Beirut: The Split

In the 1970's, conflicts escalated between the different groups in Lebanon, Shia, Sunni, Maronites, Greek Orthodox, over power. The government, if you could call it a government, still operated, yet it resembled a play, a cheap play that had no audience. The Parliament and President had no power whatsoever and could only watch as their country transformed into a chaotic set of brutality and savagery. One of the countless consequences that Beirutis have witnessed because of the escalating conflicts was the split of their beloved city, Beirut, and the shifting of Beirut's commercial and economic center, or what was left of it anyway.

The civil war had destroyed any connection the different groups of Lebanon had towards each other, and it ravaged the entire country. The borders that I had talked about in the previous post were invisible, yet respected and lived by, but now actual borders had been drawn, specifically the Green Line, in which the commercial capital and center of Lebanon, and maybe the entire Middle East was split. Beirut's Golden Age died an agonizing death and any remains of it remained in Hades. There were no more Western tourists, no more swarming elegant hotels, no more businessmen from the Arabian Peninsula looking to invest their millions in Beirut's economy, no more wealth, no more labels, and no more boasting about the Paris of the East that bewitched anyone that laid eyes on it. Gone were the times of the dazzling city that lay at the edge of the Levant. Gone was the gateway to the West.

Beirut was split across a border called the Green Line, which was the Beirut-Damascus road and some of downtown Beirut, that cut through the city, bisecting it. (It is called the Green Line because of the many weeds and shrubs that protrude out of the tarmac and asphalt). This would automatically take you back to the times of the Berlin Wall and the division of East and West Germany. This was so similar yet so different. First, there was no obscure or visible obstacle, such as a wall. It was just that road that symbolized so much. People knew of the consequences of this border, and its crossing. Anyone who dared to step across this road would meet a sudden, yet expected death. Because this line was not just an ordinary border. It represented Lebanon's tribalism. Before the war, it was just a thought, yet now it is illustrated in reality and on the ground for everyone to see.

Though this may have been the only visible and prominent border separating the city, there were so many subdivisions. They began in individual neighborhoods. All members would keep to their self, and most could not imagine a society operating outside of their own narrow borders, it was an inconceivable idea, and a faraway one at that. As the time passed in this civil wars, the divisions were not only in neighborhoods but in individuals. The trust between neighbors disappeared. A person would think everyone had the worst possible motives towards him/her, and looks of suspicion were always on everyones faces. With that, the remains of Lebanese society and mutualism had shattered.

Tribal Lebanon

Lebanon, since the beginning of time, has suffered so many conflicts and so many disagreements, but the all leads down to the essence of its society. Lebanese of course, will always boast about how modern and diverse their country is, but that is also a large problem hanging like a shadow over Lebanon's future, if it was back in the civil war, or till the present day.

Since its borders were drawn out of Greater Lebanon by the French in the 1943 National Pact, Lebanon and its citizens have never behaved as a nation or as one people, like any other country behaved. Although Lebanon was not an anarchy and there was a government present, there seemed to be no unity in how the Lebanese act. Lebanon is probably the most diverse state in the Middle East containing many people of different religion and sects.

The largest dividing factor in the Lebanese society would of course have to be religion. The country is made of Muslims and Christians, split almost evenly, at a 1 to 1 ratio. But these two groups are further divided. For Muslims, it is Sunnis, Shia, and Druze, and for Christians it is Maronites, Greek Orthodox, and some other sects. This of course is a situation very vulnerable to conflict because no trust is evident between any of these groups, even between people of the same religions. Each village, or district in a city behaves like its personal country and has a hierarchy present that makes the decisions and acts as a government. Each group is suspicious of the other and their motives, and will always tend to think of them in the worst. They are, in every meaning of the word, tribes. Sometimes they form alliances, other times their bitter enemies, and the latter is the most likely one. And this is the essence of the civil war of the 70's and 80's.

One point is evident of course. Each group works and behaves out of utter fear: fear that any other tribe will take control of the country. Not only that, but Lebanon operates on a system of "Zuama", or big bosses, similar to that in the Italian mafia movies like the godfather. Each tribe would have its own operating in the government and fulfilling the needs of their followers and their townspeople. For example, a man wants to buy a house and has a problem obtaining a loan from the bank, because of his low income. He does not go to a lawyer or any other professional to help him solve this problem legally, if there was any solution, but goes to the Ziam in charge of his town, village, or district. The Ziam would of course have the loan in his pocket in a couple of hours, by "pulling a few strings." Nothing is asked for in return, other than full loyalty and support to the Ziam. Corruption was everywhere in Lebanese society, and that being one part.

Lebanon seems to be a diverse country, but when you look closely, there are dividers and prominent borders in the entire state. People of different religious groups would not prefer to interact with anyone else but their own, and if one looked at a map of Lebanon, there is no diversity in areas. There would be sections, large or small, in parts of Lebanon wholly exclusive to one group or the other, such as South Beirut for the Shia, Western Beirut for Sunni, and Eastern Beirut for the Maronites, as well as Mount Lebanon for the Christians, and Southern Lebanon for the Shia. This is a complex equation that would soon lead to catastrophe.

Beirut: The Golden Age

Going back to the 1950's, it was a bleak time period for the Middle East. Just two years before, Israel had declared it's independence, and gained control of 78% of Historic Palestine. Countless numbers of Palestinians became refugees and fled to neighboring countries, and the Arab countries of Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq had lost a war of dignity against the terrorist state of Israel.

But north of Israel's border, in Lebanon, there sat a sparkling city jutting out of the Mediterranean Sea, waiting to enchant anyone who laid eyes on it. Beirut, in its beginnings was a quiet, but attractive small town. Starting from the 1950's however, all of that would change. Beirut had entered a Golden Age, much like Athens and Rome, and was under the International spotlight. This city, as beautiful as it was, was a controversial one. It was torn between its Arab identity and its Western character. That was probably the biggest reason of why it was extremely unique and why it had attracted to much attention. Going back about 55 years , this is probably the scene you would have come across:

Bikini clad women sunbathing on the white sand beaches of the Mediterranean, laughing and joking as if it had come straight out of a movie. On the beachfront rose prestigious hotels for the wealthy of Europe and the United States as well as Beirut and the rest of the Arab world. The Hotel St. Georges had the best to offer. It was built on its own private peninsula, overlooking the White Sea and the boardwalk. The huge swimming pool was the biggest tourist attraction in the hotel, and it as the sensational meeting place during the day. Businessmen in casual clothing would sit under the umbrellas discussing their projects and work, while tourists would be enjoying a nice swim under the Lebanese sun. One side of the pool was glass, and descending the stairs from the pool, you come across a bar that looks into the swimming pool. Here you could find the American journalists of Time Magazine discussing their new articles on the "Paris of the East" and enjoying a cocktail.

Not only was the Hotel St. Georges the only popular one in town, but other five star hotels had sprung up around it including the Phoenicia, and the Palm Beach Hotel. The Casino Du Liban, however, proved to be the most famous site in Beirut, which is perched in the port town of Jounieh a couple of kilometers due north. The Casino mesmerized its audience when beautiful women in feathers descended from the ceiling on large flowers; its been famous for this production ever since.

On top of being glamorous and wealthy, the city was greatly affected by the oil boom in the Arabian Peninsula. Men in traditional white Abayas exclusive to the Persian Gulf traveled to Beirut to invest fortunes in its banking system, hotels, theaters, and commercial districts. Beirut had wealth flooding into it from all sides, but of course this came to an end.

The Queens of Jordan, Busy at Work

I'm currently reading an autobiography of Queen Noor, the late King Hussein's wife, and I can't help but admire this woman. Not only that, but King Abdullah's wife Queen Rania of Jordan is on the same track, and is setting up lots of different programs and looking into humanitarian issues. These women are breaking the stereotypes that Western Society has tagged the Arab World with as ignorant and violent. And I am very proud of what Queen Noor accomplished and what she is accomplishing as well as Queen Rania. I can't imagine how Jordanians feel, if I, a Syrian is extremely happy. These women present the Arabic World in an elegant and professional way, and exhibit their knowledge to help causes such as AIDS in Africa, Land Mines in South America, and the Palestinian-Israeli crisis that is till now affecting millions of people. These women, I feel, represent the Arab world in the best way possible and show the International Society what the Arab world really is, and the level of understanding and desire for peace we have. I was looking through YouTube earlier today and I found out that Queen Rania has her own YouTube channel. On it, there were exclusive interviews and a series of videos called "Breaking the Stereotypes", which is a aimed at the understanding of the Arabic world and society, and to put aside the stereotypes that affect people's minds so negatively. I was also watching Queen Noor's response to the Gaza Crisis and I'm ecstatic when I saw her explaining the situation from our point of view, to CNN. She is a very intelligent person, and upon the host of the show commenting and saying, "Israel would not have had this offensive if there weren't rockets being launched by Hamas, and other extremest groups". She says (and I'm just paraphrasing) "The level of poverty in Gaza and the West Bank as well as the Israeli Occupation they are living under deprives the Palestinians of hope, and it is so much easier to be drawn by these extremist groups, that only form because of the absence of peace." And people should hear these words and this exact answer to understand the situation in the Middle East.

The autobiography that I'm reading now is called "Leap of Faith, Memoirs of an Unexpected Life" by Queen Noor. It's brilliantly written, and it's easy to read. I did not know very much about the country of Jordan, but now I'm starting to appreciate it's role in the Middle East and King Hussein's as well as Queen Noor's work on getting the Arab-Israeli peace process re-ignited. Queen Noor was born in the United States into an Arab-American family. She travelled to Jordan and met King Hussein. They fell in love and married, and she faced a lot of obstacles once she was queen. But she knew that she wanted to accomplish many things, to benefit Jordan and the whole world. She started on projects for the Palestinian refugees in Jordan, and many architectural as well as cultural projects, such as the Jerash Annual Festival. And to this day, she is still working, along with Queen Rania who is side by side with UNRWA, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Take a look at Queen Rania's YouTube channel, and the videos that are on there to build a bridge between the Western World and the Middle East:

http://www.youtube.com/QueenRania

"The Lemon Tree": Neutral Perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, is a book that explains the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in precise detail. It gives two points of view, one from a Palestinian, Bashir, that used to live in the town of al Ramla in present day Israel before the expulsions, and a Bulgarian Jew, Dalia, that emigrated to Israel and now lives in the house the Bashir and his family were forced to flee. I went to Borders two days ago to pick up a copy of this book and it took me about half an hour to find it after the employee said it was misplaced. But in the end I was determined to read it as it caught my interest when I was browsing for books online. This is a neutral book, until now at least.. I am on page 142, about halfway into it. All the facts are there and the author is following the story of these two individuals. This book is totally and completely nonfiction. I love the amount of detail the author uses, and that I am glad that he depicts everything that happened and the sad events of all the innocent Palestinian families’ expulsions from their homes, and their forcing of living as refugees in their own land. When I am finished with the book, I will put up my own review and a summary. So far, it is highly recommended by me. This is the exact description on the back cover of the book:

In 1967 Bashir Khairi, a twenty-five-year-old Palestinian, journeyed to Israel with the goal of seeing the beloved stone house with the lemon tree behind it that he and his family had fled nineteen years earlier. To his surprise, when he found the house he was greeted by Dalia Eshkanazi Landau, a nineteen year old Israeli college student, whose family fled Europe for Israel following the Holocaust. On the stoop of their shared home, Dalia and Bashir began a rare friendship, forged in the aftermath of war and tested over the next thirty-five years in ways that neither could imagine on that summer day in 1967. Sandy Tolan brings the Israeli-Palestinian conflict down to its most human level, suggesting that even amid the bleakest political realities there exist stories of hope and reconciliation.

Akon and Melissa in Damascus

It was an extremely surprising piece of news to hear. Akon, a famous American singer, and Melissa, an "ok" Lebanese singer in the Middle East, made a duet together. I was shocked, not just surprised, and I didn't believe it at first at all. There was a link to youtube to listen to the song, and there it was. Melissa and Akon singing together. They will also make this song a music video, directed by Oliver Ojeil. Apart from these pieces of information, they will also be performing together in the Middle East in cities like Cairo and Damascus,, yes Damascus! I was thrilled when I heard it, because I believe this could be a step for the Western World to be in contact with this marvelous country, Syria. We already saw the success of Enrique Iglesias when he came to Damascus, and how big his concert was. Akon and Melissa will be performing in the Opera House in Damascus, another surprising piece of information. Melissa will also go on to Lattakia, which is a city in northern Syria on the Mediteranean Coast, and sing in Le Meridien Hotel. I hope this is the first step for Damascus to edge closer to the Western world.

Did Palestine Ever Exist?

This question in my opinion is a mockery to all of the Middle East. I came across a website (link at bottom) today, while looking up Mark Twain, and this is what I found. Mark Twain, apparently described the land of Palestine as an empty and barren land, with no inhabitants or vegetation of any sort. In my opinion this is a total lie. Palestine is the holy land, and in his short visit to this area, he only explored certain areas, which might have been vacant. But his statements are too broad to fit the entire country. In the 20th century, Zionists started using Mark Twain's quotes to support their campaign in building a Jewish state in Palestine. They were stating that the land was "uninhabited" and that the Arabs that were living there were a minority in a comparison to the Jews. But the truth was not this. The people living in Palestine was as follows: 657,000 Muslims, 81,000 Christian Arabs, and 59,000 Jews. And after the creation of the State of Israel, Israelis started denying the nationality of the people living in Palestine, and going further to saying there never was a country called Palestine or people called Palestinians. Zionists say these people were ignorant peasants that had no right in their country's politics, and that they were waiting for the Jews to come build the country.
http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Famous-Zionist-Quotes/Story707.html