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LEBANON ARCHIVE: Dec. 20, 2005 - Jan. 8, 2006

A Firelight Conversation in Martyr's Square

Debating the future amid ruins of the past

By Kevin Sites, Wed Dec 21, 8:58 PM ET

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BEIRUT, Lebanon - At Martyr's Square, an area filled with ancient Roman and Phoenician ruins -- and a bloody no man's land between the Christian and Muslim militias during Lebanon's 15-year civil war -- I sat down with eight Lebanese college students who are protesting the wave of violent killings of anti-Syrian politicians and journalists here (only their first names are used to protect them from retaliation). I asked them what they wanted to achieve and what they saw for the future of Lebanon.

You can read the transcript below or watch the video. (I handed my camera over to my taxi driver, Henri, so I could participate in the discussion without being behind the lens. You just may think Henri shoots as well or better than me.)

KEVIN SITES: If you could have your vision of Lebanon for the future become a reality, what is it for you? What is the future of Lebanon? Where do you see yourself as a nation and where do you see yourself as a player in the Middle East and in the larger geopolitical spectrum?

AHMAD: A lighthouse of the Middle East.

KS: The lighthouse of the Middle East. A flagship for democracy?

AHMAD: Democracy, tourism, education, everything.

KS: How far away is that for you? How far away do you think that is for you? Is it next year? Is it five years?

AHMAD: It's sometime. Tomorrow. Yes, sometime.

KS: Ten or 20 years? You all think the same thing? Ten or 20 years you'll be married, with children and jobs. Will you still care about the same things? Will you still have the passion? How can you say that?

MAHMOOD: [Slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik] Hariri. We have his death in our hearts. He said we will always be united. He said this and we will always stay united with each other. Muslim and Christian.

KS: So you take those words and you honor them?

MAHMOOD: Yes.

NAHED: All of us are Hariri's children.

KS: You are his children.

NAHED: Yes.

"We want to show that there isn't anything to scare us. What they did makes us stronger." — Reem, Lebanese student protester

KS: Is there a danger in putting too much emphasis on one man, and saying this is the savior of Lebanon and not into the institution itself? Or is it the symbols he represents?

STUDENTS: Symbols, symbols. Yes.

MAHMOOD: The symbols are what united the country. Yes, he cared for Lebanon.

AHMAD: They didn't kill Hariri for what was Hariri was. They killed him because of the symbols of what he represented in Lebanon and worldwide.

KS: You feel the same way with [slain anti-Syrian politician and journalist Gibran] Tueni.

STUDENTS: Yes. Sure, yes.

KS: And some of the other people who have been killed? Do you fear that these assassinations will continue -- that everyone who speaks out against

Syria, the occupation of Lebanon…

AHMAD: The regime is cracking, just cracking and falling apart. That's the way it shows. They are trying to kill the media members and....

KS: And the people who are speaking out the most.

AHMAD: Yeah.

KS: Do you fear violence against yourselves?

AHMAD: No.

"We will always stay united with each other. Muslim and Christian. " — Mahmood, Lebanese student protester

KS: You are coming here on a nightly basis. What's to say someone doesn't put a bomb there?

MOHAMMED: We don't care. We want, we want to be free.

KS: So you are willing to sacrifice?

REEM: We want to show that there isn't anything to scare us. What they did makes us stronger. We are not going to regret...

AHMAD: When you see your prime minister burning down, how would you feel?

REEM: We say with our opinions, we will never change -- only stronger, until they will think that.

KS: Is this generational? You are all very young here. Do your parents agree with what your position is? Does it cross generational boundaries?

STUDENTS: Yes.

KS: So it crosses generational boundaries.

REEM: I want to say something. Because they suffered from the war more than us -- for that they are with us with their opinion. ... I didn't suffer from anything in the war, but from what they told us we don't want it to come back.

--Transcribed by Hot Zone associate producer Erin Green.


Next: International Pawn
Previous: The Ghost of Violence Past
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Comments

Join the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

1
What a lightweight puff piece. If you really want to know what is happening in Lebanon/Syria, read a real journalist at: http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8233
Posted by romankandle on Wed, Dec 21, 2005 10:52 PM ET
2
Am Lebanese, Kevin there is nothing that justifies a country invading another sucking all its resource wiping out all kind of resistance, we could have rebuilt Lebanon without the Syrian presence, we could have done it even better! Actually, the war would have ended long time ago should have they never interfered. Lebanon’s curse is its neighbors, each managed to get a slice and to convince the Lebanese that we cannot survive without them, this is all just to justify their presence, besides our differences as Lebanese are only an indication of our cultural diversity, in other countries you’d have called it civilization or even democracy!!
Posted by mir_hachem on Wed, Dec 21, 2005 11:22 PM ET
3
some how I don't get the feeling that a website called antiwar would be the place to to find unbiased news coverage. This is the first i ahve read of a reporter talking to the young of Lebanon. When I traved the near east I wanted to and did talk to the people of the country in which I was at. It was most interesting to hear how they viewed the world and their place in it. Many times they wanted to talk to my wife. They would say they rearly had a chance to talk to an American lady. Their questions were for the most part were intriguing and very insightful. My wife and I were invited to enter a mosque and we were given a full tour. We talked at lenght about the differences in Moslem and Christian religions. I found most Western and American travelers to be rather naive in their views of Eastern cultures. Well done Kevin.
Posted by anntuck@sbcglobal.net on Wed, Dec 21, 2005 11:39 PM ET
4
The concept of growth for a country as Lebanon can not go unnoticed locally & globally. Lebanon has managed to expedite one of the largest expatriate segments in the world. To quote an unofficial count for every Lebanese in Lebanon there are 3-4 abroad. As such, the scope that is envisioned for this small country can be & is monumental (if all possible resources are viewed & allocated). Yet, Lebanon was created on patch of land that is renounced for several factors, most famous are: 1. A multicultural background that paved the road for the unique economical, political, & social situation 2. A widespread extension of its nationals globally 3. An active history that dates back to the Greek Close observation of all facets indicates the country is intertwined by force & choice with the global forces that enact all current events. The future of Lebanon can be determined by the people, can be designed by the people, but can not be done with disregard or "intervention" of the powers that be. The primary players that are enforcing the Lebanese situation are bordering the country:(Syria & Israel). To negate their influence & role would be ludicrous at best. Lebanon has much to lose if it does not play its cards right with both. One player of these factors is Hezbollah, which is considering the facts of both. If Lebanon further damages the relation with Syria it stands to lose: 1. The Sheba Farms 2. The official drawing Lebanese/Syrian border 3. The Lebanese prisoners in Syrian prisons 4. The possible closure of the Lebanese/Syrian border, which the Syrians did once already & will do again. Hezbollah recognizes these factors but apparently does not speak them out in public because no one (i.e Syria)wants to be felt used & abused by ALL parties in Lebanon. Furthermore, the Israelis on the otherhand are playing the hand that is dealt to them. Lebanon, whether people believe it or not, does have the upperhand over the Zionist State. In the end it would take hours of debate & analysis to conclude this subject, but the people have to believe that building a nation takes time & SACRIFICE because nothing good comes easy or on a silver platter.
Posted by mrb_bashir on Thu, Dec 22, 2005 4:43 AM ET
5
want to say something. Because they suffered from the war more than us -- for that they are with us with their opinion. ... I didn't suffer from anything in the war, but from what they told us we don't want it to come back.
Posted by dandouce1966 on Thu, Dec 22, 2005 8:33 AM ET
6
Would one day love to visit Lebanon, See all the Beautiful places & people with out fear..Wishing the very Beast For these People, Thank you for your Report.
Posted by moi61@sbcglobal.net on Thu, Dec 22, 2005 9:53 AM ET
7
Funny, in response to first comment, I researched Mehlis opinion on Hariri and Syria and albawaba.com reports: "The outgoing chief of the UN investigation into the killing of ex-Lebanon's premier, Rafiq al-Hariri was quoted as saying he is certain that Syria was behind the murder..." Never take anything at face value, EVERYTHING is propaganda.
Posted by rvgammill on Thu, Dec 22, 2005 10:25 AM ET
8
What a joke of an interview. If a few Lebanese have the same view, it definitely does not represent the population as a whole. Please do some real reporting and get the diversity of views that exist in Lebanon, instead of getting a handful of Hararists to represent the youth of Lebanon. The Gucci revolution is as set-up as this "interview" is.
Posted by yoironsheik on Thu, Dec 22, 2005 11:06 AM ET
9
If Syria did not commit the crimes then it is Israel as the Syrians claim. With all the secret agents they had and intelligence about every move Hariri made it is hard to think they cannot find a piece of evidence to prove themselves not guilty and implicate Israel. Down with such regiemes and the black minds and hands that support them.
Posted by hussni on Thu, Dec 22, 2005 3:52 PM ET
10
The Syrian regime, like all governments that have no legitimacy drawn from their populace, needs to maintain power in essentially two ways: 1) suppression of civil liberties and freedom of speech, and 2) maintaining an illusion of external threat. The vigourously exuberant and colorful Lebanese press is antithetical to the temper of the Syrian ruling class. Syria has been ruled by sheer terror since the early seventies, when the Baath party took over, and the custom of ruling through terror has become so pervasive and unshakeable that there is no room for compromise. As a result, dissent to the Syrian regime has become synonymous with certain death. Of course, the ruthlessness of Syria's rulers is in tune with the uncompromising psyche of the Arab male. This violent ruling style appeals to a male dominated society, in which belligerance, authoritarianism, and brutality are generally seen as respectable social attributes. The Lebanese male psyche is not much different than the Arab in general, but the wide diversity on the Lebanese social scene, and the long, continuous and close contact with the west, have germinated an attitude of tolerance for differences and dissents. Today, Lebanon finds itself as an antithesis of authoritarian Syria. It also finds itself as an antithesis of Israel, which proclaims itself to be a Jewish state, whereas Lebanon has more religious communities than it cares to count, and all these communities are full participants in the political system. I am reminded of a quote (I believe from Jawad Boulos): your destiny, O Lebanon, is to always walk on the edge of the cliff, but to never fall in it.
Posted by jacqbrel on Thu, Dec 22, 2005 6:52 PM ET

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  • BBC: Lebanon Country Profile - includes a map, a statistical overview, and timeline of key events.
  • Wikipedia: Lebanon - includes sections on the country's 15-year civil war, and the 'Cedar Revolution' of 2005.
  • Mehlis Report - implicates Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the February 2005 murder of former Lebanese PM Hariri. From the United Nations, December 2005.
  • Hezbollah's Dilemma - considers Hezbollah as a target in the U.S.-led anti-terror campaign. From Foreign Affairs, April 2005.
  • International Crisis Group: Lebanon - series of reports that examine Lebanon's transition from civil war to a civil peace.
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in memoriam

The Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone team dedicates this site to Marla Ruzicka, a fearless voice of compassion, who was killed in Iraq on April 16, 2005, while trying to lessen the suffering of others. For more information, see Civic Worldwide.