| Glitter of Hope |
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| Bint Jbeil
Website |
| Tuesday, August 8,
2006 |
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True
that the
eye will shed tears and the heart is broken over what is
happening to our beloved country and people. Tears are
being mixed with blood, entire villages have been
destroyed, and inhabitants uprooted from the safety and
comfort of their homes. Words can’t explain the
magnitude of the devastation, especially for the ones
that are not physically present to experience this
agony.
I remember one evening in the winter of 1976, there was
a huge thunderstorm in Lebanon, and over Beirut
specifically, where lightning and thunder was louder and
omnipresent than the sounds of guns and fires it
created, and I looked at the sky from the balcony window
and saw a huge lightning that lit the skies and was
shaped like the Eastern and Western borders of Lebanon,
but, extended almost in parallel lines toward Syria and
Palestine. For a young kid of 14 years, that was an
amazing thing to see. But, reflecting more on it, I am a
true believer that Heaven was telling us that I am
watching over this peace of land and its people, to be
always united.
For those of us that studied history in the Lebanese
Education System, and I am not sure if they still teach
the same thing; I recall learning about all of the
invaders and conquerors from the beginning of time. And,
yet, Lebanon still stands, high like its mountains, his
people are pure, humble, strong, and sweet like the
waters that rushes out of his springs as they make their
way down his valleys, never yield to any Invading and
Destructing Force (IDF).
Yes, we have the right to shed tears, we should cry,
after all, it is Lebanon. But, let the tears turn to
unity. Let the cries help rebuild. Let us all be one and
embrace each other for the sake of all of us. For, if we
don’t, there will be no tomorrow. It is simply a duty
and it is our destiny to make it happen.
Lastly, I will share with you a small story, one that
has a glitter of hope, I hope. Just before the war
started, a friend of mine send his wife and his four
children, all are boys, to spend the summer vacation in
Bint Jbeil. Coincidently, this is the first time the
boys have visited Lebanon, and were staying at their
brand new house that their grandfather’s had built just
last year. They only stayed four days in the house
before moving in to a shelter with another 20 people
living on small intakes of water and biscuits for 18
days before they were able to escape. I saw the father
last Sunday and asked him how the kids were doing and
whether they were experiencing any problems from the
ordeal. To his surprise, and mine, he told me that they
are talking about going back to Bint Jbeil once the war
stops to help rebuilt their grandfathers house, which
was destroyed, and to assist others in the clean up. The
oldest of the kids is 14 years. Perhaps, one will say
that this is an emotional reaction from children that
don’t know any better. Still, I will take such emotions
over anything else, and if this is the result of this
war, I also welcome it. It is the hope that our children
will carry on, and rebuild what used to be, to be better
than what ever was. Please change the tears to glitter
of hope. |
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