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Christian town opens arms to Moslem refugees
Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand
July 22, 2006
By Henri Bou-Saab www.scoop.co.nz correspondent in The Republic of
Lebanon
It is now the middle of summer in my village in Mount Lebanon,
Dhour el-Choueir.
It is beautiful here, high up above the Sea, the heavy heat of Beirut
on the coast cannot reach us
It is Friday afternoon.
Normally I would be down in that heat at my business, trying to find
some customers to buy the beautiful Brazilian bathroom accessories
that I sell.
But not today.
Not yesterday, either.
Not since the Israel air force decided to destroy Beirut's brand new
world-class international airport runways. There have been bombings
in the very ancient Christian fishing village north called Byblos,
bombs in the mainly Maronite Catholic Beirut suburbs of Hadaath and
Ashrafi'eh and in the mixed Christian and Muslim village of Zahle
as well.
Factories are being destroyed. Businesses blown up from the safety
of the super jets.
Lebanese are keeping away from trucks after a truck carrying medical
supplies was blown up .
Rita, my wife, works for pharmaceutical and medicine distribution
company GlaxoSmithKline. The company is still distributing medicines,
but Rita also has not been going into her office and she and our
children, Christopher and Bryan, are here with us at my parents home
in the Mountain.
So here I am stuck at home and not going into the office because
trucks go past my office. The office is also close to the port and
the air force bombed our world-class international seaport which is
very close to my office in the Antellias suburb.
The history of Antellias is very interesting.
The Armenian Christians set up their church headquarters here after the
destruction of the Armenian people by the Turkish Army in the 1920s.
In the 1920s, the communities of this Mountain - Greek Catholic, Greek
Orthodox but mostly Marounite Catholic - we accepted the Armenian
Orthodox and Armenian Catholic refugees escaping from their suffering
in Turkey. And in 1948, Lebanon accepted the Palestine refugees that
even to this day are still not allowed to return to their homeland,
which is Israel and Israel should be responsible for them, but instead
refuses to take responsibility for their needs.
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But as much my family's life has been turned upside down I know
that what has happened to us is nothing, nothing compared to what's
happening in the South of my country.
The majority of people in South are Shii'aa. They are Muslim.
So far, most of the 300 Lebanese civilians that lost their lives in
this total destruction of my country have been Shii'a and tens of
thousands of these civilians are escaping to find refuge in other
parts of the country.
My village has opened its arms to the refugees from the South. We
are not just doing this because our church leaders told us to, but
because we want to.
We want to help with shelter and with food. People are doing what
they must do.
We open our churches to our Muslim brothers and sisters.
I am afraid that if the Israeli Airforce continues this war for a very
long time then many more Lebanese Christians especially will join
the other Lebanese Christians that have already left the country to
go to America and Brazil and Canada and Argentina.
Not because we don't love our country but because we get pushed into
making a choice between what to do for our children, what is really
best for them.
I don't want to go. We don't want to.
But whatever happens I will never fight against the Muslims just
because that is what the Israeli Government wants me to do.
Israel wants a war between Muslims and Christians.
They can murder our civilians by the hundreds as they have already,
but they can't force us to kill each other on their behalf.
Never.
I promise you that.
Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand
July 22, 2006
By Henri Bou-Saab www.scoop.co.nz correspondent in The Republic of
Lebanon
It is now the middle of summer in my village in Mount Lebanon,
Dhour el-Choueir.
It is beautiful here, high up above the Sea, the heavy heat of Beirut
on the coast cannot reach us
It is Friday afternoon.
Normally I would be down in that heat at my business, trying to find
some customers to buy the beautiful Brazilian bathroom accessories
that I sell.
But not today.
Not yesterday, either.
Not since the Israel air force decided to destroy Beirut's brand new
world-class international airport runways. There have been bombings
in the very ancient Christian fishing village north called Byblos,
bombs in the mainly Maronite Catholic Beirut suburbs of Hadaath and
Ashrafi'eh and in the mixed Christian and Muslim village of Zahle
as well.
Factories are being destroyed. Businesses blown up from the safety
of the super jets.
Lebanese are keeping away from trucks after a truck carrying medical
supplies was blown up .
Rita, my wife, works for pharmaceutical and medicine distribution
company GlaxoSmithKline. The company is still distributing medicines,
but Rita also has not been going into her office and she and our
children, Christopher and Bryan, are here with us at my parents home
in the Mountain.
So here I am stuck at home and not going into the office because
trucks go past my office. The office is also close to the port and
the air force bombed our world-class international seaport which is
very close to my office in the Antellias suburb.
The history of Antellias is very interesting.
The Armenian Christians set up their church headquarters here after the
destruction of the Armenian people by the Turkish Army in the 1920s.
In the 1920s, the communities of this Mountain - Greek Catholic, Greek
Orthodox but mostly Marounite Catholic - we accepted the Armenian
Orthodox and Armenian Catholic refugees escaping from their suffering
in Turkey. And in 1948, Lebanon accepted the Palestine refugees that
even to this day are still not allowed to return to their homeland,
which is Israel and Israel should be responsible for them, but instead
refuses to take responsibility for their needs.
ADVERTISEMENT
But as much my family's life has been turned upside down I know
that what has happened to us is nothing, nothing compared to what's
happening in the South of my country.
The majority of people in South are Shii'aa. They are Muslim.
So far, most of the 300 Lebanese civilians that lost their lives in
this total destruction of my country have been Shii'a and tens of
thousands of these civilians are escaping to find refuge in other
parts of the country.
My village has opened its arms to the refugees from the South. We
are not just doing this because our church leaders told us to, but
because we want to.
We want to help with shelter and with food. People are doing what
they must do.
We open our churches to our Muslim brothers and sisters.
I am afraid that if the Israeli Airforce continues this war for a very
long time then many more Lebanese Christians especially will join
the other Lebanese Christians that have already left the country to
go to America and Brazil and Canada and Argentina.
Not because we don't love our country but because we get pushed into
making a choice between what to do for our children, what is really
best for them.
I don't want to go. We don't want to.
But whatever happens I will never fight against the Muslims just
because that is what the Israeli Government wants me to do.
Israel wants a war between Muslims and Christians.
They can murder our civilians by the hundreds as they have already,
but they can't force us to kill each other on their behalf.
Never.
I promise you that.