Lebanon, the surrendered people, the persistent butcher, and the ray of hope

Dr. Michel E. Abs

Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches

This week includes three very important and prominent events in human life and the course of human civilization.

December 9 is the International Day of Commemoration, Honor and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, as well as the International Day Against Corruption. The next day is Human Rights Day.

How solemn are these dates and facts that deal with them, and how applicable these occasions are to Lebanon, a country wracked with wounds, whose people are suffering significantly, and is still waiting for relief from a major event or from a divine miracle that removes from it the stone that weighs on its shoulders.

The themes of the three occasions apply to Lebanon.

The Lebanese people have been subject to genocide for years at all levels and by all means.

Cut, adulterated, forged, or expired medicines does its effects on people's health.

Added to this is water, cut off from homes or polluted by its mixing with sewage channels that have not undergone any maintenance for years. This water is bought by the Lebanese through the tanks of private companies, instead of having it come to him through the public water distribution pipes in the country.

In addition to that, the electricity generators planted in residential neighborhoods and villages pollute the air and inject their toxins into the throats and lungs, in addition to the noise that disturbs the sleep of this patient people. These generators are the same ones that empty people's pockets and make them feel like lighting a house sometimes costs more than food, medicine, and the house itself. All this because the state "promised" us a long time ago "total darkness", and the promise was true, and we have been in complete darkness for a long time.

As if that is not enough, comes the bad quality of fuel, which causes all forms of harm to the environment, whether it is fuel from cars, generators, or factories. The Lebanese must accept the worst types of fuel at the most expensive prices, otherwise his life will be in complete paralysis.

Then comes the role of the environment that was destroyed by the Lebanese, one of the most beautiful environments in the world and the kindest climate. The surviving factories in the country are wreaking havoc, and what the factories do not do is “taken care” of by the corrupt people in the complete absence of the state and its regulatory and repressive apparatus.

As for the additional burden on the environment, it is waste, including household, medical and industrial waste. There is no plan or program whatsoever in Lebanon concerned with waste management, and all that is taking place are individual initiatives undertaken by volunteers who are concerned with protecting nature or by businessmen looking for profit, but in either case, nothing relieves the beautiful nature of Lebanon from the burden of waste.

As for the problem stemming from the mismanagement of environmental affairs, it lies in the leakage of waste due to winter into the Lebanese groundwater, which is considered the most prolific in the Middle East. This wasted water, which the Lebanese buy at exorbitant prices, as if it was imported from abroad.

As for the banking sector, it did not hesitate to contribute to the harm and humiliation of the Lebanese, as it takes in hostage the harvest of their lives and turned them into beggars for their savings, standing in long lines in front of the banks to obtain what these banks “kindly” may offer them. Neither surgeries nor the need to send money to Lebanese students abroad, nor sending money to infirm families are reasons enough that can make the hearts of banks yearn and be kind to the Lebanese who beg for their money.

As for the merchants, importers or manufacturers of consumables, they have done well to seize the livelihood of the Lebanese. On the one hand, they pay them miserable salaries that only suffice them for a few days of consumption, and, on the other hand, they raise prices in an insane way, under the pretext of the collapse of the national currency exchange rate. They are the banks' partners in smashing what remains of the dignity and ways of life of the Lebanese.

As for the government institutions, they are paralyzed to a large extent, and had it not been for the steadfastness of the security forces in the country, cities and villages would have turned into battlefields to obtain money, food, and medicine.

Poor this people, squealing but not making change and even not being able to change, because whenever they try to do so they are threatened or drown in sectarian strife that does spare anything from destruction. This people has become afflicted with “acquired helplessness syndrome”, and they no longer have any hope of change or getting out of this tight trap.

As for unemployment, it is beyond control. Thousands of employees are dismissed and migrate in search of dignity before a living abroad. Immigration has reached high rates, and the Lebanese society has become demographically in danger, as the rate of young people has declined to a level it has not reached in Lebanon's recent or ancient history. The Lebanese, not only migrate through legal channels, but also through smuggling boats that are maintained by pirates, and the unlucky drown and their numbers are not little.

As for the psychological, moral, or ethical levels, we just need to mention the rise in the rate of alcoholism, smoking and drug addiction, in addition to the rates of crime, suicide, domestic violence, family breakdown, and the list goes on.

This is the tip of the iceberg of the suffering of the Lebanese, their condition and their reality. Life in Lebanon has become extremely bitter, and all those who managed to leave the country are considered as survivors of the Lebanese Genocide.

The three occasions that we mentioned at the beginning of the article apply to us today in Lebanon.

We are in a state of genocide...we are the victims of this genocide who are waiting for their hour to come.

We are the victims of the corruption that the ruling groups share with the private sector, and they ally in sucking our blood.

We need, more than any other region of the world, to safeguard our individual and collective rights that have been forfeited by those who have been entrusted with these rights and with us.

The resistance of the Lebanese, the resilience of their personality, and their high competencies and know-how have reached the extreme limits, and we may witness new forms of social and economic problems that will indicate the final disintegration of the socio-cultural structures in Lebanon, leading to unimaginable consequences.

It is true that we are the people of the Phoenix, who is resurrected from its ashes again,

It is true that we are the children of the resurrection, the children of faith, and the children of hope.

It is true that the Lebanese savvy represented by private initiative and freedom of thought and action still exist, and we bet that they will have their effects and make the country rise from its slump.

However, as the popular proverb in Lebanon says, “After misery, we want survival”!