July 19, 2006
The carnage in Lebanon, particularly in the south, is difficult to understand, even for us here in Beirut. Images of children torn to pieces by Israeli bombs are impossible to process for anyone with the least bit of human empathy. If I have learned one thing about what it is like to be bombed, it is that it is not so much the fear of getting hit yourself that makes your pulse go up in overdrive whenever you hear the bombardment, but rather the knowledge of what those explosions do, knowing that they are tearing humans to pieces and delivering tragedy to those who survive.
It takes a cynic of unfathomable proportions to spin the current onslaught on this nation as a way to “empower” the Lebanese government to take control of the south, as Shimon Peres did yesterday. The audacity! To terrorize the civilian population in order to make them turn on Hizballah is not only cynical and bound to fail, but criminal. In what way was Hizballah utilizing a milk factory to send rockets into Israel? How does bombing a paper mill and a pharmaceutical plant “empower” the Lebanese government? What is happening is nothing less than the destruction of Lebanon, a collective punishment of the already weak for their inability to immediately pacify a powerful political force within their borders.
There has been a lot of helicopter activity over the Mediterranean outside my window today. I’m not sure if they are U.S. helicopters involved in evacuation efforts, or if they are Israeli helicopters on a mission of destruction. The mood here is still one of sadness. It blows my mind how quickly things have changed; just a little over a week ago I was enjoying the pleasures of this recovering city, and now it is once again bleeding, while I stay close to Hamra, since there is no telling if I can make it back if I venture too far out. There is simply no way of knowing which bridges or tunnels will be bombed next. Doctors from American University Hospital are being set up with rooms in the dorms; it’s the only way to ensure that they will be able to make it to work. One of them usually has a brief drive from his home to the seaside, where he would then take the highway to Beirut. The other day as he was driving to work he passed over one of the usual bridges, and a few minutes later his mother calls and tells him to turn back because the Israelis bombed the bridge. Well, he responded, I already passed the bridge… Now it takes him three hours to travel the same distance because he has to take back roads.
I’m seeing fewer and fewer westerners, and if I didn’t have a previous connection to this place and felt pretty much at home here, I’d probably feel left behind. Although, I know that’s not true, as I understand it, not that many have been able to evacuate yet. I know that my former roommate, who is a British citizen, is still waiting for a call just like I am. I have already elaborated elsewhere on my ambivalence when it comes to the evacuation, and I will not go into it again, but my previous position still stands.
Fortunately, I have people close to me here and I feel close to this place. It strikes me as ironic that I would end up living a war in the same dormitory I stayed in my first semester here, several years ago when I first got acquainted with Lebanon. Those were the happiest of days, and these are the saddest of days. For the time being, I pass the time through following the news, walking through the streets of Hamra (where very few stores are open), and watching DVDs. For some inexplicable reason, I bought a documentary on DVD entitled “Beirut under Siege: 1982.” I don’t know if I really want to see that right now, it’s the kind of thing you want to watch when you can say: “Look how far we’ve come since then.” Right now…well, we haven’t come very far.
It takes a cynic of unfathomable proportions to spin the current onslaught on this nation as a way to “empower” the Lebanese government to take control of the south, as Shimon Peres did yesterday. The audacity! To terrorize the civilian population in order to make them turn on Hizballah is not only cynical and bound to fail, but criminal. In what way was Hizballah utilizing a milk factory to send rockets into Israel? How does bombing a paper mill and a pharmaceutical plant “empower” the Lebanese government? What is happening is nothing less than the destruction of Lebanon, a collective punishment of the already weak for their inability to immediately pacify a powerful political force within their borders.
There has been a lot of helicopter activity over the Mediterranean outside my window today. I’m not sure if they are U.S. helicopters involved in evacuation efforts, or if they are Israeli helicopters on a mission of destruction. The mood here is still one of sadness. It blows my mind how quickly things have changed; just a little over a week ago I was enjoying the pleasures of this recovering city, and now it is once again bleeding, while I stay close to Hamra, since there is no telling if I can make it back if I venture too far out. There is simply no way of knowing which bridges or tunnels will be bombed next. Doctors from American University Hospital are being set up with rooms in the dorms; it’s the only way to ensure that they will be able to make it to work. One of them usually has a brief drive from his home to the seaside, where he would then take the highway to Beirut. The other day as he was driving to work he passed over one of the usual bridges, and a few minutes later his mother calls and tells him to turn back because the Israelis bombed the bridge. Well, he responded, I already passed the bridge… Now it takes him three hours to travel the same distance because he has to take back roads.
I’m seeing fewer and fewer westerners, and if I didn’t have a previous connection to this place and felt pretty much at home here, I’d probably feel left behind. Although, I know that’s not true, as I understand it, not that many have been able to evacuate yet. I know that my former roommate, who is a British citizen, is still waiting for a call just like I am. I have already elaborated elsewhere on my ambivalence when it comes to the evacuation, and I will not go into it again, but my previous position still stands.
Fortunately, I have people close to me here and I feel close to this place. It strikes me as ironic that I would end up living a war in the same dormitory I stayed in my first semester here, several years ago when I first got acquainted with Lebanon. Those were the happiest of days, and these are the saddest of days. For the time being, I pass the time through following the news, walking through the streets of Hamra (where very few stores are open), and watching DVDs. For some inexplicable reason, I bought a documentary on DVD entitled “Beirut under Siege: 1982.” I don’t know if I really want to see that right now, it’s the kind of thing you want to watch when you can say: “Look how far we’ve come since then.” Right now…well, we haven’t come very far.
posted by Hardig at 2:16 AM
6 Comments:
Thank you all for your comments.
Just to clarify a couple of things in reference to some of the reactions here: One, I do not claim to present scholarly articles in this blog. This is a personal, eye-witness account of what is happening where I am, how I perceive things from here. To the extent I have offered political analysis, I think so far it has been restricted to the statement of Israel's objectives with the current campaign, and why I doubt the Israeli strategy will be successful. As far as I know, nothing I wrote in that brief analysis conflicts with the presence of Syrian or Iranian interests, or Israeli concern with these interests.
Second, I do not put blame solely on Israel for the current situation, nor do I accuse Israel of acting out of an evil spirit, but out of a concern for security for itself and its citizens.
Third, I have stated that I disagree with the methods of both Hizballah and Hamas. I see no justification for the killing of civilians on any side. But the fact of the matter is that I am here in Beirut, I am seeing the results of Israeli bombs. If I were in Haifa, I would be writing about the results of Hizballah rockets.
Rather than aiming at offending me as much as possible, a much more constructive action on the part of dissenters to the views presented here, could be to present us with insights from other places, such as Haifa.
Dialogue, see? That way we can begin to understand each other, instead of throwing sand in each other's faces. How does that sound?
Why can't Arabs rid themselves of the criminals in their midst?
I admit here in America I don't have many Arab acquaintances. I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with a Muslim Lebanese American a few weeks ago before all these troubles started.
He kept trying to turn our conversation into a political one, condeming our President and Israel. Finally I had to explian how things looked from my perspective.
I told him I couldn't understand why a religion that claimed to be peacful had so many followers intent on either converting or killing us infidels.
He replied oh there are only a few of those criminals among us for every one of them there are thousands of peace loving tolerant people.
I said well why don't you kill them instead of leaving it up to Americans and Israelis.
Ronen,
Where did you get the idea I have removed comments? I haven't removed any comments whatsoever. Please, don't throw out unfounded accusations.
Thank you for writing this blog.
Dear Andy, my sister Ana Paula de la O sent me your blog. I just have no words to reply to your posts, I can`t imagine how you should feel right now, but I hope everything goes well and you make the best of decissions. Take care and my heart is with you.
Yaron,
Thanks for your well wishes. The issue of Hizballah's disarmament has obviously been one of the most sensitive ones in the Lebanese national dialogue. I don't think there is any question that the current government wants to see its authority extended over all Lebanese territory.
However, with the delicate political balance between the various sects in Lebanon, and Hizballah's civilian achievements (i.e. healthcare, social development etc.), especially in the south, has led to a situation where any forceful military action by the Lebanese government to disarm Hizballah could very well lead to the breakdown of the army along sectarian fault lines.
This is why it is not very useful to compare the number of Lebanese army troops, with the number of Hizballah fighters (I think Shimon Peres put the numbers at 50 000 Lebanese army troops versus 7000 Hizballah fighters).
So in order to even begin to understand the influence of Hizballah in Lebanon, you have to combine Hizballah's standing within the Shi'a community as being less corrupted and more able in general to supply their every day needs than the Lebanese authorities (the reasons to why this situation has arisen is of course a complex one in itself), with the actual feeling of legitimate claims on Israel with regards to Lebanese prisoners in Israel jails, as well as the territorial issue of the Sheba'a farms.
So, again, there is no simple "yes" or "no" answer to the questions at hand. Of course, one could make the case that the government is UNWILLING to forcefully disarm Hizballah, because in doing so it would risk civil war. Whether or not that means that the government is de facto UNABLE to do so is unfortunately up to interpretation.
In the future I intend to stick to my original thought with this blog, which was basically to provide a personal journal of my daily doings here in Beirut, but the question you asked was sincere and important and deserved a sincere answer.
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