I would like to take the opportunity in this joyful day and congratulate our neighbours, the Lebanese, for making such a historic, humanly-impossible-to-achieve deal.
To those who happen to read this blog but have no clue what happens in Lebanon and what deal that is, here is a summary of Lebanon's history.
Lebanon for dummies:
Few years ago, Lebanon was existed
Few years after, Lebanese started killing one another based on their sects and political affiliation
Few years after that, Lebanese stopped killing one another after huge efforts, mediation and military intervention from the Arabs
Few years after that , the Arabs stopped their mediation and military intervention as Lebanese must have matured.
Few years after that and few months ago, Lebanese got nostalgic and started killing one another based on sect and political affiliation.
Few days ago, the Arabs started mediating and just today a historic deal between the Lebanese shepherds,aka ex-war-lords et al., was struck.
This deal comprises of the following:
Thou Lebanese should not kill one another
A trial period is needed to test the ability of a Lebanese to co-exist with another Lebanese who belongs to a different sect
A Lebanese of a certain sect can only elect another Lebanese of the same sect, inter-sectarian voting is therefore frowned upon.
Let’s try to be civilized for once and share the joy of such a memorable anniversary with our neighbor, Israel. Let’s show that we are stretching our hands for peace with the only democracy in the Middle East and prove to the Western Media that unlike they have been reporting, Israel is not surrounded by “often” hostile neighbors. I here call all my country-men and women to join me here in this post that is dedicated to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel.
What’s a better celebration than the one where we give a brief history listing some of the milestones, achievement and contributions to humanity of the “birthday” state, Israel?
We start the party with some milestones in the short history of the state of Israel. Noteworthy that amidst the sea which is the history of Israel, what will be mentioned here is just a drop…
Israeli Milestones:
Giving birth to a nation in Deir Yasin: The operation was not easy and left thousands of Palestinians dead as a result of tens of massacres committed with cold blood by the birthday boys, the Israelis. Of these massacres, Deir Yassin’s is the most remembered one, although not the most notorious but it was well documented and exposed than tens of other massacres that were committed during the birth of Israel. More than 250 Palestinians who lived in this village were killed in a matter of hours. Some of the survivors said that some of them managed to escape the massacre committed by the Isreali’s Haganah brigade were captured shortly after and shown as trophies in West of Jerusalem and then taken back to Deir Yassin village where they were executed and their corpses thrown into wells. Here is a documentary about this massacre, enjoy:
Bahr Al Baqar Elementary School Israelis have been fond of education and have given schools a special unprecedented attention. In April 8th 1970, some Isreali jet fighters bombed an Egyptian elementary school killing 31 junior students (8 to 13 year old) and injuring 26. Rumor has it that the Israelis anticipated that those children would have grown up to be terrorists.
Sabra & Shatila In September 1982, Israel had besieged a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon and allowed their thugs in who killed 3500 civilians. The population of the whole camp was wiped out over night. Here are some footages of the event, enjoy:
For an aftermath eyewitness journalist report on this event, click here.
Qana I In April 1996 (note that 3 out of 4 massacre I have listed were committed in April), the Isreali bombed a UN building in South Lebanon that was sheltering tens of children and women. The outcome was just 106 deaths. Enjoy:
Qana II, the sequel After the failure in achieving high number of casualties in Qana I, the Israel once again in 2006 committed a second massacre in the same village killing 60 civilians of which 15 were mentally or physically handicapped children, enjoy:
I guess enough now with milestones. Killing thousands of civilians gets boring after a while. So let’s move on and have the birthday party going. We should now celebrate the contributions Israel has made to the civil world.
Israeli Contributions and Achievments:
Stone Breaking Tradition To be accurate, this was not introduced by Israel as it was first used by the ape man few thousands of years ago when they used to use a stone to break the bones of their prey. Tradition has since died until the birth of Israel. How does it work? Simple, all what you need is a stone and a kid, preferably Palestinian. Hit him hard on the arm with the stone until it cracks, the arm not the stone of course. Not clear yet? Watch the footage then.
Reality TV Many of you don’t know that the Israelis were the first to introduce this trendy TV programming. Years before it boomed all over the world, it existed in Israel. Here is a sample of in which a father and a son are caught on camera, in a real life situation, being shot at by Israelis. The father is trying to protect his kid and shouting: “you are killing my child”. But the Israelis are well trained, so they impressively kill the kid first so they can give the audience few extra moments of a tormented father mourning his son before they ran out of time and shot the father. All in this footage first broadcasted on French TV:
“Go Green…Go Flesh” Initiative Researchers have found that when children see their moms being assaulted or shot at, or when they are kicked out of their homes; they might get angry and start throwing stones at the armored car of the aggressors. More dented cars means more paint job, more paint jobs means more ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons emitted in the air. The Israeli solution was to bring innocent pass-byers and put them in front of the armored car to receive the stones as other researchers have found that a dented human body is more environment-friendly than a dented car. More details of the process, please watch the footage:
Pre-Emptive Beach Safeguarding Hundreds of people drown while swimming every year around the world. The regular safe guarding procedures no longer seem to suffice and it was about time to find a new set of procedures. Israel was there to develop the concept of the pre-emptive beach safeguarding. How does it work? Rather than waiting for the people to jump into the water and expose their lives to the threat of drowning, have one of your navy ships launch a missile at every Palestinian family that think of going to the beach for a picnic. Here is a demo:
While the hypocrite civilized world is celebrating the anniversary of the state of blood, Israel, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are still displaced around the world with no home. Thousands more are suffering inhumane life conditions under Israeli siege in Gaza. Holocausts have been made every day in Palestine for the past 60 years and yet creatures around the world who dare to label themselves as human are celebrating this anniversary. Indeed, it’s a happy world that we live in.
The CIA released today the assumptional-analytical footage of the alleged destroyed Syrian Nuclear Reactor. It is available here.
Within the 11 minutes footage, one can count words like “likely and probably” at least once in every narrated paragraph. The whole thing was utter speculations and even more fixation to make it look as they wanted to be. While I cannot refute the fishy smell surrounding the story, thanks mostly to the conflicting statements given by Syrian officials after the Israeli air strike in September 2007, I definitely don’t buy any CIA analysis. Hint: Iraqis WMD!
Having said that, I’m not writing about the US allegations, the mystery of that site and what not, but I want to write about the big rat that was seen in every photo of that footage. Now let’s say for argument sake that it was indeed a super top secret nuclear reactor being built without the knowledge of most senior members of the Syrian regime, as Haaretz claimed. The photos were not just taken from a satellite; in fact, the most compelling photos were taking from within, outside, and few meters away from the building and during different phases of its construction. Whoever took them was available on site and did not just sneak some peaks from afar. The alleged extreme secrecy surrounding the “project” would naturally suggest extreme security measures and “no cameras allowed” signs all over the place. Yet, the person(s) took the shots was pretty comfortable judging from the angles of the photos. This means one of two things, it has never been a top secret covert location as claimed and anyone could get there, or the presence of a huge fat rat among or a friend of the elite and most trusty people who were in charge of it. I, however, lean toward the latter.
The question is, have some heads rolled in Damascus over this or not? We are not looking at a person slurring at the holy government, but at a person who has committed great treason. This level of treason can never be done without accomplices. Has the almighty Syrian Mukhabarat done its job as it should or not? Have they learned how penetrated they are by our enemy or have the layers of fat they have accumulated over years of wealth and power blocked the natural instinct of being extremely alert in a country that has been in a state of war for decades.
One last note, I guess it’s safe to say that “traitors” are not the ones who criticize the performance of the gods, but more likely to be one of those who master the art of “ass-kissing”.
They say what starts on blood, can only feed on blood. The Israelis have beaten the cannibals, while the later take a life to feed on, the formers take lives and keep on taking lives for the sick nature of their being.
60 Palestinian have been killed within 24 hours. Everybody is silent. The so-much-civilized world all of a sudden falls asleep amid all the killings of innocents in Gaza. Why should they care if the Arab world doesn’t care?
In case somebody is wondering about the photo of the dead child, no, he wasn’t killed by a terrorist attack; he was only five months old when he was killed, among many others by a democratic country supported by a western world so full of hypocrisy and double-standards and an Arab world so full of betrayal and cowardice.
Good luck Gazans. You are on your own. We are busy; we have freedom of speech to defend in Europe, imaginary terrorist plots to halt in the US and royal and presidential chairs to save in the Arab world.
Years ago, we used to point fingers at the Arabs in the oil-rich countries and accuse them of all sort of abuses, we used to hear and tell stories of the Asian house-maid that are not being treated as humans but as objects owned by their employers. We used to hear stories of human trafficking in Dubai where girls from Asia and East Europe are being fooled to go there and once they arrive, their passport are confiscated and they are forced to work in prostitution.
“Money does more than that in the hands of uncivilized people”, we used to say, nodding our heads in disgust
Few days ago, a friend called me and invited me to a different style of parties. He picked me up 1 AM and we went to a club somewhere close to Damascus. We walked in and there was more than 20 girls standing on the podium, dancing, moving their bodies with the rhythm of the music. Around the podium, the tables filled with hungry men, who sat there drooling. The drill is that anyone can pick up any of those girls and have her seated at his table where he makes his offer to her for the next day. It costs $10 to have her at the table and god knows how much to have her as a treat for the next day.
I managed to get the numbers of two girls. I called the next day and asked them about their story. They both were sad when they were talking. They kept saying, it was the need that brought us into this hell. The first girl, her stage name is Nesmeh, was born in 1987 from Morocco, used to be a hair stylist back home before she read an ad about lucrative employment in Syria in the field of her expertise. She signed a contract and was brought to Syria to do what she does now. The other girl “Khouloud” was born in 1985 in Morocco. She was a waitress and came to Syria under the impression she will be waitressing as well. When I asked them why not to go back after they discovered the truth, they said that the only way to obtain their passports is to pay back the amount of 100,000 S.P. ($2000) plus the money of the flight tickets, all which they can’t afford nor dare to call their poor families for help.
*
They are put in a hotel in Damascus which they can only leave 4 hour per day. Pretty much like a prison, but instead of taking the daily break in the yard, they are allowed to take it in the streets, mainly to meet with the customers and fulfill their desires.
I know this is not new in Syria. I had always heard about it but had never seen it nor talked to the girls forced to do it. It’s known that the people behind this business in Syria, which is extremely lucrative, are people that nobody can touch or dare to go near, let’s say, the privileged minority of the Syrians.
*I sneaked in my mobile phone cam to shoot a few seconds of what’s going on there.
Many of the Syrian bloggers have been showing support to the Egyptian blooger (Kareem) who got sentenced for "blogging" and saying what the Egyptian Authorities deemed inappropriate….
I started wondering if the Syrian bloggers have a safer haven! Syria is one of very few countries in the world that denies the access to blogspot in an attempt to prevent Syrians to read what bloggers may have to say! So what would happen if we have a Syrian version of Kareem? Will he/she get a better chance? I have no faith!
A friend called me few days ago and asked me to be more careful about blogging and he was referring to one of my recent posts (Until further notice). He told me that he heard some disapproval about it from some of his high-level Syrian acquaintances! He said that things are now more sensitive in Syria about these sorts of postings…. I had to re-read what I posted because for a second I thought I may have been bashing God!
I was startled to see that we have the same attitude we had for tens of years in regard to freedom of expression. A suit and a tie and broken English is all what has changed…but on the inside, we are the very same people, or let's say, they are the same people.
Our Syria is going through hard times. Our nation is being targeted. We have more important issues to deal with for now…and many other phrases and terms that we have grown fed up with…..yet..they seem to stay still…they seem to be stuck in the back of our heads…the moment someone starts to speak, they surface and they deem control of our senses, or, their senses… they wipe the smile off their faces, they take off the suit and the tie and turn into the very same security agents "mokhabarat" that scared the hell out of us for years. ……..Shush…silence…don't speak… don't breath… just be happy for allowing you to live… it's none of your business that someone is stealing your country…you are too small to talk…you are a helpless citizen…you worth nothing for us… just keep it shut…and smile… or at least…erase that smirk off your face and go home….be happy that you have a home to go back to…if you insist on talking…your home will miss you for years and years to come…maybe forever…as you have bashed God and our God doesn't like your smirk…you think you are smart? You are not…you are a hopeless citizen…don't try to bark…just close your eyes and swallow your pride…wait….pride? how dare you to have a pride when talking to us…you are one of the commons...we can erase you in a second…just shut the fuck up and go mind your own business…worry about paying your bills, feeding your family…and enjoy the luxury of electricity and internet…but don't ever dare to write what you are not allowed to speak…we do have people reading after you…if you ever think that writing is your own way of speaking up…our God will be pissed…He will hunt you down…Do you think that we cannot get you? Do you think that if you live far away…we won't get you? You fool citizen…we have your life….we have your home… we have you, always have and always will….just close your mouth, your eyes and your mind…and don't worry about your soul, it's dead, you are Syrian, remember? Now go and eat the bits of bread we have given you….and don't forget to smile…it's compulsory…otherwise, we might think you are not satisfied with our offerings….just go, citizen!
The name could be offensive, if we read it and stop without furthering our reading through the paper. The name of the newly launched newspaper, Arab Jarab, is far beyond controversial.
Then, why this name?
First of all, the name is a sign of refusal to many of the social or socio-political aspects in the Arab world. Since all the people who are working on this newspaper project are Arabs, then, we can be firm when we say, it is not about degrading the Arabs. It's about exposing what we have become. It's about highlighting the values that we have lost in order to remember, and maybe, revive them.
We have chosen to write in Arabic, although all the team members have good command of other languages. But the targeted audience is us, the Arabs. We are not in the business of degrading ourselves or our people. We are here criticizing our practices in our own language so that only us, Arabic speakers, can understand. Not to mention that such a paper in English would be getting lots of traffic! Indeed, None-Arabs would love to read such articles. Yet again, the purpose is not to get more people reading, but only to get Arabs reading and hopefully reacting!
We, the team members, are proud Syrians, and for that matter, Arabs. But our source of pride is not based on our people's ancient glories. It's for who we are and for what we stand for, for our values and morals. Let's say this paper is our own way of self-criticizing and our way to show what have we become and hope for the betterment.
I have had access to the internet for 10 years now and ever since, I started doing more than surfing, as I had my first website online before we had internet in Syria, although I was living in Syria at that time. I used to access the internet via dial-up accounts Jordan and Lebanon and had a fight every once and a while with my parents about the phone bill. I had made several types of websites, one was Islamic in which tried to show the Islam as I see it. I was one of the first members of one of the largest Syrian website, Souria.com. I had argued many times with the owners about having discussion forums in the site with full freedom of expressions, with not redlines of any kind. I prevailed or they just got fed up with me, I'm not sure which one, but the result has been a 100% free forums where people can discuss literally anything with no fear of any moderation of anyone interfering and telling members what to say and what not to say.
I was a discussion forums freak for years, I was wandering from a site to another, Pro-American, Pro-Israeli and anti-Arabs and spent countless hours defending my country and my origins and in many times, my religion. I did the same in Arabic sites but I was kicked out, ignored, or feared. I only had the freedom in certain western discussions groups. I wanted to have the same, but with Syrian concentration. I wanted to let people say what they think, feel and want, regardless of what it was. The discussion forums were started at that Syrian site and have been known for the ultimate freedom.
I want to mention something about me on the side: I do criticize a lot, that's part of my nature. I criticize anything that I don't like or feel that it's not right. I say what I think, I speak my mind no matter how hard my criticism is. I'm not in the business of making people hear what they want to hear.
Back to the forums, for years and as a result of the freedom I was giving; I have been accused of infidelity by Moslems and of being biased to Islam by Christians. This has always assured me that I was neutral, yet, giving e-Syrian citizens something new that not anyone can handle; freedom of expression.
I, myself, with an alias name, participated in discussions, started up my own topics, and of course, my criticism came in act as I always had something to talk about. I was bold and daring in my approaches when I want to point the so many negativities we have as Syrians and Arabs, I was hated so much by people, all sorts of people. I was ok with that. Again, I'm not in the business of making people feel good by telling them what they wanna hear.
Anger grew against me for criticizing the bad aspects of our life and practices. None has ever argued against what I say, yet, the always argue about the idea of saying or highlighting them. They claim that we should be optimistic and give a good picture about ourselves and about our Syria…..in a SYRIAN site among ourselves!
Just yesterday, some of them expressed their wish of me being stripped off my Syrian citizenship. I have to admit that this has gotten into me and I'm so angry at that. Since when we have the right to say who loves Syria and who is not? Since when we have the right to point our fingers of treason at other citizens just because they say something that we cannot deny it exist?
Just for being who I am, I got accused by so many closed-minded Syrians of infidelity, which means, in religious terms, I should be slaughtered. Now I got accused by another set of closed minded Syrian of treason, which means, in constitutional terms, I should be hanged to death.
Is it true that what we have had of oppression over the years was the appropriate thing to have? As who knows what would have happened if we had full freedom of expression in the real world. People could be killing each other just for thinking differently and for loving what they love in a different way!
Meet Abeer, an Iraqi girl who was only 14 year-old when she was raped by four American soldiers before she was shot to death with her family in Iraq during the American attempt to save Iraqis from the injustice of Saddam Hussein. I think they did very good job as Abeer and her family won't feel anything...anymore!
I have never been a fan of the Syrian regime in my whole live, I grew up to lose my faith and trust in it. There is no need to list my reasons as they are the same as anyone's who loves his/her homeland, Syria.
When the Americans started their invasion, or claimed liberation, of Iraq, I was one of those who were happy for the Iraqis because they were about to get rid of the tyranny of Saddam Hussein and start a new era. I didn't feel that because I trusted the Americans, but because I believed, then, that the Americans would have to leave eventually, and they will. Only then, Iraqis, all of them hand in hand, will have their free Iraq all for them to start building it up and stepping with it to a bright 21st century. I always argued for this and always said: "Give Iraq five to ten years and you will see" I thought and for a while that Iraq could be a prototype of what Syria can have one day. I had hope of a new beginning for Syria following the new beginning of Iraq.
Years have passed ever since, and with every piece of news about Iraq, I lose hope. With every Iraqi woman who escapes her home in Iraq and flees to Syria to save her life and falls in the trap of the oldest profession in the world, prostitution, I lose my hope. With every Iraqis death count that has increased to be one out of 40 Iraqis since the American "Liberation" in 2003, I lose faith. The problem is not only with the American troops nor has been only with Saddam Hussein. The problem is with the people of all sects as well. They all contribute to the destruction of Iraq that we see today.
Now, I understand. There is no hope for Iraq; and since it was our prototype, there is no hope for Syria. We are stuck in between the American murderous army and our corrupt regime. There is no third option. The people of Syria were supposed to be the only option left in the equation, but the people of Iraq proved me wrong. Oppressed people cannot rule. They need time to heal and to accept each other.
The regional recent events have strengthened the position of our regime. Yet, they, as well, exposed the true meanings of the American words of "Liberation" and "democracy" and made us feel disgusted when we hear them. Unfortunately, with the inability of people to rule and accept changes, we are left with these two options to choose between: Our regime or the American democracy.
I have made my decision and chose the Syrian regime. I'd rather see my people oppressed than dead. I'd rather see the tears of Syrian mothers over hungry children, than over dead children. I'd rather have my rights violated, than myself raped.
Yes to our regime. I here provide my full support to the regime that I'd never supported before, the regime that I've never trusted and never will.
I'm here selling my soul to the devil, until further notice.
The war has somehow stopped. Lebanon was heavily destroyed (Only some parts of the country where the Shiiate live but nowhere near the capital and the areas controlled by some personnel of the Lebanese government who are considered "friends" of the USA).
Israeli officials are claiming to have won by the issuance of the UN resolution 1701. In response to that claim, yes they won, but who wouldn't win when they have USA, UK, Germany and many Arabs countries working for the issuance of such a resolution, however, the resolution will only be a victory if the Lebanese government accepts to disarm Hezbollah. That will never happen!
Israel has lost on the ground. The army, who has a legendary reputation of wining all its wars, has lost against Hezbollah despite all the advantage and the technologies it has. Their air force advancement helped them to efficiently target civilians and civil infrastructures, but when the Israeli soldiers faced Hezbollah fighters face to face, they were screwed. Numbers would say it much better for those who refuse to believe: 61 Hezbollah fighters have been killed while 120 Israeli soldiers were killed. As for the civilian casualties: Israel has killed more than 1200 Lebanese civilians, the majority of them were children and Hezbollah killed around 50 Israeli civilians. Not to mention the statement of the Israeli Prime Minister who said yesterday that they are willing to negotiate the exchange of the Israeli soldiers with all the Lebanese prisoner including Samir Qintar! A month ago, things were totally different.
Israel won as the murderer that used its forces to kill civilians and destroy residential buildings and hospitals but it lost when it fought its peers.
The Israelis never made it on the ground and were never able to achieve anything they wanted to achieve, The US saved their face but indeed everybody knows thet Israel has lost the war. It's humiliating for Israel to have lost its first war despite all the arsenal of mass destruction they have.
A state of terror like Israel has learnt that it's not about weapons, but it's about having the right to defend one's land. The Lebanese National Resistance (Hezbollah) prevailed because they have the right to defend their land, free the occupied part of it and release their people from the Israeli prisons.
Killing has stopped in Lebanon, but it's still on in Palestine. If Israel continues its current policy of killing, I believe this is going to be the beginning and won't be the only time that Israel loses a war!
Congrats to the Lebanese and whoever supported them and I certainly don't mean Egypt who sent some actors and singers to show support nor Saudi Arabia who will give them little money of what that they made as a result of the increase in oil prices
To hell with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UN and whoever supported Israel in this war. Shame on the Arabs who blessed the Israeli's aggression against Lebanese. I'm not an Arab, I'm a proud Syrian.
The war is about to end or will end soon after the extensive diplomatic efforts by many countries followed by a sudden rush by the USA to stop the war. The USA, who has fully supported the Israeli's aggression against Lebanon, is now forced to work on stopping the aggression after the obvious loss and embarrassment of Israel's mighty army.
Of course, the picture will be enhanced in order to prevent showing Israel's loss. But off the record, Israel has lost this war in Lebanon once again.
Lebanon is the only country in the world that has defeated Israel. The first time was in 2000, when Israel was forced to withdraw from South of Lebanon under constant attacks carried by Hezbollah, the Lebanese national resistance movement. And hopefully this will be the second time once Israel releases the Lebanese prisoners and withdraw from Shab'a farms.
Some may say otherwise, well, for the outsiders who are not familiar with the nature of wars in the Middle East that are involving Israel, things may not be clear as Lebanon has suffered more damage than Israel has. But the truth is what happened is a total loss for Israel. The win in this kind of wars is not measured by the destruction that is caused by one country to another. But it's by the achievement of the goals of each war. Israel has achieved none and Lebanon despite the significant damage inflected by Israel will achieve its goals.
The current war started when Hezbollah seized two Israel soldiers and Israel sought that incident as an excuse to eliminate Hezbollah once and for all. Israel started massive raids against the South of Lebanon. Artillery, navy and air forces were constantly bombing everything in Lebanon killing everything that was moving and claiming that it was Hezbollah's. Hezbollah in return, retaliated by launching thousands of missiles on North of Israel causing heavy damage and forcing 2 million Israelis to hide in shelters. Israel's arrogance prevented it to comply with the increasing demand to stop the killing of civilians and the destruction of the Lebanese civil infrastructure. They were still hoping that Hezbollah will still be eliminated. Israel at that time said that they will only stop their attack under certain conditions:
Disarming Hezbollah and send them as far as beyond Al-Litani river.
Instant return of the two captured soldiers without any exchange with any Lebanese prisoners.
Days have passed and Israel got nothing out of its attacks. Instead, Hezbollah kept hitting deeper in Israel reaching as far as Hayfa. At that time Israel decided to send ground troops since the air strikes will never achieve their initial goals. Again, they were badly defeated by Hezbollah fighters and were forced to withdraw from points they hardly managed to take control of in the last week.
Today, Israel announced that disarming Hezbollah is not currently required to reach a ceasefire agreement. Instead, they showed flexibility toward the idea of exchange of the Lebanese prisoners for the Israeli ones and withdrawing from Shab'a farms- the last part of the Lebanese part under the Israel occupation- Basically, these demands were Hezbollah's all time demands.
Indeed, Lebanon has been severely destroyed. But for those who don't know, Lebanon has been destroyed by Israel many times and rebuilt by the Lebanese every time. One last time will not be impossible. However, they can now be proud that this small country achieved something that many Arabs country failed to. They freed their occupied land with no conditions. Their pride is the most honorable in the world. Israeli pride on the other hand, the murderous pride, is the most shameful of all time. That pride prevented Israel from allowing human and medical aid to reach South of Lebanon; it prevented them from accepting a 72 hours humanitarian ceasefire suggested by the UN during which injured civilians would have been rescued from under the dust of their collapsed homes. On the contrary, that pride pushed them to focus on destroying more and more of the Lebanese commercial, civil and tourist infrastructure hoping that this will create an internal pressure on Hezbollah. They were wrong. Lebanese prevail.
Now, let's talk about this war from different perspectives and will start with some Lebanese-American-Britain and other's claim that Hezbollah's doings are in favor of Syria and Iran. I personally find it stupid, yet disgraceful (for the Lebanese) to degenerate the national resistance and make it look like a toy in others hand. That claim would be true if Lebanon has a peace agreement with Israel and no Lebanese Land or prisoners are in Israel's hand. Since that does not apply, that claim is lame and really shows nothing but the stupidity of whoever repeats it like a parrot (i.e. Blair, Bush, Jumblat and others)
Hezbollah did start the current event, however, their act was against soldiers in uniform not civilians and the immediate response of Israel was against civilians Therefore, if we are to use the word terrorists, it will be more appropriate to describe the Israel's act and whoever supported the killing of all the civilians who have been killed.
I'm proud of the Lebanese in general and Hezbollah in specific for not letting their land and rights in anybody's control. And I'm so much disgusted by the world both the Western and the Arab who either stood in silence or supported the killing and destruction of Lebanon.
After 18 days of war in Lebanon, Israel and the free world represented by USA and Britain and supported by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan have achieved the following:
One fifth of the Lebanese population was forced to leave their homes under the heavy bombardment.
700 Lebanese civilians were killed by Israel and more than 3000 injured.
As for the numbers from the other side of the borders, Israel is controlling all the out coming media and not releasing any sort of info about the damage caused by Hezbollah, however, all what have been announced until now is less than 10 percent of the above numbers, yet, most of the casualties in Israel are soldiers as per the Israeli media.
People around the world wonder why Arabs hate Israel. Their questions are based on the propaganda that Israel is a democratic entity in the Middle East that is facing evil powers around it whose only aim is to eliminate this peace-loving democratic state.
If people use reliable sources to get their information about the Middle East, they will understand and maybe hate Israel themselves.
Israel is a state built on the ruins and bloods of others. Throughout its short history, it has committed hundreds of massacres and atrocities, kicked hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes. Unfortunately, these stories are never covered by the media in the west! Why would it be? Israel is the establishment of the west in the ME!
Anyway, I'm not here to talk about history. But to answer the question of some people about why Arabs hate Israel, I though that this little story can do the job.
Two days ago a little Israeli girl, in the supposed age of innocence, decided to send a message reflecting the love she has in her heart toward the Arabs in general and Lebanese in specific to her Lebanese counterpart. The message was sent and received in the very same day. However the Lebanese girl could not read it as she was dead!
The Israeli girl who sent the message
The Lebanese girl who never lived to read the message
When a country like Israel kills the innocence of its children to make them grow with hatred in their heart instead of innocence, it cannot expect to be respected by its neighbors.
Hatred brings only hatred.
Update: Just today the 19th of July 2006, Israel killed 50 Lebanese civilians!
I was watching the coverage of the current blood bath in the Middle East on CBS news!
Their first reporter in Haifa shed some light on the agony of the Israelis in that city and mentioned that their life will never be the same after those days! Then the reporter interviewed a high ranking military officer who said they are sending warnings to the Lebanese civilians and doing their best to avoid any casualties among them! I applauded for the humanity of the Israeli army! I wish all the armies had a heart like the Israeli's.
Then their reporter in Lebanon quickly mentioned the death of some 23 Lebanese, without indicating the fact that they were civilians and most of them were KIDS! And made sure to mention that the Canadians who were killed that day were Lebanese-Canadians not just Canadians! As if that makes the loss less! ..... Maybe it does!!
Later on, the reporter interviewed a Lebanese-American girl- they did not use the term Lebanese-American, she was just American who happened to have a Lebanese parents. That girl showed the terror that is going on as a result of Hezbollah aggression! She did not indicate, not in a single word, any blame for Israel's aggression!
I was touched by the coverage and I believed- like thousands of the American people who watch that coverage everyday- that Israel is not an aggressor and that Lebanon is a nest for terrorism and therefore must be destroyed and its civilians- or terrorists as per CBS- slaughtered!
I googled some photos of those terrorist and found a lot. I will post some of them in case you are curious to see the terrorist that Israel has been killing everyday for the last week.
Lebanon has been sentenced to death. On Wednesday 12 July, she was put in prison, and now she's being tortured.
Israel's war is with Lebanon's civilians, not Hizbollah. Nearly every person killed has been a civilian. Power stations, bridges and petrol stations have been targeted. Israel has warned residents to get out of certain villages, but bombed roads to make it difficult - and refugee convoys have been picked out for deadly air raids.
Getting out of the country is impossible now too. The airport has been destroyed, the sea ports are blockaded, and the border posts and highways have been razed to the ground. Lebanon is held hostage to the angry Israeli war machine. And now more than ever, Syrians bloggers, just like every Syrian stand by her. Another generation of Lebanese will know nothing but war. We can't let this happen, Again.
The above has been supported by the group of Syrian bloggers at Syria Planet. Please feel free to re-post this statement.
The following is my own words on this issue: Thousands of Lebanese have been in detention in Israeli prisons for years. Nobody in the world seemed to care. Yet, when two Israelis soldiers were seized by Hezbollah, almost everybody in the new world as well as the Arab world started to cry out for the legitimate right of Israelis to destroy Lebanon and slaughter Lebanese!
More than one hundred civilians in Lebanon have been killed and hundreds of casualties! Israel is targeting the infrastructure of Lebanon causing severe damage to the Lebanese economic! Still, nobody seems to care!
I'm not surprised when the US, Canada, Germany, Russia, UK and many other "civilized" western countries cared for nothing but for the two captured Israeli soldiers, while a whole nation, hundreds of children and innocents are been killed everyday! But what has really got into me was the response of countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait! They all took the same stand condemning the capture of the Israeli soldiers and calling to blame Hezbollah for its wrong doing!
I curse the Arabic language that I speak, which made me have something in common with the Bedouin Arabs! I'm Syrian and will never be an Arab!
I may not agree with the timing of Hezbollah's action, not the action itself. But clearly, I give my full support – if it means anything- to All the Lebanese and to Hezbollah in their fight with the Israeli Nazis!
Syria is watching, doing nothing and will do nothing no matter what! The Golan Height is the most stable front in the region! Why to bother? If Lebanon has always been the battlefield for the Arab-Israeli conflict! Got anything against Israel? Bring it on to Lebanon!
Now Lebanon is destroyed, Hezbollah will face not only Israeli and the US, but Arabs and Lebanese! The end of these days' escalation will mean the end of the only efficient and respectable resistance against Israel in the world!
The Lebanese have been proud of their resistance. I feel jealous, as Syrian, for not having the same resistance in the Golan Height front! Shame that politicians, Lebanese and Arabs mostly have decided to work on terminating such a glorious resistance!
God save and help Lebanon and may victory and pride be on their side, of course, that does not include the puppets and fagits of March 14th!
60 years, Syria has been in independence of any foreign control over the country and independence of any existence of non-national sovereignty.
60 years, Syrian people have been having independence in which, they didn’t feel independent. An independence in which they have to comply to Arabic speaking authorities with Syrian identity that is not much different than any other non-Arabic speaking authorities that would care more about their interest rather than the people’s.
60 years, our economic has risen and fallen.
60 years, our land was given back to us, but shortly after, a part of it was taken again and is never back.
60 years to come, and we will have the same form of independence, as it’s the only form that we've known for 3 generations.
Happy Independence Day to all Syrians……may peace and prosperity find their way to our beloved Syria.
Is it the people of Damascus, with their fading smile that fights with the daily difficulties of life in Syria?
Is it the old section of Damascus, with its warm alleys and the smell of the hundreds of years that live among its walls?
Is it the modern part of Damascus, with its random allocations, and the smell of the pollution in the sky?
Is it the human noise in Damascus, with its mixture of all voices, a crying kid, an angry driver, a loud woman, a laughing boy and a shouting old man?
Is it the honks of the vehicles in Damascus, a running car, a stopping bus and an awaiting cab?
Is it the simplicity and the complexity of the life in Damascus, where the two exist under the same roof?
Is it the hangout places in Damascus, with people laughing, eating, playing cards or just simply, staring at each other?
Is it Kassion, the mountain that has been protecting Damascus for ever, with its occasional snow, permanent trees, and dark hideouts that shelter the lovers at night?
I have lived with, in, through all of that, and have been to all and though all of that as well.
The secret in there and the only special thing is Damascus itself. You may find the noise and the people, the old and the modern parts in many places around the world. You will find lots of bigger and higher mountains than Kassion. But they will never feel as they do in Damascus, you will never sense their spirit as you will in Damascus, you will never miss being away from them as you do when you are away from Damascus.
You will only understand what Damascus is, after you have lived there, and then left.
I woke up this morning on the news of “Angry Syrians set two European Embassies on fire”.
I felt furious for this kind of response. This is not us, or at least, not what I thought we were not!
I welcomed, both, the commercial and diplomatic actions in response to the cartoons that mocked the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and for once, I felt that we are reacting in a civilized manner! Not any more!
While I’m 100% convinced that the “Syrian Regime” had a hand in what happened. I still cannot understand the concept of being driven like a sheep. To me, those people who were sabotaging and burning the embassies seemed like stupid sheep led by a smart shepherd.
The demonstration had been set to be on Saturday, the off day of all the western embassies in Damascus so they avoided any human casualties. This means they had already planned on letting angry/religiously-charged demonstrators go inside the buildings. The way the riot police was seen on TV and in photos suggests weak protection of these buildings. Furthermore, as a Syrian, I know that we have a strong security forces that can do anything to stop any unwanted gatherings, demonstrations, or actions with scales of responses that vary according to how bad they want to stop them.
All the above make me believe that our regime played a role in all this in a way or another!
Why? Someone may ask.
To send a message to the west demonstrating the alternative that will rule Syria in case the west decides to overthrow the current Syrian regime, I would answer.
I have always been proud of being a Syrian, today, and for a slight of a moment, I felt ashamed. But shortly after, I thought, I’m Syrian and they are not, and if they were, they are they ones who should be ashamed, not me.
Once again, in the middle of all the darkness that our country is going through, a new occasion for the Syrians to celebrate and act as if nothing wrong surrounding their future and the future of their country. They are trying to add their own colors to these colorless days.
It's the first Eid for me away from home and my beloved ones. I have lost track of days and occasions that used to mean a lot to me, but an Eid, without a family to sit with in the morning and have coffee with before going to buy some sheep and have them accordinally distributed, is not an Eid.
Adha Moubarak and happy Eid everybody, not for me anyway!
