Pity the Nation: The Tragedy of the Lebanese people

in In Feature In This Issue Inside Look on Lebanon Politics by Ziad Al-Achkar — June 20, 2012 at 7:08 pm | 0 comments

         There is something noble about the Lebanese Joie De Vivre or as Nemr Abou Nassar Puts it, the ability to find the positives in any and every situation, no matter about how bleak or scary it may be. The Lebanese have managed over decades to continue in believing in a certain image of Lebanon that we were all told at one point while growing up. Lebanon as we have been told is a country of coexistence, of love and culture, a nation that is proud of its culture and heritage; a nation filled with intellects and lovers of learning. Over the past few weeks and months, I’ve been pondering one important question, what the hell is this Lebanon that I’ve been told about? For the better part of 21 years I’ve lived in a nation where our definition of stability and normal would shock many, where an armed exchange in Rocket Propeller Grenades and heavy machines guns is just a “Mashkal”.

         For the better part of 21 years I’ve had the unfortunate luck to see many of my friends, family members (including myself) emigrate from this nation in the quest of a better future, hoping that one day the country will find its glory days as we were told existed before the 1975 civil war. It seems to me that with every year I spend away from Lebanon that the situation only deteriorates, and why wouldn’t it when incompetent, idiotic, racist and borderline psychopath led this nation, why would this country grow and prosper with such leadership. The Shame! We have come to call politicians those who go on TV-shows, cursing at each other’s, throwing chairs and glasses across the table when their points and arguments are proven wrong; and why wouldn’t they act like this? Why would any politician act in a civil manner when Parliamentary sessions are often interrupted when MPs come close to beating each other up and why? Because one has a different argument then the other? What happened to the spirit of democracy in this so called Democratic Nation? What happened to the freedom of opinion and the ability of one to express oneself without fear of repression? This nation deserves much better, but more importantly, this nation deserves a leadership that is in sync with its constituents. The people deserve leaders and politicians who will work for the nation, not for its expense. In the age of technology, and change, one must wonder how does a political class that is stuck fighting the battles of the past build a country. The answer simply put; it cannot. Pity the nation indeed, Mr. Robert Fisk was right all along.

       As I spend my day scattering through Archives from the past decade, I can’t but be disgusted by what has become of this nation, by a political class that has pushed the population into even more hatred and sectarianism; but still we listen, still we vote and support those who have only brought destruction and violence to this nation. In these dark days for Lebanon, all pun intended, Lebanese live in fear that once again their nation would become the battlefield from which nations fight their own wars, as if this nation hasn’t seen enough wars (Proxy included) in its history. This nation which has fought for decades the Arab war on Israel, and which since 1973 has been forced to single handedly carry out this struggle, while other nations prosper and for what gains? Decades of destruction, wars, tens of thousands dead and a million emigrated later what have we achieved? Nothing, absolutely nothing. We’ve carried on the Palestinian cause as lonely warriors, welcomed, although forcefully, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, along with their armed groups; leading to a 15 years of civil war that we have yet to recover from 22 years later; Bring on the Peace-Talks I say, and why do we wait for the Arab Approval when they sat and observed while our children and youth were killed, where were the actions of the so-called Brother and Sisters of this nation on these many occasions? Arab Brotherhood is the biggest lie of the century.

        Pity this Nation; abused and manipulated over and over again, too naïve to understand that in the geo-political world those with power are the ones that rule and force themselves while others fail. But still we believe, as we should, that the next year would be better, that our tourism will flourish once again, and that Beirut will rise as she has done on oh so many occasions, welcoming the travelers of the world, lovers of life and joy. The resiliency of its people cannot be broken, and if this nation has any hope of restoring its glory days, those resilient will have to rise up to the challenge, rise up against this corrupt regime that has spread to all levels of the state and its bureaucratic system; rise up against the unacceptable and shameful living conditions, rise up against the total absence of the state, and even worse and more crucially, rise up against the lack of electricity, clean water, a safe and functioning infrastructure. My fellow Lebanese, the status quo must be broken if we are to see in our Lifetime a flourishing Lebanon, a Lebanon that we all dream off, speak up and express your dissatisfaction in a democratic way, march down to the parliament like was done back in 2005, when for a moment the people led this nation, It’s is time the average Lebanese revolted against this system, it is time we put an end to this disgraceful political class that have shocked us over the past decades. My fellow Lebanese It is time to reclaim our nation.