Israel, debe de cumplir con su deber como ser razonante y moral de denunciar los asesinatos y la violencia infringida sobre el Líbano. De lo contrario, cada individuo que le de la espalda a la situación, cada persona que se rehúse a aportar su pequeño grano de arena por la causa de la justicia, por la causa de la paz y por la causa de la unidad universal del hombre es igual de culpable e igual de malvado que el grupo de israelíes que están detrás de esta abominable guerra contra el inocente pueblo libanés.
      La comunidad internacional se hace de la vista gorda ante las agresiones de Israel, y sus reacciones han sido no más que tímidas en el mejor de los casos. ¿Cómo es posible que el Presidente Bush justifique las acciones de Israel diciendo que simplemente se defienden del terrorismo? Los israelíes pretenden que su guerra es contra el grupo Hezbollah, pero este ha sido el menos afectado por las agresiones de Israel. Es incluso posible que este movimiento rebelde, e independiente contra Israel se termine fortaleciendo a causa de la frialdad, y crueldad que han demostrado los israelíes. Los casi cuatrocientos civiles que han muerto no tienen vela en este entierro, como decimos popularmente. Esto solo comprueba que el gobierno de Israel es la peor organización terrorista del mundo. Las agresiones contra el inocente pueblo libanés, al igual que su trato de los hermanos palestinos, son actos abiertos de terrorismo e incluso se pueden llegar a comparar con las atrocidades cometidas contra los mismos judíos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Amigos estadounidenses, compañeros de la comunidad internacional, por favor denuncien estos crueles actos de violencia y terrorismo. ¡Por favor utilicen su poder e influencia para bien, detengan esta locura, esta guerra injusta e inhumana!
      Es la segunda vez en los últimos veinte años que el Líbano se ve estremecido por la guerra y agobiado por la muerte de civiles inocentes y la destrucción masiva de la infraestructura. A nosotros los nicaragüenses nos ha tocado vivir este tipo de experiencia en el pasado reciente, y debemos de saber solidarizarnos con nuestros hermanos y hermanas del Líbano. Es innegable que nuestro país pasa por momentos de muy alta tensión, es cierto que nuestros problemas—la pobreza, el hambre, la corrupción y la injusticia social—parecen estar conquistándonos a pesar de nuestro espíritu luchador y perseverante. Sin embargo no podemos ser tan egocéntricos, y decidir ignorar las penas de otros simplemente porque tenemos problemas propios. No podemos usar la ignorancia, ni la distancia geográfica, racial y cultural que nos separa del Líbano como excusas para hacernos los ciegos y sordos ante la injusticia y la violencia. El pueblo nicaragüense debe de demostrar su grandeza de corazón y de espíritu apoyando la causa de los inocentes y de la justicia. ¡Nicaragüenses!, tenemos que unir nuestras voces, nuestras plegarias y nuestros pensamientos para apoyar al pueblo libanés.
      No es necesario levantar armas e ir a pelear a tierras lejanas, y tampoco es necesario donar millones de dólares en ayuda humanitaria. Es tan simple como apoyar al Líbano y demostrar solidaridad, es tan simple como tomar consciencia de lo que esta ocurriendo y declararse en contra de la guerra, a favor de la paz y la justicia. Es tan fácil como lograr que la contundente voz nicaragüense se sume al grito que se oye por todo el mundo, el grito que clama y demanda, ¡justicia para el Líbano!

Haik Vardanyan

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:51:00 GMT

Los Angeles | California | USA | July 29

Well people... seems like most of you are addressing the situation in a "media" fashion... in other words... what you hear in the media or by your profesors... or by "oral traditions" you take... put a lil twist of your own knowledge on it.. and regurgitate it back onto this website... all of you address problems that are GOOD.... but in no need of re-saying... the real problems are or actually IS... this USA... and the way they handle themselves .... by controling and mono-polizing the world.... into thinking that THEY are always in for the BESt and MOST ETHICAL issiues and that is why they intervene... hench in point.. condaleeza rice... being sent to the middle east for peace talks... we the US of A like to take situations... analyze them with great detail... use the knowledge that is gained by CIA... and FBI... and INTERPOL and other such agencies that are TOTTALLY governed by the US of A... even tho they say its not.... and use it to our GAIN... and either go into countries that need help... look at there natural resources such as OIL.... and this brings up another MAIN POINT... OIL OIL OIL!!! and how we seem to have this uncany ability to "by chance" fall into countries rich in this... hence Iraq and other middle eastern countries... then theyll sit ... and have the media... throw stories at you to either 1)throw and divert your attention to what they want you to believe... or 2)scare the people.... in this case... for example the micheal jackson trials.. a man that is loved by every1 in the world... his trials were used to divert the attention of people to the trial instead of the real issues..... and how we as a country use the media to pretty much control 88% of the population... now lookin at the current situtaion... we have Israel backed by the US... and most of lebanon backed by Iran... and syria... etc... the real issues here are.. OIL and MONEY .... which is definitly the best interest of USA... who would rather takes the $1 bill over 1 LIFE... yes you heard me right... your life will be traded for a single US dollar... so stop addressing and playing the "BLAME GAME" kuz guess what... USA is one step ahead of you... because they feed you enough BS in the MEDIA... that they know how your reactions will be... israel this lebanon that... NO wake up... it is the path they want you to go to... playing the blame game... and pointing out and takin sides... why? so the USA can come in like a lil sneaky 4'9 person... take what they need then get out... and use DEMOCRACY as there means of exit... in essense... every country we go into to HELP out... what were realling doing is helping themselves out... now jumping back to condaleeza rice... what is a person with very lil knowledge of what is going around the world... except for what she is told by her High Ranking advisors know? she has no first hand expierence in the middle east? why was she put there... yet another "attention diverter" ... she is not going to accomplish anything... matter fact she might add more to the fuel on the fire... yet maybe shes there to gather information? you see what i mean... your told shes going there for peace talks... but how much would you really get done by having a meeting or a couple of meetings last for a couple of hours... when you are there for weeks and maybe months on end... NOTHING .... they expect her to be there and discuss topics of issues? when a couple hours every couple of days... you wont get anything achieved... yet shes another puppet... being played by the administraion... and on to Mr. Bush... how well of a character does a man show? when he doesent progress in his years of term being served... that man is makin the same mistakes as he was when he first got his term... messed up speeches... microphone problems... faces that bewilder me... as if he has no idea what hes talkin about and is reading a script.. so definitly stop saying hezbollah this... israel troops that... lebanon is better israel is worse or vice versa... STOP DOING WHAT YOU ARE FED.... wake up look at the issues at hand.... and dont be such a sleepy head....

Hanan Kabban

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:50:00 GMT

Nevada | USA | July 28

First, I’d like to thank the person who built this website. I was born in Lebanon to a Palestinian father whose family was kicked out of their house in Israel back in 1948. My late father used to sit and tell us kids the atrocities the Israel army did kicking all these families out of their homes. Even though my grandparents were among several who were forced out and taken in by the Lebanese, now Israel is trying to do the same to Lebanon.
Till today I hear the Israel’s saying – “this is our home now”. Well, fine take Israel. You’ll never live in peace. Yes, with the support of the US, you can kill one generation but remember you’re only bringing the next to hate more.
If you are in denial, you are an idiot. Yes, I left Lebanon after living 16 years in the war. But my heart is still there. I still have family there.
As for my current president in the United States, I have to admit I hope some of the bombs Israel sent toward Lebanon mistakenly get to him in the White House. Maybe and JUST MAYBE he’ll live a bit of the pain the Lebanese and I had felt and still feeling through today.
Even though, I try to remind myself that there’s an end somewhere in the near future and be patient. But I’m only getting more hateful of the Israeli’s and their aggressions on Lebanon.

Benjamin Huang

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:49:00 GMT

Los Angeles | California | USA | July 27

Dear Shahar,
In spite of all the negative responses you have received to your post, I wish to thank you for contributing to this forum. It is precisely this kind of dialog which is necessary for understanding to occur.
As a Chinese-American, I may seem somewhat removed from the crisis. But when my 85-year-old mother watches the images on TV of missiles flying and whole neighborhoods being destroyed, she remembers walking through the city of Kweilin after a bombing raid and seeing blood and body parts everywhere.
Abraham Joshua Heschel once said that "some are guilty and all are responsible." Wherever guilt may lie, it is our global responsibility to put an end to this nightmare.

Eric Kennedy

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:46:00 GMT

Atlanta, USA | July 25

David is the Goliath

Denial, a psychological defense mechanism, is an unconscious mental maneuver that cancels out or obscures painful reality. We hear no evil, see no evil, and hence feel no pain or confusion. We don’t have to confront or change things that don’t exist.[1] This is the mentality that plagues Israel today. Not just the people within the modern state of Israel but expatriate Israelis as well. For most in the Jewish state, Israel can and has done no wrong. The forcible removal of Arabs from their homes by British troops in 1947 and the subsequent occupation that continues today of Palestine was a war of independence, not a conquest. The 1982 Sabra and Chatila massacre were the result of an unpredictable action by a Lebanese militia that Israel had no knowledge of and couldn’t have done anything about, not a planned attempt to wipe out the Palestinian people or genocide. Now, the killing of some 340+ innocent Lebanese civilians and bombardment of Maronite and Sunni regions including ports and wells that have no relation to Hezbollah are actions to protect Israel’s very existence from a menacing terrorist threat that could wipe out Israel at any time, not war crimes.

Israelis have been subjected to the notion for nearly sixty years now that at any time, someone out there wants to and could eliminate Israel and Judaism from the Earth. On one point, they are right. There is always some raving lunatic threatening to liquidate the “Zionist state” and people. A role played beautifully now by the cognitively challenged President of Iran. Despite this, Israelis have been raised to believe the threat is ever present and they are alone in the struggle. Any time the Israeli military engages in another escapade it is most certainly to defend Israel from certain destruction. For Jews who live outside of Israel, they are told without reservation that “if you don't live in Israel you have no right to criticize Israel.” This, coupled with heavy censorship of the media in Israel, only buttresses the collective mentality of Israelis, and even many Jews throughout the world. Israel is the “Promised Land” and the last stand for Judaism throughout the world and, therefore, couldn’t and wouldn’t do any wrong (outside of basic embezzlement, corruption, and poor fiscal policy that is found in any government.)

Denial plays a major role in Israeli foreign and internal policies, especially in regards to the Palestinian situation. The powers that be in Israel often use this as the justification for their massive armament and frequent military adventures. They portray Israel as a David amongst a Goliath; the Arab states. Many times, the Israeli media and even the government will portray racist caricatures of Arabs as beast-like savages going after a helpless child or woman insinuating that the Arab states seek the destruction of a small, weak Israel and Israel is incapable of defending itself. That is far from the reality. Israel is actually a massive power, not just in the Middle East but throughout the world. According to an article in the Christian Science Monitor from December 9th, 2002, David R. Francis notes that Israel has received approximately $3 billion a year in US foreign aid for many years now, two-thirds of which is for military support. According to the CIA World Factbook, its GDP (purchasing power parity) is approximately $154.5 billion, larger than Venezuela, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Israel spends nearly 8% of its GDP on military expenditures and has a total of roughly 2.46 million citizens fit for or already in military service.

Compared with the Arab world, Israel far outguns the region especially when factoring in the reported 200 nuclear weapons they possess according to former Israeli nuclear technician John Crossman (a.k.a. Mordechai Vanunu.) Though several Arab states receive a large amount of US military and financial aid as well, none have the support in the US government or corporate world that Israel enjoys due, in large part, to the massive lobbying network AIPAC. In fact, many in the US government criticize these Arab regimes for alleged links to terrorism, undemocratic systems, and human rights abuses. Among these are Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Should there be another Arab-Israeli war, the US would automatically side with the Israelis as they did in 1973 and provide all necessary military hardware and financial assistance to ensure an Israeli victory. Israel’s military and economy, while not among the top ten in the world, are envied by many nations as over 160 countries rank below Israel in these categories.
The Arab states on the other hand are often disorganized and even exchange public insults when it comes to international or interregional issues. This was highlighted in the past few years when an Arab League meeting was pulled from live television due to Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi trading insults with Saudi Arabia’s, King Abdullah. Others have humble economic or military power if any at all. The Arab states tend to pose a greater threat to themselves and each other than they do to Israel. There is quite a bit of propaganda sent to Israeli citizens about the Arabs and conspiracy theories that always put the Israeli people on edge. The Israeli government is aided in this by groups such as Hamas who occasionally do attack inside Israel in the form of a suicide bombing that unfortunately kills several innocent people. Despite this being entirely unIslamic and tragic, the Israeli state presents this as the beginning of a wider war on all Israelis and makes them think it is vulnerable again. While those who die in these despicable attacks are vulnerable, usually club or café goers, the state itself is not. It is quite secure.

There have been many instances over the past thirty plus years of Israeli actions against many Arabs in the region however. Following the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the deadly attacks against Israeli athletes at the 1974 Munich Olympics, Israel began a policy towards Palestinians that would grow ever more brutal over the years taking more and more from a largely defenseless people. In 1983, Israel launched and invasion of Lebanon allegedly to push back the PLO from the Israeli border. This led to a full occupation of the south of the country and a catastrophic assault on the capital, Beirut. Israeli’s assault on the Lebanese during their civil war will go down in history as one of the more brutal, inhuman military campaigns of the 20th century. Israelis commonly use bombs, missiles, and other munitions that contain depleted uranium in the occupied territories which is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law. With the massive US foreign aid, the Israelis have built dozens of checkpoints within the West Bank of Palestine in an effort to cut off communication and to strangle the Palestinian economy. They systematically bulldoze the homes of the families of suicide bombers as an act of revenge and make no effort to address the root causes people in the territories become suicide bombers in the first place.
The current assault on Lebanon is a prime example of Israeli denial. Hezbollah, at best, poses a minimal threat to Israel by having the capability of launching several low tech, low power, short range rockets in Israel’s general direction. They certainly post no threat to the existence of state. Israel on the other hand, responds, allegedly, to the kidnapping of two of its soldiers by launching a full scale war against a defenseless Lebanese nation that had no knowledge of or say in the kidnapping. Israel is so powerful that it had the capability to cut Lebanon off from the world within 24 hours of the assault by imposing a naval blockade, bombing civilian air and sea ports, and taking out roads leading out of the country. Israel takes pride in attacking those it knows cannot defend itself against their superior firepower and know they have veto power in the UN Security Council through the United States to commit any atrocity they see fit. They have used this power for nearly thirty years now assaulting defenseless civilians and waiting for an opportunity of utmost weakness to invoke it’s “right to defend itself” usually from imaginary or miniscule threats. Be it the Lebanese civil war, economic and political collapse in the occupied territories, or currently in Lebanon following the removal of Syrian forces from Lebanon before Lebanon is able to build a professional army to defend itself.

Israel is far from defenseless. It has, and still does, commit atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity with impunity. The Israeli state has no regard for the human toll resulting from its military adventures on defenseless populations and fails to acknowledge any wrong doing or liability for the condition of devastated civilian infrastructures. Any time something is proposed accusing Israel of these gross and frequent violations of international humanitarian law, they cry foul and deny any wrongdoing while flooding the Israeli public with annihilation propaganda and censoring Israeli and foreign press from showing any pictures or videos or other media reports of or from the Israeli actions. I honestly doubt most in the Israelis public is currently aware of the humanitarian catastrophe in Lebanon. It is barely being told here in the United States due to our pro-Israeli media. Denial, a psychological defense mechanism, is an unconscious mental maneuver that cancels out or obscures painful reality. We hear no evil, see no evil, and hence feel no pain or confusion. We don’t have to confront or change things that don’t exist.

Sarah Warde

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:45:00 GMT

Beirut | Lebanon | July 25

I think it is time that we are heard massively, we, Lebanese citizens living in Lebanon. Our lives have been STOPPED two weeks ago, and we are in a frustrating state of waiting and enduring the massacre passively.
How long is the war supposed to go on before we stand up and protest ourselves in our own country???
I call all Lebanese people living right now in Lebanon, and that weren't coward enough to run away from the country, to gather in a massive demonstration in Martyr Square.
We gathered already last year. We can do it again.
I don't believe in Lebanon. I don't believe in the land. I believe in the Lebanese people.

John Jabbour

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:44:00 GMT

July 25

LEBANON IS NOT LEBANON WITHOUT THE SUNNI’S, SHIITES, MARONITES, ORTHODOX, DRUZE & ALLAWAH’S.
GOD BLESS LEBANON AND ITS DIVERSE CULTURE. MAY GOD UNITE THEM TO STAND STRONG AS ONE AGAINST
ALL ITS AGGRESSORS.
LONG LIVE LEBANON!

Anwar Al Khatib

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:43:00 GMT

July 24

Three Worst Men

There were three men competing to see who was the worst one in the world.
The first one attacked a woman, beat her until her teeth fell out and she bled from her nose and ears. He beat her so savagely that she fainted. He turned to the others and said, "I am the worst one of all."
The second man stepped up to rape her and beat her further until she was almost dead. He turned to the others and said, "No one can be worse than me."
The third one stepped up, smiled coldly, and said, "No, I am the worst one even though I just stood by and watched, because this woman is my sister.

The woman is Lebanon/Palestine.
The first man is Israel.
The second is the West.
The third is the Arab world that stood by and did nothing.

Essam

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:39:00 GMT

July 24

We, the Lebanese , for once have to realize that our beloved country can NOT & hope WILL NEVER be again a place for others to fight their problems out. Lebanon as a united country should demands & receive the following:

From Syria:
1)Written confirmation that Shebba Farms IS Lebanese, to include the marking of border lines
2)Ambassadors exchange
3)Freeing of prisoners in Syrian jails
4)Real efforts in helping to solve the killing of Harriri & other related crimes
5)Full & equal relationship in terms of political, social, and econmical issues
6)Stopping interferance in Lebanese political system

From Isra:
1)Freeing of prisoners
2)Return of Shebba Farms
3)Handing over to the Lebanese Army of landmines maps
4)Payment of compensation for the occupation of Southern Lebanon
5)Agreement of fair sharing of Lebanese water
6)Stopping daily violation of Lebanese Air/Sea/Land
From Lebanon Warlords (sorry Leaders):
1)Stop putting their own goals before the NATIONAL goals
2)Stopping the corruption & mis-managment & return of the stolen assets and money

...and finally, from all lebanese, to respect the law & order, to stop being under the control of corrupt useless politicians and work united for better beautiful Lebanon for all Lebanese.

Gus

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:38:00 GMT

Los Angeles | USA | July 24

I am a lebaneses Living in Los angels california, although I am a christian, and never supported Hizbollah, I can't accept or justify what is Israel doing in Lebanon today. I can only describe it as ( and they speak of been civilized and pro western) the most barbaric war of modern days. But my friends I am afraid the picture is much bigger then that.
Israel just made a big purchase of smart bombs from the U.S. after they've seen it in action in a TV commercial called " the invasion of Iraq" displayed by Gerge W. Bush. So by watching this commercial, they thought WOW we can do the same thing to Syria and Iran if they wanna mess with us. They thought by bying smart bombs makes them as smart as americans (trust me I heard this from an Israely neighbour of mine here in LA).
So ok now we have the smart bomb where can we test them, again lebanon becomes the arena of test as it had in the past, so they waited for hizbollah's next move, which in anyway was an ongoing thing in the south but Israel never made a big thing about it in the past , why now?
Results, Israel proved to be dumb and not smart, those bombs are designed to prevent or minimize collateral damage , and all they did "the dumbasses" is destroy residential neigbourhoods, and kill innocent civilians, they did not hit significant targets to hizbollah, all in all they FAILED the test, they are not ready to face up with Syria and/or Iran. And that is why you notice that their demands for cease fire are getting fewer by the day. At the end of the day they will settle for a prisonner exchange which what they should've done in the first place, and everything goes back to normal, the only difference is that Lebanon will pay the bill of destruction.
It is very sad to see my country been destroyed again , I have seen and lived that before (1975-1982) I left Lebanon in 1982, I was 24 years old then. But one thing I know and I can feel deep in my heart , Lebanon will remain as it did for thousands of years.
Long Live Lebanon

Oliver Petcu

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:37:00 GMT

Eastern Europe | July 24

My name is Oliver and I am a Hungarian / Romanian, living and working in Eastern Europe. I have never had any issues with arabs or israelis, beiong a pretty open character.
The fact the international community is turning its back on the Lebanese is unacceptable. The atittude of the US and Condi's "PR visit" is outrageous. The US has always needed to improve its imagine si there they are appearing to care....let;s see that!

Cynthia Merhej

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:36:00 GMT

Lebanon | July 24

Shahar, if you want to convince the Lebanese people and the rest of the Arab world to feel bad for you, then please do not tell us how much you suffered in the Gulf War, how your mother suffered in Auschwitz, or what your views on Hezbollah are; because I could go on and on about how my country suffered when Israel occupied it for years, describe the way my Palestinian grandmother and her family had to leave their homeland and how there people are still suffering till today, and explain why Hezbollah are here in the first place. Point is, there is no right or wrong point of view and we could argue about this our whole lives, and it would still not change a thing.
What’s happening right now is beyond either of us, it’s mind-boggling, scary, and completely incomprehensible. We all want peace, fine. But do you really think that is going to happen once Hezbollah or Hamas are dismantled? Please, think to yourself why on earth they are there in the first place. The formation of Israel displaced Palestinians from their homes, giving them little rights let alone a proper government. Many are displaced, living lives of poverty and fear, and are angry. Naturally, they are going to support extremist groups like Hamas. Basic history, and yes, it bit you back in the butt. Israel is going to continue to face violence from “terrorist” groups like these because it has created them. So now there is a choice of either wiping out every single Palestinian, or wipe out Israel. Neither are a pretty choice, and which is more justified? Once again it depends on your point of view.
It is a well known fact that Hitler terrorized, ruined the lives of, and murdered millions of Jews. His World War II genocide was grotesque, but so were the genocides of Armenia and Rwanda. Genocides have happened throughout history and in various parts of the world. The persecuted want a place where they can be safe, but does that mean they have the right to persecute others in order to get it and maintain it? Once again it depends on your point of view.
Israel is your home, but this land is also the home of others. Your country, and with the support of others, will go at any lengths to ensure that it remains there, but at who’s expense? The 372 Lebanese that have died till now? Please don’t try and convince me to be at peace with your country with your cheap reasons, when you have really no idea what Lebanon is all about.
The conflict happening right now is beyond our little bubble of “Israel vs. Hezbollah”, it is beyond even, this larger bubble of “Syria/Iran vs. America”. Point is, and I definitely agree with you on this, we want it to end either way before it escalate and ends up wiping out the world’s population. Believe it or not there is an even bigger picture that analysts, news stations, and newspapers fail to tell you about. Our progress has caught up with us, and it is slowly destroying us. The root of the problem is so deeply burrowed, that we can’t even tell what it is anymore.
This is your perspective, and I have mine. They clash, and they will continue to, because truth is, neither one of us wants peace. We want what we think is right, and once again this depends on your point of view. I want you, to just take everything you think is right and think of it as wrong. Look at it from the other side first. Look at what is happening right now. Realize that the only way to achieve this “peace” that you talk about, and revere so highly, is if you change. Yes, I’m talking to you, and every person that desires peace. We have look away from the microscope and look back out to the world again. We need to change our politics, our economies, and our media. We have to change our lifestyles. You want peace? Then please, give up your soft cozy bed for a refugee from Da7iyeh or a Palestinian child. We need change now, and we need it quickly before our own progress wipes us out.

Shahar

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:35:00 GMT

Tel Aviv - Israel | July 23

Dear Lebanese Neighbors..

Im reading your comments about this terrible war going on..and my heart is crying for you..
I can deeply understand what you are going threw.. I can imagine exactly how is it like to be in a war..to live under missiles attacks, to leave in fear, to mourn for a close friend or a relative who was killed in the war, even though he didnt take part in the war...to live with no running water, electricity turning of frequently, sleep in a shelter with many other people, in the heat and humidity, hardly getting food for several days..
Since, I have passed it all as well, and I am not that old, only 35 years old. I know exatly what do you going threw right now.
I have passed it in the golf war, while saddam (with his own reasons) decided to fire missiles all the way from Iraq into a country he had never visited and met the kind of people living here..(that time it was even harder being in the shelter because I was covered with a frightening mask against a possible chemical missiles attach..)
I am feeling for you, dear Lebanese neighbors, since I know exactly what you are going threw..Beacuse Im going threw the same, here and now, in Israel, just like you do.
I am not a politician, and this is the first time for me to write to you.
I would like to tell you that I was a student until not long ago, lucky to study in France on a student exchange program..meeting there many Lebanese who became to be my best friends over there.. and I guess I know why..Beacuse we had more in common then with any other nationality..having same Falafel (still urging where is there origin whether in Israel or Lebanon) eating same Labaneh and thinking in the same way about many things and issues..
I am sorry for your suffer at this war..
But let me end this mail by telling just a bit of what I think about the Hezbollah and its supporters front Syria and Iran:
They wont let peace in the Middle East, it is out of their agenda..They are here with their fundamentalist governments and believes to get us (Israelis) out of here..
But...sorry to say, we, my family and friends have no plans to leave, because of a simple reason, we have no place where to go to, since when my grandmother, who was living here childhood in Europe was running for here life, living her family behind to be murdered by the Nazis, explained me, that a Jewish state is a must, and if it was decided to be in Israel, this is the land that we, as Jews, should keep faithfully and fearlessly, even if we will have to sacrifices our lives for living here as a free nation..simple as that..
So, ending my letter, I can find a solution only if Iran, Syria and their extensions such as Hezbollah on our northern border and Hamas on our southern border will realize that Israel is here to exist as a Jewish country, and all the region including them (Syria and Iran) and of course the Palestinians and you the Lebanese can gain from it much, for modest reasons such as:
Good neighbor relationship
Similar culture and music
Similar food (such as falafel and labaneh)
High technology knowledge we can share (my specialty is Internet and High tech, like many of my friends)
Good pubs and disco places
Nice whether (i guess similar to the whether in your place)
And free borders to pass threw Europe to Africa (since Israel is just right in the middle to make you, Lebanese, come over, by car, threw Israel to visit Jordan Egypt and the rest of Africa, and we, Israelis, coming threw your country, Lebanon, by car, saving flight ticket, enjoying an incredible trip, threw your county, into Turkey and to rest of Europe (and maybe one day, threw Syria, to Iran and Iraq (which is where my Father was born...yes I am half Iraqi and Half Hungarian.. you see what the Hollocost cause, it cause 2 people like my father, escaping from Iraq to Israel, while he was seven years old to meet my mother who where born the same day like Israel 1948, after her mither was running from the Nazis in Europe.. still you can see the number The Natzis burnd on her arm while she was in the most terrifying ghetto Aushvitz in Germany..)
May the way to find peace will be find. May god will be with all of us for preventing war world no. 3 to happen, this time, the worst time, involving nuclear weapons of mass destruction for making chaos all around the Middle East....
Bless You, Lebanese neighbors and Friends.

Emile Hajjar

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:15:00 GMT

July 22

I cannot understand how president bush has the balls to say that Israel is defending itself against terrorism. It seems that he fails to see the terror that Israel is causing in Lebanon. So many people have been injured, so many others killed.. I do not understand how an idiot like bush is the president of the most powerful country in the world. Stop the terrorism in lebanon, stop destroying the country, stop killing innocent people and stop the war. Shame on Israel and also shame on this international community that is doing nothing for the lebanese people.

Boghos L. Artinian

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:14:00 GMT

July 22

The Israeli Video Game

From the unclaimed airspace
It's a simple video game
For the Israeli pilots
Swarming over Lebanon.
No need for hate, nor for ferocity
At that altitude, to pulverize
The Lebanese citizens effectively;
What's a small bus on a bridge
Or a building housing a hundred souls
In this Game? Just aim and press the button;
The rest is taken care of by soulless computers.
The pilots would not be blamed for the kill
For as children they had been doing it all the time,
And for the G8 members dining with Putin,
It has also become a video game!

Tony Loyd

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:13:00 GMT

Cedar Rapids - IA - United States of America | July 22

Enough! Aggression on ALL sides is wrong. Look at the results. Half a million people have been displaced. Hundreds have been killed, mostly civilians and a full one-third of which are children. Bombings are used as group punishment for the sins of a few. And much of this violates international law and UN mandates. I've had enough.
I will write to my representatives and ask them to stop the insanity. Please join me in insisting that the US government call for a cease fire. With one phone call the President could end these atrocities. Please email or write your representatives today.

Nadia Hassan

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:12:00 GMT

Ainab - Lebanon | July 22

It’s been 10 days now and this is the 11th… and the madness still hasn’t stopped. I don’t think our systems have fully registered what is going on… one minute we were having a normal summer, the next we’re in a full blown out bloody war… a war we didn’t start…a war we don’t condone. We feel like prisoners in our own country… like we’ve been taken hostage and are being used as pawns or human shields in someone else’s war…we stand in shock and awe and not a little heart break as we look at the state Lebanon was brought to in a few days…Lebanon that has always been the envy of the Middle east, and has been the scapegoat in the region’s crises… actually calling it a scapegoat would imply the choice was random, whereas the choice has always been calculated and spiteful… Lebanon has always been the beacon of education and democracy and co-habilitation of several religions…its citizens are smart, resilient, life-loving people whose creativity and talent has shone all over the world and in all fields…those qualities are what make Lebanon a potential haven of beauty and democracy in the Middle East…and that’s what always makes it a target for hostility. I think back to last February when the assassination of ex-PM Hariri, an event that was thought by the perpetrators (and we all know who those are) to bring Lebanon to its knees and create more division between its people…but what happened instead…was so politically mature, so harmonic, so overwhelmingly emotional that it inspired even Western countries and warmed every Lebanese heart that had refused to believe that the Lebanon they knew existed and COULD exist if outside factors relented…was not a fantasy… the Lebanon Hariri believed in even when things seemed very bleak…the Lebanon he paid with his life for… now, not even a year after the last political assassination of our free political thinkers…we find the “Lebanese Dream” as I like to call it…threatened yet again…and it breaks my heart… Our house overlooks Beirut and so we can see and hear all bombs that drop in Southern Beirut and the International Airport…I was heading up after a series of bombings, and as soon as I saw Beirut I broke down…I started silently beseeching Hariri to help us…for in these hard times he is missed the most. He was always a pillar of support to the Lebanese and always managed to ‘get things done’ …after all, he rebuilt half of Lebanon and helped boost our economy...it is because of him that this summer was supposed to be a record high in tourism…and to see it bludgeoned like that, and thus take us back years is sometimes too much to accept…”Look ya Abou-Baha2 what they’re doing to us!” …where is the hope we had after the March 14 movement?... where are the results of years and years of hard work?... I know Lebanon will rise again…it is in our genes… our history boasts of Lebanon’s capabilities of literally rising from its ashes…just like the Phoenix that is so rightly associated with us…but for someone who loves Lebanon with all her heart, I must ask…Till when will Lebanon bare the brunt of intolerance and political primitiveness in the Middle East? Till when will Lebanon have to keep fighting for its independence and prosperity? Till when will mothers and dads and wives mourn martyrs? … Till when?

Meggen Connolley

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:11:00 GMT

United States of America | July 21

I just wanted to send a note saying that I am fully disgusted by what is taking place in Lebanon and further disgusted by un-diplomatic actions of the White House. I am an American citizen and I stand by the Lebanese people at this time. I have sent emails around to people here in the U.S. urging them to speak out to their senators and I have donated money to help Lebanon.
I just want you to know that many people in the U.S. deplore what is happening there and are working to stop it.

Daisy Hamze

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:10:00 GMT

Windsor - Ontario - Canada | July 21

I just want to say Im praying for Lebanon and that we had a really nice peace rally here the other day (Windsor Ontario Canada)..THe fact that Israel is doing this and is being supported by other countries is making me sick! I have seen the difference between the CNN reports and the arabic news..my husband is lebanese and we all gather to watch the news from Lebanon and it is much different, it shows pictures that wud devastate anyone. Lebanon must stay strong and I Know that they will and when all this is done they will re-build, and we should all help. Its a beautiful country that I hoped to visit one day. I Love the lebanese and arabic people and they accepted me when i met him. I wish i cud help in any way.

May Allah stop this soon!

Phillip Bannowsky

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:06:00 GMT

United States of America | July 21

An American who taught in Lebanon reviews the current disaster
The cost of Israel’s attack on Lebanon, to the Lebanese people and to America, is much greater than the president or the media seem to understand.
My wife and I worked as educators in Lebanon from 2002 to 2004, and this past May we spent a week with our friends, colleagues, and former students in Beirut, prior to the current crisis.
In emails and phone calls, my friends are now calling desperately for help and are describing a city and countryside I have grown to love brought to its knees. The situation that is now nearly apocalyptic for the Lebanese people threatens to become apocalyptic for the entire region and possibly the entire planet.
The lighthouse on the Mediterranean coast, in whose shadow I dined on Arabic mezze and tea just a few weeks ago, and the residential community around it, has been targeted by Israeli bombs. The Beqa’a Valley orchard where my wife and I gathered mulberries in 2004 has been destroyed. The girl’s school behind our apartment, where scarved and un-scarved adolescents woke me each Saturday with their basketball games and cheers down below, is now filled with refugees from the South. The boulevards of south Beirut, thickly populated with Shi’as who had been driven from the South by the first Israeli invasion of 1978, is now a scene of flattened apartments and carnage. Many people are living in the streets and parks without water and other necessities. Our friends hide in the mountains, wondering how long food supplies may last and dreading that the social order in the cities below may collapse in a storm of looting and panic. An economy crawling back after a fratricidal civil war, an oppressive Israeli occupation, and a recent series of political assassinations is now devastated and at a standstill. A thousand bonds of friendship and interdependence fostered by American educators, businesspeople, aid workers, NGO representatives, and tourists in a land where generous hospitality is the common language, has been shattered by American bombs and rockets delivered by Israeli jets.
As of this writing, at least 230 Lebanese have been killed, almost all civilians, while Israel has suffered 31 dead, about half of them civilians. Hundreds of thousands are displaced. The economic infrastructure—roads, bridges, waterworks, power plants, airports, and seaports—has been systematically devastated. 25,000 Americans, along with tens of thousand of other foreigners, languish in harm’s way, many clamoring to escape. Given the true scope of the catastrophe and the danger it provides to the world, it is no exaggeration to say that Israel has wildly and disproportionately reacted to Hezbollah’s recent hostage taking.
Furthermore, Israel’s objective of smashing Hezbollah, of isolating it from the rest of the country, or of forcing it to disarm is doomed and can only lead to a greater disaster for all. Hezbollah is highly respected by most Lebanese, and revered by many, since only Hezbollah was capable of whittling away at the hated Israeli occupation that lasted from 1978 to 2000. Hezbollah also fills a social vacuum, providing, with Syrian and Iranian assistance, necessary social services among the disadvantaged Shi’a population in a country dominated by neoliberal economic policies and afflicted with clientelism and corruption. Hezbollah has a twenty-four year history in Lebanon, born as an Iranian-inspired Shi’a militia that fought the Israelis and evolved into an established political party with a broad spectrum of allies and a reputation for honest governance.
There are many distinct world views represented among the Lebanese, largely along religious lines, but that would be an oversimplification. Some oppose Hezbollah vehemently. Some support the Iraq war. Some support the Syrian influence, some oppose, and some say the Syrians have left, so Syria is a non-issue. Some believe European colonialism brought parliamentary democracy to the benighted Arab world. Some revere Generalissimo Franco and the Crusaders. Some revere Ayatolla Khomeini. Some operated under Israeli tutelage when they massacred the Palestinians of the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps, nestled in the Shi’a neighborhoods of south Beirut. But these disparate views obscure the fact that most are good people, dedicated to their families, struggling with life’s vicissitudes in their individual ways, vulnerable as human beings to terror and hysteria, but open to a reasonable resolution of their conflicts if it respects their dignity and rights. And in spite of their differences, right now they are all victims of Israeli violence and an American President who has abandoned his responsibility to use diplomacy to restore peace. When American forces were sent to Beirut in 1983 by an administration ignorant of Lebanese realities, 241 marines, soldiers, and sailors paid the price. Today, the price may be immensely higher.
The only other insight I can provide given our recent visit is regarding Hezbollah’s motivation for a violent and irresponsible escalation for which all Lebanese are paying a bloody price. The role of Iran or Syria in prodding Hezbollah to raise the stakes with a cross-border action can only be speculated. It was clear as we rode through the Shi’a neighborhoods in the south of Beirut in late May of this year that Hezbollah was in a heightened state of solidarity with the embargoed Hamas-led government in Palestine. Hezbollah activists with their yellow and green flags collected funds for Palestine at stoplights. Furthermore, Hezbollah has attempted at least two similar incursions, one in November of 2005 and one that failed a few months ago with the lost of three Hezbollah soldiers. Israel’s response at that time was no more than the tit-for-tat dance that has gone on for years with its tacit limits and only occasional fatalities, but that was before Israel’s current punitive expedition into Gaza. Robert Fisk, the premier journalist writing for the British Independent—generally unflinching in reporting unpleasant truths about Israeli policy and not given to speculation—puts much of the blame on Syria and its leader Bashar Assad, a pale shadow of his ruthless but wiser father, Hafez. Unfortunately, the U. S. has not had open channels of communication with Syria since the extraordinary rendition of Maher Arar, the Canadian national seized in New York by American officials and abused for a year in a Syrian grave-sized dungeon. There are a number of issues afflicting Lebanon and motivating Hezbollah that are generally below the American radar screen, but these must be discussed in any negotiations leading to a lasting settlement: remaining hostages, hundreds of Lebanese missing since the Israeli occupation, 140,000 Israeli landmines left in Lebanon, Litani River water rights, Israeli overflights by supersonic jets, and disputed territories such as the Sheba’a Farms.
We must demand that President Bush join the call for an unconditional cease-fire between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel. If any truce or cease-fire is to lead to peace, negotiations that follow should be open to all outstanding issues. If there is to be a multinational force inserted in southern Lebanon, it must be acceptable to the Lebanese. Of course, any ultimate resolution would include Israel’s compliance with U. N. resolution 242, a return to its 1967 borders, and its acceptance of the government of Palestine, but this crisis transcends competing viewpoints about that root conflict.
So, my friends, write, march, plead and demand. Recently Representative Denise Kucinich introduced H. Con. Res. 450, calling on the president to promote and immediate, unconditional cease-fire. You can urge your representative to sign on at http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/alert/?alertid=8919726&type=CO. To reiterate and suggest talking points:

The catastrophe to the Lebanese People is incalculable: hundreds killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, the economy devastated, and society on the verge of chaos.
Tens of thousands of Americans and other foreign nationals are in grave danger of Israeli bombs, Lebanese retaliation, and social chaos.
The country is rapidly approaching a point of no return, and the world cannot wait for the conflict to play itself out.
American influence, the development of democracy, and respect for human rights are likely to be the victims of Israel’s actions.
Israel’s use of American weapons to inflict almost entirely civilian casualties and to destroy the civilian infrastructure violates Section 4 of the (U.S.) Arms Export Control Act and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The region and the world are endangered by a spreading conflict.
Hezbollah is too entrenched, too popular, and too well-armed to be crushed without a totally unacceptable loss of life on all sides.
Hezbollah has a stake in the democratic and peaceful development of Lebanon.
Lebanese society is too complex for simplistic attempts at re-engineering by violence.
The Lebanese people can resolve their differences with support, not interference by their neighbors.
Given the scale of the disaster and the danger to the world, the Israeli reaction to Hezbollah’s hostage taking is wildly disproportionate and irresponsible.
President Bush must support a cease-fire without conditions for either side. Hezbollah stops its missile attacks on Israel and Israel ends all missile attacks, shelling, and bombing of Lebanon.

Diplomacy and negotiations are superior to missiles and bombs.
I have left out volumes here about the current conflict that I believe the reader can find elsewhere, especially concerning the whole history and analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is of course the context for almost everything in the Middle East, not to mention the complicated history of Lebanon. However, if you wish to delve deeper into the subject, there is a subscription information service designed for journalists and other professionals for 12 bucks a month, very up to date and objective at www.lebanonwire.com.

Sala’am, Paix, Shalom

Herve

SAVE LEBANON (hibrii@gmail.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:01:00 GMT

France | July 21

"Aux femmes de Beyrouth: ("To the women of Beyrouth"):

Aujourd'hui, j'ai dû me cacher pour qu'on ne me voie pas pleurer. Je suis allée voir des évacuations de Libanais. C'était dans le jardin Al-Sanayeh, où j'avais pris des photos il y a quelques jours et vu des vieux donner à manger aux pigeons. Pendant la guerre précédente, un panneau accroché à l'entrée avertissait:
"Il est interdit d'entrer avec des armes"...
Eh bien, dans ce parc étaient à présent réunis des Libanais émigrés en Allemagne et venus passer ici leurs vacances, sur lesquels toute cette horreur s'est abattue il y a une semaine. J'ai escaladé la grille du parc avec ma maladresse et mes 63 ans, j'ai pris une photo, j'ai essayé de redescendre et je me suis rendu compte que ma manche s'était accrochée à l'une des pointes de la grille. J'ai vite compris que je préférais sauver mon genou gauche, quitte à sacrifier au moins l'une de mes manches. Je me suis laissée tomber et là, avec une délicatesse que je ne saurais restituer avec des mots, un groupe de femmes m'a entourée, m'a embrassée et m'a couverte avec mon châle. Elles m'ont raconté leur tragédie. Au lieu de vous la décrire, je vous demanderais d'utiliser vos neurones et de l'imaginer.
L'évacuation de ceux qui sont toujours vaincus, toujours perdus. De ces femmes extraordinaires qui luttent fièrement pour leurs enfants et leur famille, et qui, même si elles détestent profondément les formes démocratiques avec lesquelles nous aidons Israël à se défendre, ont entouré l'Occidentale que je suis et l'ont couverte de tendresse.
Je n'ai pas pu m'empêcher d'aller chez mon ami Antoine le libraire, pour lui demander les oeuvres complètes de la poètesse libanaise Nadia Tuéni. Je vous lis un poème d'elle, intitulé Femmes de mon pays:
"Femmes de mon pays, / une même lumière durcit vos corps, / une même ombre le repose; / doucement élégiaques en vos métamorphoses. / Une même souffrance gerce vos lèvres, / et vos yeux sont sertis par un unique orfèvre. /Vous, / qui rassurez la montagne, / qui faites croire à l'homme qu'il est homme, / à la cendre qu'elle est fertile, / au paysage qu'il est immuable. / Femmes de mon pays, / vous, qui dans le chaos retrouvez le durable."
Femmes du Liban voilées ou découvertes, qui doivent vivre et que nous devons sauver de cette folie. Pour qu'elles continuent à garder les pieds sur terre, qu'elles aient toujours cet esprit fébrilement en quête de solutions quotidiennes, et aussi cette sainte colère avec laquelle elles crient aux journalistes: "Pourquoi? Pourquoi ils nous font ça ? Qu'est-ce que nous avons à voir là-dedans, nous et nos enfants ?" Femmes de Tripoli, de Saïda, de Tyr, de Jezzin, de Beyrouth... si promptes à donner la vie et à la conserver, si aguerries par la souffrance.
Aujourd'hui nous sommes lundi, mais on se croirait un dimanche ou un vendredi, la ville est fermée, et le Musée national, une fois de plus, est protégé. Le long chemin d'antan redevient un désert menaçant, hérissé de barbelés, de blocs de ciment, de soldats, de blindés légers. On voit briller au loin, sous le soleil, le patient musée qui renferme les vies antérieures de ce pays si difficile à comprendre et si facile à aimer. Ou l'inverse.
Je me suis rendue ensuite dans le quartier [commerçant] de Hamra, dont 80 % des magasins sont fermés. Un vrai crèvecreur : car quand Hamra n'est plus Hamra, ce sont les derniers. bastions de l'espoir qui s'effondrent. Parmi les boutiques restées ouvertes, deux sont particulièrement touchantes. La première, qui vend des parfums de contrefaçon (mettons du Chianel ou du Dioret), est dans le noir (n'ont d'électricité que ceux qui possèdent un groupe électrogène). La vendeuse, Mara, dit qu'elle ne cherche pas à vendre; tout ce qu'elle veut, c'est qu'on lui tienne compagnie. L'autre est un magasin de lingerie qui m'a fait rire et pleurer en même temps, parce qu'il est spécialisé dans les grandes tailles et, vu la tournure que prennent les événements, je vais avoir besoin de rechanges.
En parlant de femmes, hier, à l'hôpital Sahel, à Ghobeiry, au sud de Beyrouth, des journalistes étrangers se pressaient autour du médecin, en quête d'informations. "Et vous ?", ai-je demandé à l'une des femmes présentes. "Moi,je ne suis qu'infirmière", m'a-t-elle répondu. Elle s'appelle Aida. Dans une autre salle, deux autres qui n'étaient elles aussi qu'infirmières regardaient les infos à la télévision; près d'un banc, à proximité, se trouvait le landau vide d'un bébé. "Sa mère, une infirmière, est allée le promener, tant qu'il n y a pas de bombes." Elles dorment ici depuis le début des bombardements.
Les femmes de ce pays. Sauvez-les. ".
Maruja Torres
(dans journal El Pais, Madrid, traduction Courrier International)
Maruja Torres a été longtemps correspondante de guerre au Liban. Elle est arrivée à Beyrouth quelques jours avant le début des bombardements israéliens. Elle était venue faire des reportages sur la renaissance de la capitale libanaise…
Que faire, nous…ici en France? après avoir vu, lu et entendu ce que les média nous montrent au Liban…
Peut-être appeler à se rassembler devant les ambassades et consulats d'Israël (et d'autres pays du G8 + l'Elysée, les préfectures,…), pour y jeter des noyaux d'abricots (c'est la saison…) et y faire jouer à fond et sans interruption le "I put a spell on you" de Natacha Atlas…
Ceux qui ont vu le magnifique film "Intervention Divine" (de Elia Suleiman, 2002) auront compris…
Pour les autres, explications ci-dessous + écouter extraits de "I put a spell on you" sur Itunes; + chercher "Intervention Divine" sur "Google" ou http://www.cannes-fest.com/2002/f_divine.htm
"Intervention divine"
Film réalisé par Elia Suleiman (2002 )
Prix du jury, Prix de la Critique - Cannes 2002
(1e scène:
Tout en roulant, anodinement, le personnage joué par Suleiman jette par la fenêtre de sa voiture un noyau d'abricot… qui fait exploser un char israélien
2e scène:
Le personnage joué par Suleiman se trouve à un feu rouge, avec à sa gauche un Juif dans une voiture garnie de drapeaux israéliens; Il met en route à fort volume une cassette de Natacha Atlas en fixant derrière ses lunettes noires l'homme dans la voiture d'à côté : "I put a spell on you", je te jette un sort… par ce geste, c'est plutôt un "tu vois, je suis là moi aussi" que Suleiman lance à tous ceux qui répandent la haine et le mépris des Arabes de Palestine…)