Lebanese Diaspora and the Hezbollahisation of Lebanon

By Elias Bejjani*

Every time two Lebanese meet in any of the Diaspora countries, one of them usually starts the conversation with the same nostalgic questions. How is the situation back home in Lebanon? Are there any positive changes there or any progress to build on? Are there any hopes for a better future or are things still chronically chaotic, unstable and bizarre?

The same routine response is echoed in reply; No our beloved and beautiful country is going down the drain and things are getting worse every day as the armed Iranian militia Hezbollah is devouring the country piece by piece, dominating more of its institutions, forcing its stone age ideology on many people through money, intimidation and murder. Meanwhile, Arab countries and the free world watch idly from a distance, not taking any serious or decisive deterrent stance to put an end for this on going Iranian expansionism plot.

It is true that God has granted Lebanon, the Holy Land of the Cedars, all that He could endow to a country including beautiful nature, an attractive climate, and many blessed riches. But Lebanon has also been cursed being a pivotal geographical door to other countries in the Middle East region, causing it instability for thousands of years and to this day.

How could the Lebanese people back home live in peace when Syria, Iran, and the axis of evil countries continuously interfere with their domestic affairs in all domains, sponsoring armed terrorist militias that hold the country hostage as a terrorist base for Islamist expansionism and evil hegemony schemes?

So why do the Lebanese people allow Iran and Syria to destabilize their country? Sadly, because the majority of the Lebanese politicians are opportunists, chameleons and Trojans. They possess no solid convictions, are constantly groveling to foreign powers, and Lebanon makes no difference to them as long as their own individual interests are secured.

Corrupt Lebanese politicians and officials are blind in heart, soul, and conscience. Regrettably, many Lebanese citizens follow these leaders blindly because of the need for protection and other basic life necessities. Even worse is the sickening weakness of the central government that is dominated by bribery and corruption on all levels. The government is unwilling and unable to protect the interests of its citizens or provide them with the required services. The end result is a well-known axiom, when the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Returning to the nostalgic question and to the response there is no doubt that the question shows genuine concern along with anxiety on one side, and despair along with pessimism on the other. While it is normal to demonstrate concern for what is going on back home and be worried about the deteriorating situation, it is not acceptable at all for any Lebanese in Diaspora to be pessimistic and laissez-faire when it comes to the Hezbollahisation of Lebanon.

Lebanese, especially those in Diaspora, should never feel defeated or lose hope no matter what are the hardships in their mother country. In fact, Syria and Iran with their local proxies are working laboriously on a daily basis using every known psychological tactic to force the Lebanese into a state of hopelessness and helplessness. They want the people in Lebanon to lose all hope for any possible change in the imposed status quo. Their ultimate goal is to poison the Lebanese conscience with a submissive mentality. A mentality in which resistance becomes ineffective, confrontation an act of suicide, and lobbying for liberation a stance of madness.

It is a patriotic obligation for each and every person of Lebanese descent in the Diaspora to thoroughly apprehend the intricacies and complexities of the current status quo in Lebanon. It is an obligation to lobby for the Lebanese cause in every free democratic country and to make the world aware of the agony that the Lebanese are enduring in Hezbollahized Lebanon. Syrian-Iranian atrocities inflicted through Hezbollah against the Lebanese people must be exposed.

Arab and free world countries have been dealing with the Lebanese crisis with a double standard. On the one hand they admit that Lebanon is being devoured by a fatal Hezbollahisation scheme, while appeasing Hezbollah's sponsors Syria and Iran with the other hand. Even more foolishly, some of these countries allege that there is a politically moderate faction within Hezbollah that they recognize and communicate with.

We call on the approximately nineteen million Lebanese descendents living in the Diaspora and on all those who love Lebanon to lobby for a Lebanon that is not Hezbollahized. Lobbying will be fruitful when Lebanese in the Diaspora understand thoroughly the Lebanese crisis and the means needed to solve it. Accordingly, every Lebanese descendent should consider himself an ambassador for a free Lebanon in the country where he lives. An ambassador whose duty is to intelligently lobby for the Lebanese cause, knowing that this is the only possible way to generate worldwide support to pressure the Syrians and Iranians to leave Lebanon.

In this context, neutrality and indifferent attitudes from the Lebanese Diaspora is a crime committed against their homeland of Lebanon. A crime against the pride of their identity, ancestors, history, civilization and culture. For Lebanon has been impoverished, wronged, intimidated, harassed, humiliated, oppressed within a Hezbollahized state.

Brethren Lebanese in the Diaspora, with your genuine lobbying Lebanon shall be resurrected. There will be hope for a better future for your own oppressed people, freedom and dignity shall be reclaimed, your country shall again be an oasis for peace, and Lebanon shall prevail and be victorious.

The voices of our great people in Hezbollatized Lebanon can no longer speak freely for themselves. We, the Lebanese in the Diaspora, are now their voices. Our voices must be courageous, intelligent, well-informed, persistent and very loud for their sake. Let us not disappoint them


*Elias Bejjani*Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
*Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
*Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
*Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/.