i have known lebanon for 66 years uninterrupted more than anyone else including the lebanese. for me and some others, lebanon was the second home, and sometimes a third. it was distinguished in everything, even in peace and civil wars, its involvement in the wars of others, and bloody and blatant and deadly enmities with each other.
its people fight day and night at the gallery checkpoint and the r e g r e t t i n g k a l a s h n i ko v gunshots can be heard in the evening at le vendome bar in the midst of clinking of ‘wine’ glasses.
what happens in lebanon and to the lebanese these past few days is an unprecedented event. for the first time in the history of lebanon, life has almost stopped, and this did not happen even in the darkest hours of 1975- 1990 civil war, which i witnessed, lived, and many times was at the heart of its events, yet many parts of lebanon were as if they were not parts of lebanon, with dancing and celebrations and concerts taking center stage unperturbed, not far from the scene of battles, not more than a few kilometers away as if those people lived in the world of their own.
it is different this time after the hunger became the motive, and after the lebanese got tired of the stench of rubbish, smells of corruption among the political class, and other authorities.
for the first time, the people of all areas left their homes to participate in the demonstrations, and this did not happen even during the events that preceded and led to the departure of the syrian army from lebanon.
the rest of the population, and also without exception, have stuck to the television sets to follow the demonstrations of their children in the streets against corruption, theft, and thieves.
yes, since 1960, lebanon had not witnessed such a corrupt moral situation as it resembles most of the political class. lebanon, in all its darkest conditions, and with all its civil wars, did not face an economic, political, monetary and social situation of such caliber in the past as the situations continue to deteriorate.
as far as i know, lebanon has never known such disregard for most of its politicians, as in recent weeks when these politicians have acted as if lebanon would soon be over, and it is a chance for the one who can steal the limelight before the tables turn against them.
how can an official call a foreign company to levy taxes of more than $200 million on a free service like whatsapp and half of what is being collected in the form of taxes, perhaps go into the pockets of senior officials as if the everyday sufferings of the lebanese do not suffice the situation of ruins, damaged roads, suffocating traffic crisis, rising school fees, power cut-offs, contaminated water, accumulated garbage and the lira threatened with collapse are not enough.
in conclusion, lebanon’s situation is the result of its people, not just its politicians. almost everyone has elected and re-elected the same politicians year after year. those who created this reality must pay a high price to atone for what they have done. many have sold their security, fate, and future of their homeland in order to get a job, a promotion or enter a deal, drop an offense, or stop a sentence.
these people treat the homeland as a sect or a party that provides them with a living, a job and promotion, so they re-elect their representatives and leaders time and time again, unaware that those who took the job from others and gave it to them were ready to take the homeland from them and sell it to others.
what happens in lebanon can happen to kuwait, if we do not pay attention and learn the lesson. a “whale” deputy boasted that he contested the polls from the second constituency and got elected, moved to the third and succeeded, moved and ran in the fourth and succeeded. if the government had stopped the tap of its approvals, would he have succeeded?
with the increasing interpellation of the minister of public works – the best in the history of the ministry – i do not rule out that some of the forces of corruption are behind some of these interrogations. with her departure, the suspension on their corrupt offices will be lifted.