Fragments

1. We Lebanese people suffer from a severe aversion to dealing with our own crimes. There are two images. The first one is that of a ‘modern Lebanese young lady’ smiling and cheering while brandishing an army flag. Around her, there are more modern young citizens all proud of their national army. They believe in the moral superiority of their army. The young Lebanese soldiers imitate their American counterparts; they act like stars; they are wearing sunglasses. The first error in this image is its focus on the soldiers coming back home, rather than on the battlefield in the aftermath of a long combat and on the victims of the combat. It reflects the images of the American soldiers coming back home while disregarding the crimes they committed during their voyage. We do not want to see the destruction, the violence, and the crimes our young soldiers committed. The second image is that of a wall. The room is full of debris; war has certainly passed through this house. Some toys are on the flour; they are burnt but still conserve some colors. A sentence is written on the wall; it is racist, violent, and reflects great hate for the people who used to live here. It was written by a soldier. In Palestine, Israeli soldiers and more commonly settlers, often leave racist statements on the walls of buildings they storm. In Iraq, the same practice was reported. Racism and hate and their expression on walls are features of occupation. Occupation is the act of occupying someone else’s land by force and armed presence. In Lebanon, the army acted as an occupation force while on its own soil. The Palestinian camps are another country, or so it seems. It seems that Palestinians are occupied even when they are not in their own country. They are an occupied people without a land. It is known that nationalist fervor prevents self criticism.

2. It seems that the casting for the new colonizer has started. The selection committee will be formed by a number of high ranking Lebanese leaders as well as the highest religious authorities. They will define the new colonial power that will be in charge of the country for the coming decade or so. There are many applicants: Americans and Iranians are the most prestigious, Syrians and French are counting on their experience, Saudis are bribing everyone, and the Israelis are too shy to apply.

3. Is it possible to acknowledge occupation without acknowledging the legitimacy of resistance against this occupation?

4. It is hard to convince people that they are racist when they actually are racist. When one is racist one does not acknowledge the fact that those he/she is racist against are actually equals and can therefore be victims of wrongful racism. Black people had been persecuted for centuries without it being seen as ‘wrong’; rather it was ‘normal’ for them to be inferior. Political correctness no longer allows such explicit racism against black people; however, it is now ‘normal’ to represent Arabs and Muslims as inferiors.

5. It seems absurd that in the [civilized and democratic] West it is legitimate and common for one to openly support an army going to war, but illegitimate and excessively radical and violent to support guerrillas that oppose this army. It seems that even naming them resistance is a radical political statement.