What do you say to a friend who has just seen the death of his city? Beirut has no airport, Lebanon has no seaports and all entry points via the road to Syria have been cut off or destroyed. Lebanon is shut down. No one can go to work, to school, or out to the grocery store to buy food for their family. The bombs came without warning and took the entire country off guard. 30% of the citizens are Christian but almost 100% consider themselves Lebanese. The small exception is the people who are responsible for the attacks on Israel but everyone must now pay the price.
What can you say to someone who hasn’t slept in 48 hours, is surrounded by crying children, and the sound of chaos in the background? These people have no place to go, even out of the city there is a danger of being bombed as they try to reach family in other parts of the country.
Lebanon was just starting to recover 16 months after the assassination of their Prime Minister. To the Lebanese, Rafik Harriri was a symbol of hope, their JFK. His death plunged the city back into an economic downturn. A year of determination to move forward was finally paying off in new development, investment by other nations, the return of the tourist industry and a sense of optimism for the Lebanese.
You can’t tell someone to stay safe when there is no safe place. You can’t answer their questions about why the attacks are not a major world news story. You can’t answer on why the media and the US Government are only looking at the angle that the rockets used by Hezbollah were supplied by Iran. The story of the people is left out. In Mexico, there was barely a mention except in the CNN ticker
It took 24 hours to get through since the phone lines were down and the mobile communications were cut off as well. We talked briefly. People are scared. People are dying. Even if there was someplace to go, there’s no way to get there.
The cost will be huge. Politically, the destruction of Lebanon will work for Israel, Syria, and oddly enough Iran. The rest of the Arab nations will stay neutral. The US will push the Iran nuclear agenda out of this. Israel will be told to back down and play nice. The bombs will stop.
Who will help Lebanon recover?
What do you say? You tell your friends to stay inside and that you are thinking of them. You tell them that you love them. The last words I heard were “The electricity is going out, I have to go.”
I heard the phone disconnect.
Only silence was left.
What can you say to someone who hasn’t slept in 48 hours, is surrounded by crying children, and the sound of chaos in the background? These people have no place to go, even out of the city there is a danger of being bombed as they try to reach family in other parts of the country.
Lebanon was just starting to recover 16 months after the assassination of their Prime Minister. To the Lebanese, Rafik Harriri was a symbol of hope, their JFK. His death plunged the city back into an economic downturn. A year of determination to move forward was finally paying off in new development, investment by other nations, the return of the tourist industry and a sense of optimism for the Lebanese.
You can’t tell someone to stay safe when there is no safe place. You can’t answer their questions about why the attacks are not a major world news story. You can’t answer on why the media and the US Government are only looking at the angle that the rockets used by Hezbollah were supplied by Iran. The story of the people is left out. In Mexico, there was barely a mention except in the CNN ticker
It took 24 hours to get through since the phone lines were down and the mobile communications were cut off as well. We talked briefly. People are scared. People are dying. Even if there was someplace to go, there’s no way to get there.
The cost will be huge. Politically, the destruction of Lebanon will work for Israel, Syria, and oddly enough Iran. The rest of the Arab nations will stay neutral. The US will push the Iran nuclear agenda out of this. Israel will be told to back down and play nice. The bombs will stop.
Who will help Lebanon recover?
What do you say? You tell your friends to stay inside and that you are thinking of them. You tell them that you love them. The last words I heard were “The electricity is going out, I have to go.”
I heard the phone disconnect.
Only silence was left.
Very powerful and moving post. Thank you for the insight that most of us will never hear or even care about.
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