My take on Palestinians civil rights in Lebanon.

Before you go any further in your reading, allow me in all modesty to point out to you once again my (few) readers the fact that I do not adhere to any political party; and moreover I am for the harsh prosecution of all our (past and present) political leaders.
Having said that, and keeping in mind that the bloggosphere has been busing lately (after a long period of silence) with two main topics which somehow are related; One that of breaking the Israeli embargo on Gaza, and second, that of Walid Beyk (imminent) proposal for Palestinian (refuges in Lebanon) human and civil rights.
 I have read many articles about the later subject and participated (shyly, in order not to offend) in some “web” debates, and still (as a human) I could not be swayed.
So here is my view on this particular “hot” topic, regardless of what I think of Walid Beyk.

Yes every single human being has the right to a decent life, to have his basic rights protected, access to basic medical care, schooling, a roof over his head, to live with dignity, to be able to work and be a “constructive” part of society..etc.
BUT:
In order to enjoy and be given such rights a person should abide by certain rules, especially when he is a host in a foreign land (to say the least and not use the term “refugee”).
The Palestinian problem was not caused by Lebanon, and it was not the Lebanese who deprived the Palestinians from their homeland; on the contrary, Lebanon (albeit forcibly) not only accepted a big influx of refugees, but (wrongly) signed the Cairo treaty giving Yasser Arafat and his group of thugs a free hand not only to cause mayhem, but also (at a certain point in time) try to establish the state of Palestine within the Lebanese borders.



No I won’t join; nor would I root for any flotilla trying to break the siege of Gaza, for according to me those who voted for a (so called) terrorist governance knew what they were getting themselves into.  Why should I help people who are not only divided amongst themselves, but people who tried to take over my country and contributed greatly to the 180,000 dead during our 15 years of war?
Before you get on your high horses and burn me to the stake, allow me to remind you of a sample of what took place in Lebanon between 1975 and 1982 (in order to keep this post relatively readable) at the hands of those refugees which some of our leaders are now claiming to be oppressed by their host country.




1)May 20, 1975
Five people were killed and 24 were wounded in Dekwaneh
Violent confrontations opposed Palestinians from the Tell El Zaatar camp and Phalange Party members. Businesses were closed in protest against the lack of security.



2)January 20, 1976
Damour massacre
Avenging the massacre of Karantina by Christian forces 2 days before, Palestinians and leftist Muslims attacked the Christian city of Damour, located about 20 kilometers south of Beirut, and murdered 350 civilians.

3)August 17, 1976
The Upper-Metn battle started. Over 600 shells fell on Faraya-Oyoune El Simane while Palestinians and Progressive forces continued their insane bombing of the capital.



January 6, 1978
The Begin Plan concerning the settlement of Palestinians in Lebanon made some noise.
The Lebanese reacted with firmness and indignation to the conspiracy initiated by foreign countries. According to Salim El Hoss, 'Every project expecting the settlement of Palestinians outside of their land is rejected.' The President of the Republic also rejected any project stipulating the permanent settlement of Palestinians in Lebanon. 'Our country should determine itself what it is able to offer. It is unfair to solve the Palestinian question by creating a Lebanese problem. We will make every effort to let our right prevail, he said.




4)May 2, 1978
A fight opposed the UNIFL and the Palestinians. The French barrack in Tyr was bombed and the commander of the French contingent was seriously injured.

5)April 14, 1982
A general war was raging between Amal and the Palestinians. Meanwhile, the fights continued in the South and reached Beirut and its suburbs where 15 deaths were reported.




6)July 19, 1982
While Beirut was still under blockade, sporadic confrontations opposed the Israelis and the Palestinians, and innocent victims continued to fall. The President of the AUB, David Dodge, was kidnapped in the middle of the campus.

The above mentioned facts, are whether we like or not, part of our bloody history; and more recent are the rockets fired from our homeland (after the 2006 war) into our arch enemy Israel from Palestinian factions such as Ahmad Jebril. What if Israel retaliated then? What rights can you give to people who have no respect towards the well being of the people of their host country?  Would you give, let alone accept, into your own home someone who raises his children on hate (and teach him at a young age how to use weapons) towards “some” of your fellow citizens? Please do not even attempt to reply with Sabra and Chatila, for I have seen firsthand what the PLO, Fath and Al Sa3ika did to fellow Lebanese (before Sabra and Chatila), including to those who now are the “prince valiant” to the Palestinian cause (Iztaz included).

Walid Beyk, sorry! Go suck on an egg. “Atfal Al hijara” go free Palestine, but not from my country!

N.B: For a comprehensive list of events from 1974 to 1990 visit: 111101

My keyboard and I fell into a disagreement.

Too hungry for cell power, or getting too old and begging to retire; lately my keyboard has been acting erratically, skipping characters and making me look like a worst speller than I actually am. It got me thinking to the days when the written word was actually written and not typed via the use of the “dactylo” (typewriter). Then every time a mistake was done, the entire paper had to be retyped again; requiring even more time and effort (and definitely not environmentally friendly). In the eighties I worked in an Arabic publishing house where we use to receive numerous manuscripts (exceeding a hundred pages) from hopeful writers, hand written. The process was for a team to read all those stories and pick up the few that the company judged worth publishing, and those few went on to proof reading and editing ending up being transcribed onto the linotype machine before going to print (skipping a few stages).
The “written” word then held more value than most of the written words we read today. Then the process of putting your thoughts onto paper was a long and tedious process which every writer struggled before he was sure that his was true to his message. They did not rely on “wordperfect” or even “word” to spell check (wrongly at times) or even correct their grammar; they just spilled their guts on “pen and paper”.
Some claim to be able to depict ones character by analyzing one’s calligraphy, the way they loop their L’s and O’s. the tail on their J’s up or down..etc. I tend to agree, a “hand” written note can tell much more about the author’s state of mind than any “typed” text filled with beautiful words.
So, here I go : “ I love you”.
What do you make of it?

Pull String Human

A fellow blogger Rami e-mailed me the following link to a locally made short video. Enjoy!