Always in Our Minds....

Ladylong

Friday, September 08, 2006

Nasrallah

Since I moved to Beirut to continue my medical training, I've become able to see a more diverse people than the ones I used to encounter back in the north. Which gives me a greater chance in understanding how things work, and how people really think about everything that's going on in Lebanon.

One of the most controversial issues nowadays in Lebanon is Nasrallah's popularity. If you are a Lebanese who used to live here, you'd understand the complexity of the matter. I'll try to illustrate as much as possible, but you have to keep an open-minded mentality and to always remember the diversity of the Lebanese population.

First of all, the south. Up till the end of the last war, the government had no actual presence in the south. Everything was controlled by HA. Being a southerner, you'd feel that HA is the government there, and that if you want to do anything, you need HA authorization. Even ministers and foreign ambassadors couldn't visit cities and villages in the south without HA permission. Not to mention that up till 2000, Israel was occupying a huge part of the south, with all the conflicts of occupation. The majority of southerners are Shiites. And Shiites follow their religious figure (called Imam) almost blindly, or so I have been told. Some even go as far as saying that you are NOT a true Shiite if you disobey your Imam (again, as I have been told by many Shiites friends). HA is like the religious institution that Shiites consider their guardian. Far a Shiite southerner, HA is the one who defend him whenever Israel attacks, HA provide him with security, HA offers him jobs and financial aid to support his family, and lately, HA is the one who would take care of all the houses that were ruined during the war. In short, HA is the "State" where the Shiites feel safe, secure and strong. Taking that into consideration, together with the fact that Shiites solidarity to one another is outstanding and almost 100% perfect, you can fairly say that HA is very very very popular among Shiites, and Nasrallah is considered the "Sole Leader". And when you know that almost 40% of Lebanese population are Shiites, you can have a clear idea about Nasrallah's popularity.

But what about the rest of Lebanon and Lebanese population? I can fairly say that after the last war, all Lebanese (but Shiites) have become against HA. And many of them consider HA as "one (and not the only) causes" of the last war. Ever since PM Rafic Hariri was assassinated, a unique "unity" among Christians, Sunnies and Druze emerged on the surface of Lebanon's daily life. These sects (or at least the majority of them) believe in a true independent STATE of Lebanon, led by a Lebanese government that is the result of the elections. They believe that Taef Record should be applied, and that UN resolutions should be respected, if we want Lebanon to rise from the ashes and prosper as it should have done years ago.

But in Lebanon, politics always divide people, and politicians shift a lot whenever they see an opportunity to gain a higher position. The so called "pro-Syrians" were almost eliminated from the Lebanese political life after Syrian troops withdrawal from Lebanon in April 2005. But now, they saw a "one in a life time chance" to get back on their feet by supporting HA blindly. These people are from all the sects of the Lebanese population. But the major supporter for HA nowadays is the Free Patriotic Movement led by General Aoun. The majority of Lebanese (and I can say that even HA officials) believe that Aoun's presidential hopes are the only reason why he's supporting HA by all means he can afford. Aoun made a huge success in the last elections, specially among Christians voters, which made him claim that he's the "representative" of the Christian community in Lebanon. But lots of those who once believed and supported Aoun in the past (myself included) do not believe in him any more.

In conclusion, it's not a simple issue to know for sure the true popularity of Nasrallah among Lebanese. While many support him to the maximum, others support him for their own benefits. And even those who are against him, some are so because they believe in a country in which the government is the sole decision-maker, and others are so because of their own personal benefit.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is very clear that you are a sunni, but let me tell you the truth that you don’t want to see, (By the way, I am a sunni like you)

Your leader Raffic Harri was the biggest Syrian Puppet, and he was one of its most powerful advocates in Lebanon.

It was Michael Aoun who was fighting the Syrians dominance then and asking for the Syrians to leave Lebanon and then he would accept establish clear and diplomatic relationship with it based to mutual respect etc. , while your Boss was banking on the Syrians and making sums of money and stealing the people's money in the most crooked ways and now Lebanon has 40 Billion in debt and the middle class in Lebanon is gone. Off course, the Harri groups of thief’s tell you it is only the Syrian’s to blame for this! What a bunch of crooks.

Now, it is different, because the Harri group has shifted and their bosses are in a different place, Saudi Arabia and America.

So; When will you wake up from your denial and smell the roses of the truth?

If you are so sure about having the majority, why don't the Harri group accept to neutralize the election laws and go for new elections (instead they use a Syrian electoral Mandate 2000, which was orchestrated by Ghazi Koun3an) , why are they so afraid to go for new elections (Michael Aoun will get more seats, because he is the true patriotic leader, and you know it?
They refused to go to elections because they know that they are full of it.

FaiLaSooF said...

First of all, whether I'm christian,sunni,shhite or druze doesn't matter at all here.

You kept saying things like: "your Hariri, your boss, hari group,etc...). Did I ever said Hariri is my boss? did I ever mention that I'm with the "Future Movement"? Who gave you the right to categorize me?

In all cases, and to make things clear, I'm in March 14th Movement, and NO, I'm not part of the "Future Movement".

If you want to defend Aoun, try to expalin his latest actions, don't start jumping on others and accusing this and cursing that. I stated a fact that many people think it is true, including old members of the FPM, I didn;t jump on him or call him by any bad name.

As for elections, I think there's a constitution that says elections are held once every four years. This same constituation says that army generals are not allowed to run for presidency. You agreed to compete in the 2000 elections like Hariri and others, so all of you agreed on that law, just be a man an accept the results.

Anonymous said...

Well done Failasoof, you've illustrated the situation perfectly. As for the "anonymous" comment above, it's very clear that you are anti-Hariri...Did you follow "your boss" Auon to France when he fled?

Anonymous said...

First, im not anonymous from above. my name is Samer, im from the north too, a place called Koura.

Near the plage where i swim ( Las Salinas ), there is a place called "diddeh". a mountainous region overlooking the ocean, and very beautifaul, i may add.
I learnt of how Harriri and his man, Fareed Mkari, "created" a law, deeeming this land , as unsuitable for buildings, sice it is of natural beauty etc.. The prices went down, way down, all the land was bought for cheap, and the law was reversed, deeming the land suitable again,,???

Ever since,ive had a bad view of MR.Lebanon, harriri, i strugle sometimes to see where all the billions have gone, clearly downtown is his, and the airport, which should've been around 500 mill, was priced at 6/7 bill.

My point is: He was corrupt, god rest his soul, sure he did some good things, but our huge unreparable debt is in many ways due to his mishandling ,and corruption.

The other politicians arent much better, from zombie JaaJaa, to Jumblat the "firestarter".... I like Aoun only a drop more than the others , maybe cuz he hasnt stolen yet... In the end if he gets power, he will steal...POWER CORRUPTS, its the law of man..

I urge you, doctor, and everyone to push for a new lebanon with new political parties, new leaders, and a new stategy to revive the country... Supporting the current batch will keep us in pause mode indefinitely.

FaiLaSooF said...

Samer, in politics, it is well known that "there are no permanent allies nor permanent enemies, but only permanent common interests".

I didn't say that Lebanon's political leaders are all descent ones, and I didn't accuse one of them either. Your story may be very much true, and it may be not. For me, it's the same actually, because what I'm concerned about now is to revive the country and try to hold it together.

You can say whatever you want about politicians in Lebanon, but I say one thing to you, it's a common interest to all Lebanese to have an independent Lebanon, where the government is the sole-decision maker. We are a democratic country, though we have suffered years of abuse and betrayal. Now, there is a part of Lebanon who is calling for what we all seek, and therefore I'm with them, and mark my word, once I realize they deviated from this ultimate goal, I'm going to be the first one to point fingers and expose their betrayal.

This is politics, and it has nothing to do with dignity, honesty or ethics, only common interests......